[QUOTE=flungdung;3047404] "I for one would much rather fly as PIC with a QR crewie who has 105 hours as pilot and 2000 as a crewie than most 1000 hour co-pilots with no SAR/EMS experience."
I'm sure the crewies at QR are spot-on with their experience and will perform great in their dual role position. Congrats to them for a great opportunity.
However, wouldn't it make more sense to hire qualified pilots and train them as crew? True, 1000 hour co-pilots with no SAR/EMS experience may not perform as well as the seasoned crewies - in the beginning. Everyone is new at some point in their career - even a crewie. Also, who says it needs to be a 1000 co-pilot? QR is a very desirable place for a career pilot. Perhaps a 2 or 3000 hour pilot would love to transition through a co-pilot position even if it means performing a dual role. It would be considerably cheaper for the gov't and provide a career track for future PIC's. It's a lot easier to promote an experienced co-pilot from within than hire from the outside. I would venture to say there are many medium to high time single-engine pilots who would love to transition into EMS, but lack the multi-engine experience. Some of these pilots would do an excellent job with the right training, but due to insurance requirements they are shut out of EMS.
If insurance companies are so restrictive about EMS operators hiring PIC's with less than 500 hours multi-engine experience (regardless of other experience), how are they comfortable hiring a 150 hour co-pilot with no multi-engine experience?
Should experienced pilots now apply for a crewie position and then transition into a pilot spot? Yes, it's a joke, but I can't be the only one who thought it!
Cheers!
Rock