From the article:
"But it is the less experienced first officers starting out at smaller carriers who most need manual flying experience. And, airline training programs are focused on training pilots to fly with the automation, rather than without it. Senior pilots, even if their manual flying skills are rusty, can at least draw on experience flying older generations of less automated planes."
What's that say about our Company's plan to hire 100% of our future pilots from the cadet pilot scheme, or to push for reducing the cadet pilot training hours even further by introducing a multi-crew cruise pilot rating....?
I would venture to say....not a lot.
Whether previous flying experience is from the military or from commercial aviation, experience is essential....especially in today's automated cockpit. The Cadet Pilot Scheme is a good way to introduce new pilots into the airline, but only in proper proportion to experienced pilots.