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Other than the training itself, there is very little aptitude screening in civil flying training (unless you're in a sponsored cadetship, which is somewhat like a military system).
That was to be my next point. Because some large helicopter companies (instead of the government) put up the money for pilot training, of course there was close scrutiny of each candidate, a la military selection, to minimise the risk of losing the invesment in each person's training.
The net result was another "filtration" process which historically has provided a large number of very high calibre candidates to become part of the structured and disciplined pilot workforce performing North Sea offshore operations.
Most recently to North Sea operations have come those who found the funding to get trained and "lifted themselves up by their own bootlaces"; no mean feat and perhaps demanding more self-confidence and determination by each individual to go through the processes while incurring heavy debt.
I venture to suggest that many of those who came from the military or sponsored cadetships wouldn't have dared to take on such a financial risk. Certainly I wouldn't !
For this most recent group of applicants the North Sea helicopter operators applied selection criteria retrospectively, similar to those criteria which were applied to candidates for cadetship.
Therefore, at least for the North Sea pilot workforce comprised of groups from differing categories, there has been intensive "filtration" applied to produce a fairly homogeneous pool of pilots, hopefully all subscribing to a common set of operational safety standards.
I never have a sense while flying of an "us and them" attitude relating to military and civilian backgrounds. Our training captains are all civilian trained and equal to, or better than the best military instructors I flew with.
I have no bias at all when considering the competence of my colleagues. It all comes down to individual aptitudes and personalities. I don't consider that my 10 years of military flying makes me a better pilot that my civilian-trained colleagues, most of whom would doubtless have made it through military pilot training.
However I certainly do consider that many other civilian pilots who have been rejected by the North Sea pilot "filtration" and probably many who haven't applied for jobs here, would not have made the grade in military pilot training.
Last edited by Colibri49; 5th Sep 2010 at 20:37.