Originally Posted by
Newhairdo
In Europe, easyjet, BA, Ryanair, TUI put 200 hour ex cadets into the RHS of A320/B737 with no issue at all.
Even Virgin Atlantic have placed former cadets into the RHS of the A330.
They come from solid schools, and are checked to line (to a high standard) in 40 sectors.
Schools like CAE Oxford, L3/CTC, FTE Jerez pioneered these courses and did an excellent job.
It really isn’t a big deal.
To be fair, an A320 isn’t quite the same as a Q400. Sadly the A320 is a much better suited aeroplane for cadets to go onto than a Q400. Not suggesting the Q400 is a space shuttle by any means, but it’s a MUCH more hands on aeroplane than modern jets, with no auto throttle, no fly by wire, some direct linkage flight controls, very poor low speed flight characteristics and a significant surplus of power.
Most people I know who have flown the Q400 amongst other types including Boeing and Airbus jets rate it as one of, if not the hardest aeroplane they’ve ever flown.
That being said, the training of low time pilots (QGPA doesn’t have a Cadetship or cadet pathway) is more a testament to the training establishments at QLink and JQ rather than specific to the flight school.