Originally Posted by
morno
I think the point is lost that you’re only the FIRST OFFICER, so you’re not the one sitting there with the command responsibilities. I’m sure if you were, the experience requirements would be much greater.
The King Air job on the other hand, you are the one in command. Plus those are certainly not onerous requirements compared to years past.
I’ve been a captain on a single aisle jet airliner flying all over Asia, which included de-icing, and I can tell you now that it was a ****load easier than flying a single pilot King Air around the top end in the wet season of which I did many years.
Consider that the kingair job advertised, and the upgrade minimums for an RJ command in the US are more or less the same. 2500 total, and 1000 hours of xxx time.
Sure flying the kingair single pilot with no support has it's challenges. But let's not make it out to be harder than it is. Australia is mostly flat, with some of the most benign flying weather on earth. Sure there are storms and fog, but that's really it. There's no real threat of terrain, density altitude performance, cold weather corrections, deicing, runway contamination etc.
Conversely, aussies with 2500 total are now given the left seat of an antiquated RJ, and sent to remote mountain ctafs in winter, or some of the most congested airports on earth. They have more support, but also significantly more threats to manage.
Lastly, RJ fo pays more than every kingair job in Aus. Wasn't always the case, but it is now. RJ command is paying more than Virgin command.
This whole argument smacks of Aussie exceptionalism. Maybe we should just stick to arguing who's the better of GA pilots or Q cadets.