Relief....!!!!!
Top,
Your post has taken a real load off my shoulders.
For months I have carried around with me exactly what we see in Indian aviation....be it scheduled or un-scheduled. I could not have said it better.
At times I wanted to vent by posting here. As you can see, I am a "newbie" but have lurked here for years.
Every time I hear about "another fake license", I just smile to myself.
If the reporting of such would be done by anyone who understood what it takes to get to the "left seat".....they would have far more to write about.
Not many months ago.....I was holding short for a night departure at a southern Indian airport.
A "bus" had been cleared into position to wait.......just ahead of us.
In her 90 degree turn to the line-up she made an announcement to the tower.
We talked about her comments for days.
It seems that in her turn from the taxi-way onto the runway she had scanned past another runway which was 30 degrees off her assigned/active runway.
She demanded that the tower turn off those lights......that she was "confused". I say no more.
I am TRI/E here in India. Been here for 3 years. No agency....I really did not want to come.
The bottom line is training......from the ground up.
Tailwheel experience to learn what rudder pedals are for.
I would bet that you, like me, were able to rent a 172, take three buddies and go scare yourselves ****less. 18 year old CFI's are not bulletproof.
It is the lack of an infrastructure which would allow Indian pilots to gain experience rather than pretend they had it. (....then lie about it, pay for it)
I used to call my IFR students when the weather was low. We would go shoot approaches without any view-limiting devices.
We did good just to see a runway at minimums!
Can you imagine explaining to ATC that you are going to shoot multiple approaches to minimums for experience and fun?
Hell, I find it painful to jump through all the hoops we must just to fly away for a couple weeks.
Just seems to me.....an American pilot with many "there I was...." stories, that the DGCA is the problem....plain and simple.
Give the Indians a break. They are smart....resourceful.
With proper training and a system which is more in line with the "outside" world.....Indian aviation will proliferate with safe Indian pilots.
The pilots here must learn that 300 hours total means very little, unfortunately. Get out the flame thrower.
Age-old "catch 22"......how can they get the experience? Impossible as things are now.
No film processing runs....to overnight parcel....no bank checks flown to a reserve.....no on-demand medevac....no freight dogs.....all the ways we got our OJT. (single pilot/single engine IFR...looking back that sounds scary!)
There seems to be no other place than a scheduled airline here to learn how to fly. There is more to being a pilot than flipping switches.
With auto pilot and auto throttle......God help them. These are crutches and make the real airman qualities further out of reach.
We are talking about two different kinds of airman.
Anyone who gets signed off as P-1......later found to be damaging the hardware due to technique......nevermind.
You have said it all. I thank you. (my opinions are mine. I like yours too.)