PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Pay to Fly (Merged Feb '12)
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Old 20th Jan 2012, 08:22
  #99 (permalink)  
kolob666
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: canada
Age: 46
Posts: 34
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I think that it is not only short sighted but self defeating to go the P2F route. A solid GA back ground can give you skills you will never attain going straight to the right seat of an airliner.
Large jets are not nearly as forgiving as small piston or turboprops and require more skill in handling. 99.9 percent of the time everything works fine and the autopilot goes on at 400 feet and you are done flying for the day, but as soon as something goes wrong, if you don't have a strong hand flying background to fall back on you can find yourself and the hundreds sitting behind you, in real trouble. Air France for instance.
There is a lot of talk about it being good fun to have a go in the right seat, but you fail to realize that there are hundreds of actual people who paid hard earned dollars to take that flight, and they didn't pay to be frightened by the inept handling of a 200 hr wannabe who has no business being up at the pointy end.
You are paying to occupy a position that would have formerly been filled by an experience turbo prop pilot, who's departure from his old job would allow you an avenue to learn the skills necessary to properly handle an airliner.
If you speak to any training captain about this issue they will tell you that the difference in skill level is night and day. And that my friends is where you earn your respect in this industry, it's easy to tell who the good operators are, skill speaks for itself.
I think it is a cop out to say that it's the only way to get into the industry these days. It's the only way to get in straight away without putting in any time and effort. If you do go that route you will never have any sympathy from me if you complain about your pay in the future, you have already set the precedent , of what you think you are worth.
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