Originally Posted by
dr dre
He insinuates that the 500hrs of flight time from one of the pilots may have had a part to play but neglects to mention the US military (and civilian carriers outside the U.S.) put 200hr pilots into the flight decks of high performance machines.
Quite so. Whilst my experience was with the RAF, at the 500 hr stage I was already flying the F4; I had probably spent a full 30 mins using its very rudimentary autopilot (really an attitude hold system), otherwise all my time was hand-flying. I was required to demonstrate and maintain the same hand-flown IFR and procedural compliance skills as someone with 10 years on type. I was also in the simulator twice per month for my first year, and monthly thereafter. Add to that a multiple for the IP in the other seat of the Black Hawk, and you may have a little more insight into the effective experience available in that cockpit.
Can we please get away from the idea that there is a direct equivalence between the hours flown by military pilots and those flown in commercial air transport types?