dr_doLiTTle
that has got to be the best post this thread has seen thus far. Not to echo your thoughts, but everyone is really tired of the same old argument everytime that cadets aren't 'qualified' enough or don't deserve to sit in the RHS of a dash or similar aircraft. I am a cadet and have plenty of mates in GA and true, sometimes i have wondered why the cadetship is neccessary as there are heaps of 210/206 drivers etc that are eager to move on up. The fact is though that it is here to stay for the foreseeable future and I think rather than bitch and moan about it, a bridge needs to be built. At the end of the day, there's going to be people up the front of airliners from a military background, GA background and cadet background amongst others so get over it. I'm sure guys from each of those backgrounds would have equally valuable war stories to tell not to mention ability.
As for some people's misguided thoughts that in the RHS of a dash or whatever is not a safe place to be, and I quote, "learning how to fly", exactly when has someone reached the pinnacle and learnt how to fly? Is it the 20th, 50th, 100th hour of flying a 210 around the bush? Aviation is one of those industries where you are still learning throughout your ENTIRE career so don't use that argument. Cadets join these said operators after a pretty intense traning period which focuses heavily on multicrew procedures so are more than prepared for what's ahead. I have no doubt that the average GA pilot's manipulative ability might be more polished but on the flipside I also know of GA pilots who have struggled to make the move to multi-crew procedures after spending a fair bit of time in single pilot operations. There are pros and cons to both sides.
Enough said (hopefully, or should i put on my bullett proof vest?).