It seems to me that being as the FAA have for many many years had a system that worked very well maybe it should not be maligned so quickly. The FAA/CAA accident/incident rate has never been very far apart so the end result of their individual pilot requirements can't be in doubt. It was only recently that the requirement for the SIC in a N reg aircraft came into force for operations outside the USA, there is still no requirement within the USA and its still working perfectly well. Like anything else, it can be abused, but, if conducted in the proper manner its just fine. Time has proved it. The SIC rating is little more than to ratify the situation with other civil aviation authorities outside the USA. The training requirements always existed.
Last edited by NuName; 8th Feb 2010 at 17:21.