Some MCC facts
OK, maybe my internet connection will stay up long enough to post this time.
MCC can be extrememly relevant - after 12 months on an integrated course operating as a one-man band then you need someone to train you in multi-crew skills. The type rating course may not be the best time for this as you will also be trying to learn the aeroplane tech stuff, handling skills and your company SOP. Take it from someone who went through the military system where MCC and CRM were stuff that you would "pick up as you go along" - this kind of course (if done well) is invaluable.
The step up to an airliner from a Seneca is huge - and until you do it you will not appreciate just how huge (WWW did it not so long ago - ask him). Some kind of bridging course is needed to fill the gap. The aim of the MCC course was to provide this bridge - with 25 hours of compulsory ground school (syllabus dictated by JAA) and 15 hours FNPT2 time (20 hours on non-integrated courses). Most suppliers do not believe that the 15 hours is enough to cram in all the syllabus requirements from the JAA, and allow the trainee to learn from the experience.
I was involved in providing LOFT and JOC training before MCC arrived and I believe that an opportunity was missed because it is non-assessed. Therefore just experiencing the syllabus is enough to earn a certificate. If it was assessed a) trainees would have an incentive to work at it (though to be fair MOST do) and b) FTOs would have THEIR performance evaluated by default - and the word would get round on this forum.
Prior to the arrival of MCC we in fact covered the MCC syllabus in the 44 hour JOC we supplied for BA and most of it was covered in our 40 hour LOFT course (some in our 20 hour course and we did NOT offer a 10 hour "LOFT" as some people did!). We found airlines telling those who did NOT have a LOFT course to their name to come to us for one - our reputation went before us and while 20 hours helped, they were even more keen on those who had 40.
Yes, MCC may be incorporated into type training but for the likes of BA they don't actually want to have to do 25 hours of non-type specific groundschool on top of 4 weeks of type tech. They also want to concentrate on type training - the MCC skills can be done by us as we are cheaper. We also get the chance to teach jet handling skills, spot weak candidates early, and provide remedial training at a much lower cost than on a BA 737 full flight sim with training Captain in tow. JOC saved BA something like £1.25 million per year before 11th sept - and that is no small amount when you think that is costs £60k to sponsor a trainee through ab-initio and MCC (that equates to 20 "free" pilots per year).
You also must be approved by the JAA to provide MCC training and many smaller airlines are not - so they must contract out or only recruit those pilots already in possession of a certificate.
However, up to a point, you get what you pay for. The MCC syllabus is short, crammed full of activity and very much open to abuse by trainees and trainers alike - no test means that you are partly dependant upon the skill and enthusiasm of the trainers and the trainee's desire to get the best. Additionally, the JAA want the emphasis on Multi-Crew skills, not aeroplane handling, so we are OBLIGED to use the autopilot as much as possible - meaning you will not get the chance to brush up your handling skills. I believe that you need 8 hours on top of MCC to prepare for that selection sim ride - bearing in mind that most selections are done on B737 or BAC 1-11, do you REALLY want to do that practice on KingAir? Just a thought there! It is also worth noting that almost none of our airline sponsored students get a minimum MCC - most airlines bump it up to a minimum of 30 hours, with 40+ being more typical. Does this tell you something about whether what we do is worth it to an airline? Worzels' theory would have us believe that the only sensible way to do MCC is by the airline doing it in house, but I know of NONE that do - but they would do if it saved money!
In order to operate any Multi-Crew aeroplane you MUST have an SOP - there is just no other way to do it - or you will have unsafe anarchy on the flghtdeck . We use a generic SOP which is similar to that used by a number of airlines and gives trainees a good grounding in the type of thing to expect on joining an airline. We obviously can't match everyone - there are as many SOPs as there are airlines but we will get you some of the way there. Of course, a sponsor airline can have their trainees taught their SOP at the MCC stage, saving time, effort and money at the type conversion - because it is just one less thing for the trainee to get his head round as he tries to become familiar with an A320 in 44 hours! This contributes in a large way to the money that airlines save by getting FTOs to do their courses.
A basic MCC of 15 hours may be a sham - as would be a 10 hour LOFT course - but if the exercises are well planned, the instructors well trained and enthusiastic, the simulator good enough to have a high degree of realism and the exercises conducted effectively with good constructive criticism then you can get something worthwhile out of it.
Or you could not do one or just go for the cheapest you can get - your choice.