Originally Posted by
Swamp Rat
Which of the above, knows how to fly with their hands when the s
hits the fan........
Neither me thinks. Most of us fly with our aircraft, using all the operating equipment - autopilot included.
IMHO and from my airline experience, bush pilots need a lot of training to be airline pilots. So does Ex-SAAF pilots, other civvie pilots, astronauts........
If you are just talking about handling skills, we have ex-bush pilots who are very good and some that are not very good at all. Same for pilots with any other background. I would say that SAAF guys arrive with an advantage in having seen aircraft operated close to its limits, but they just don't fly enough in the new SAAF to make a noticeable difference. SAAF guys are also not very CRM orientated and might initially struggle to adapt, same for the so-called bush pilots.
So which pilot is the best? : The one that retires after 40 years of flying without killing anyone or bending any aircraft maybe?