Originally Posted by
Mach E Avelli
I deleted an earlier post, written late while under the influence of too much good malt. Here is the polite version.
Not having ever done basic instruction, and never having held a Grade 3, it may be some people's view that I am unqualified to comment on the relative merits of recognition of military qualifications for civil instructor ratings. However, I have been on the receiving end of many a graduate from various sources and don't have issue with 250 hour cadets or 5000 hour fast jet jocks. Also GA pilots who have done some instructing work at G 3 level usually do very well when transitioning to airline flying. By the time they get their commands , regardless of where they came from, most will be on a par. The others? Well, that was my job to weed them out, and I never shirked that responsibility (despite 43" insulting aspersions...).
Whether CASA should do as the FAA do, and have a "one size fits all" approach to the issue of instructor certificates and acceptance of miltary instructor time is moot. CASA will NEVER adopt FAA.
To remove all doubt, it would be helpful if CASA spelled it out in a similar tabular format to the UK CAA. Clare Prop gave the link in an earlier post, but I am too lazy to scroll back and find it. There, the CAA show almost every conceivable RAF qualification, and the conditions required for the equivalent civil accreditation. Some stuff gets automatic recognition, but a lot requires examination and testing. The bit I really liked though was the pre-amble, in which CAA state that nothing is up for dispute, appeal or negotiation (my paraphrasing).. At least it keeps down legal costs.
I do agree with that, the RPL system is very subjective. The FAA system is much the same as the CAA in that it has clear guidance on what a military pilot can convert to. Anything that is not clearly written down then becomes a matter of somebodies opinion, and this thread really shows how many angles you can approach this. I touched on the situation of getting into the RAAF and it is full of 'traffic light' personnel who, even with absolute fact staring them in the face will stick to their guns and say 'no', no matter what. Unless of course you fit within the tight descriptors in the book in front of them. At least in the civilian world there are procedures to get around such individuals, from what I've seen in the RAAF, you go round in a big circle and end back up at the same persons desk who says 'no' anyway.