Wow; this topic really stirred some feathers. I personally felt quite strongly about it and wanted to gauge the general feelings. As I suspected, most replies are full of common sense and logic with a little sympathy.
You'd be surprised, Thomas Coupling, how many people have said something about the "old boy network"
My whole point is; the qualifications required should involve some common sense, not just a figure that someone 40 years ago, pulled out of their proverbial.
Pinger repeated basically what I had said earlier, that if I went to the rigs for a couple of years or however long it took to get the time, my flying skills would have deteriorated dramatically. I can confirm that first hand; I have significant experience as an instructor, and as such have had the pleasure of teaching people from all around the world with varying levels of experience. some of the worst pilots I came across (as far as basic flying skills and knowledge are concerned) were oil rig support pilots, current in anything from bell 206 to 412 etc. I am 100% certain that a pilot with 2000 hours flying photography, film, powerline, landing on boats, survey and instruction, would be a much better bet than someone with 2000 hours of twin time, flying to the oil rigs. Obviously there would have to be some training involved, but isn't that the case whenever we change jobs to fly a different machine?
I'm just looking for some common sense. The company bosses will always want someone to be able to walk staight into the job with minimal training, I don't expect anything different, just an end to outdated regulations/requirements.
John Eacott, there should be more people like yourself.
I will eventually get the time required, but having done so, will I still want to fly for the police?
Thanks again all who reply.