Originally Posted by Pakeha-boy
The introduction of ths new MPL (multicrew pilots license)....is scary stuff indeed......the concept of having a 250-400 co-pilot flying with no real experience is a concept that I have a hard time accepting.......not saying they are not good enough at all......but experience is experience......and when things are turning to custard...correct me if I,m wrong......but Ill go for "proven" versus un-proven.
A very valid comment ... and not to be critical in anyway as I think
all would prefer experience to a lack of it, but circumstances are what they are. IF experience is available I'm quite sure it will be grabbed up quickly, but, with the shortage anticipated, that experience is simply not going to be there. Additionally, the industry has "been there, done that" before. In the early to middle 1960's it was not uncommon to have very low time pilots (250 - 400 hours) hired by the airlines in the US. And, before some jump to correct me that these folks were hired into the FE seat (which WAS true in many cases) there were airlines that operated with "professional FEs" (like National, Pan Am, and others), where "new hire" pilots went directly into the right seat. It may be valuable to recall that these were the days
prior to GPS and IRUs, FMS and sophisticated autoflight control. Shoot ... it was prior to flight directors and horizontal situation display instrumentation! It was also prior to the reliability we see in engines and aircraft systems that we almost take for granted today. If we HAVE to have 250 - 400 hour pilots in the right seat, I think I'd rather do it today than 40 years ago!