Originally Posted by
Ken Scott
That’s something of an arrogant suggestion I believe, that being rotary puts you ahead of ME pilots in a Top Gun ‘who’s the best pilot’ style of Willy-waving. Of the non-FJ streamed pilots choice had as much to do with it as aptitude, on my BFT students could request an early streaming to rotary after only some 50 hours, long before they’d demonstrated any brilliance in aircraft handling to set them above the mere ME potential also-rans.
Many ME pilots came from more esteemed backgrounds, such as FJ pilots with medical issues (lost bang seat cat for example) or in my own case I was re-streamed from FJ and chose comfy beds over sleeping bags, I don’t believe that put me at the back of a metaphorical queue behind those sky-gods streamed straight from BFT.
I suspect the issue is more that handling a large complex aircraft with multiple engines and systems as well as potentially a large number of pax is seen by those who have flown them as more in need of a bigger crew than a simpler type, even if the latter might be a bit trickier to actually handle.
Come on now, no one goes into an AFCO and says I want to fly a bus. There is a lot of flying training to be failed before you end up ME.
