Buying Experience
I have recently flown with a new copilot who, is a great guy. Note I am not slagging him off here, merely using him as an example. He joined aviation a bit late and decided to make use of a “service” provided to people like him who need to or want to fast track their career. The “service” provider in this case preys on new pilots in the industry offering them a huge amount of time on “big” aircraft, a jumpstart to their career and a world of experience. While all of this sounds attractive to any budding pilot, the price tag attached to this “favor” is exorbitant and only those with a large financial backing would be eligible. While a new pilot with the means may see this as a great idea, how may of them realize what a ride they are being taken for? This particular copilot is not the first one who I have flown with who has 200 hrs on a Metro, he is however on a standard that is below PPL, the other one may have, only just, been on the standard of a recently tested night rating student. What concerns me about it is that nothing seems to be in place to protect these guys from PAYING for hrs on an a/c that is being paid for by a client anyway, they are getting sent into the industry thinking they are better than the rest because they jumped the queue a bit yet show no evidence of descent and proper training or ability? Where is CAA in this? They are aware of the trend and don’t stop it? How can they accept ratings signed out by examiners that they know are not performing the training to a safe standard? I do not stand alone in my assessment of this particular copilot in that he is below PPL standard yet the J.O.’s of this world continue to make a killing churning out substandard crew, offering them the world and then sending them into it without the tools to perform the job. Any thoughts on this topic? Fly safe all
Dog
Last edited by Contract Dog; 25th Oct 2006 at 12:04.
Reason: keeping it tidy