If I can just chuck in my two penn'orth... This thread went off at its predictable tangent, and I couldn't help but respond to the 'real pilot' brigade who think that you're not worthy of an airline job unless you've served your time instructing in knackered 152s and working your way up through the ranks. To me, some of the tones from some contributors smack a little bit of jealousy. A few points I'd respond to:
Some might say that's a good thing but I don't, a real aviator has a rounded knowledge and you can't buy or rush that.
Define "a real aviator". Basically someone who isn't one of those fATPLs in the right hand seat you covet?
It will encourage pilots to be pilots and see some real flying before the hum drum life of airlines.
This kind of thing annoys me. Define 'real flying'. I'd love to compare it to what exactly it is that I do when I go to work every day.
Maybe when you get into the airlines and start to fly big jets, you'll see that the Chuck Yeager 'real pilot' brigade are the ones who have the most problems because they can't get out of their 'real pilot' habits and try to fly in a way a big jet isn't designed to be flown. For example, if Airbus and my company tell me explicitly that the FDs, AP and A/THR should be on all the time, then that's what I'll do - I'll save the manual raw data heroism for the sim. I won't be switching it all off and having a 'play' because, by some twisted logic, it makes me more of a pilot.
ALL pilots wanting that RHS should spend an apprenticeship doing the real learning - that means a lot of the 1500 hrs requirement doing work as FIs, para-dropping, taxi work, etc.
Nice rant, and you also managed to get the 'shiny jet' and 'real pilot' comments in. No substance to back it up though...
How many people " the paying public" would still fly on the low cost airlines if they knew that should the captain be not up to speed, they can have full faith in the 300hrs guy/girl that had the largest check book at the time.
Since when were low-houred fATPLs exclusive to the LCCs? Do some research and you'll find that some of the biggest European legacy carriers take/have taken 250hr guys. Including BA.
All the guys you sit next to that have taught you how to fly those nice big shinny planes have flown the crappy oil soaked just about legal aircraft in conditions that I'm sure you wouldn't go up in on your own.
Quite some misconception... Three or four of the captains at my (small) base have come through integrated-style fATPL training courses and they are experienced and throroughly competent in what they do.
The way I see it is this. My airline wouldn't let me be in that seat unless they were thoroughly satisfied that I was safe to be there. There is still much about the Airbus I don't know - I learn something new about it pretty much every time I go to work. As do some of the captains I fly with. In the politest possible way, I don't have to justify my position in the right hand seat of the aircraft to people with thousands of hours worth of bush flying in the third world, who are a bit jealous they haven't got their big break. If I wasn't up to the job, my airline wouldn't let me do it.
I enjoy the job. I enjoy operating the Airbus (and 'flying' it, if you like, when I need/want to.) I enjoy the airline environment. Would I have enjoyed spending years instructing? No. Would I have considered it worthwhile to invest my time in dropping parachutes and aerial photography (taking one of the obviously thousands of available jobs in that area), to get a feel for "flying by the seat of my pants"? No. Would spending years of doing single-pilot VFR ops in crap weather made me capable of flying the Airbus better? No it wouldn't. Would I have wanted to go the the back end of the middle of nowhere flying a Caravan or a B200 to prove I'm a 'real pilot'? Not on your life.
Happy flying.