Guys, this has much deeper and more disturbing ramifications. I wont get into the debate about the dilution of training; that has been hashed for years. Assuming it is correct to say that overall aviation training has been diluted, i.e. the basic foundations are more flimsy, less sturdy, then consider that the command requirement is now commonly 3000hrs, where as it was 5000hrs not so very long ago. In legacy airlines it is usually a function of time, often >10years, and perhaps 3 different types and regions of operation. Now in new rapidly expanding companies command can be had after 4 years, and in only 1 company and 1 type. It could be argued that therefore you should be intimate with your a/c, your area and company SOP's. If you are smart and the SOP's are solid, the a/c well maintained and the network in/out of large well equipped airports, a new captain will likely learn and gain confidence fast. A/c are more reliable, but mother nature is not, and the young expanding airlines operate into a vast spectrum of airports with a differing quality of facilities. An ILS into a radar airport is usually the same, but some middle of now-where airfields need a little more nouse. It is a point for discussion that the dilution of training is not just at entry level, but continues up into entry to command. With often less total cockpit experience than just a captain used to have, and, with a much more simple basic grounding it could be argued that many crews are on the back of the drag curve for their first few years. No doubt it is money driven. Answer? I have no quick one other than to restore the basic command criteria of a few more years under the wing of experience, rather than just trust the robotic trained monkey SOP 'anorak', but who sadly might not understand the why's & wherefore's behind those SOP's.
Last edited by RAT 5; 18th December 2011 at 14:44.