Thread drift perhaps, but kind of logical. It started by questioning whether the advertised job experience level was low to be poling a jet around in Australia's rarefied atmosphere. Then the discussion morphed into the relative merits of jet time versus "hardball" GA time. Someone suggested that if a pilot found single pilot IFR winter operations in North America "hardball" they were in the wrong profession.
That same person attempted to compare operating the B777 with a C421 to indicate that B777 pilots faced similarly marginal performance situations. No doubt that in some places big jets do operate with small margins for error, but its a tenuous argument.
When it comes to selecting pilots, a solid GA background can be every bit as useful as military or airline time. Put a good GA pilot in the right hand seat of a jet, give them proper training, and within 500 hours you'd think they had been flying the thing for years.
For the sake of young people with aviation dreams today, I only hope that one day soon Ausralian employers will accept that reality.
Last edited by Mach E Avelli; 22nd May 2023 at 01:24.