I'm with Rapha and Zippy on this one. Whilst I know jealousy is a basic human act and for pilots it will be even greater during the downturn, I think the jealousy has spiralled into insults.
As what has been said, some of the biggest carriers use 250 hour cadets on the biggest aircraft in the fleet. We have Cadet pilots come straight in as SO on the 744s. Fair enough they don't "fly" the thing for the best part of two years but they still have the Type Rating. And unlike us who moan and sweat about the 6 month sim check, these guys do it once a month - without any hands on flying!
I have more confidence in these guys' abilities than the management Captains I sometimes fly with who take a drive once every 45 days to keep current!
How about choosing an example closer to home when BA recruited 250 hr pilots?
Some of you have said you feel sorry for the pilots who haven't experienced "real flying". Why? They are of no concern to you. I'm glad some of you have had experiences of landing in dirt strips when all of a sudden a mongoose happens on the runway and you need to take evasive action.
My point is that whoever is in that R.H.S has been determined (probably by a 50 year old Chief Pilot who is part of the old-timers club ) that he/she is the best person for the job and has successfully met all criteria during the recruitment stages AND Type Rating. 250hour or 2500 hours I have always had confidence in the cadet
and the Chief Pilot's decision to put them there.
I would like to add that the first posts were about having no passion and that one is not a "real" aviator if they haven't done this or that. I won't disagree or agree with that statement. What I will ask though is Who cares? And does it matter?
The cadet pilots that arrive in the cockpit probably don't have a passion for flying from what I can tell. There is no GA in Hong Kong so the love of flying (if there is any) stems from HK'ers watching jets scream over high rise buildings onto RWY 13 when they were little kids. For me that initial love of flying is as good as another cadet who loved flying ever since he took a trial flight in a Cessna out of Southend.
I would agree though that the status and glory of being a Pilot here for the National Airline is a very big incentive for the cadets that apply and for those who succeed. This means that SOs that fly with us are exceptional individuals, very professional and very quick to learn. Flight Grading in Adelaide sorts the wheat from the chaff. The fact that these guys and gals couldn't care less about piston engines doesn't affect their abilities at all.
In the next couple of years, we will be welcoming international cadets to the FD, now the programme has been extended to the world. I look forward to seeing the difference, if any. The only difference I'd expect is internationals won't be be too shocked when they hear the humour coming from Aussie Captains
