Having zero interest in having a career in aviation (as I already have a great one elsewhere) I think the 1500hr proposal is a great idea.
1. First of all, it will get rid of all the 250hr ab initio cadets that are trusted to ferry 300 people around. It's insane. In no other business is such low time on the job allowed so much trust.
2. Secondly, it will force airlines to pay for training, type ratings and decent salaries, as the pool of newbies willing to sell their grandmothers gold teeth to get on a flightdeck will diminish. Supply and demand will be restored as fewer will now become pilots and/or reach 1500hrs.
3. Thirdly, it will force pilots to mainly work in varied situations and get experience, but not only that, probably in aircraft that don't have fancy FMS's or even autopilots. This will prevent them from becoming "children on the magenta line" and automation junkies. This will make aviation safer for all of us.
4. Fourthly, it might just introduce a lot of pilots to a different type of flying and alternative careers within aviation. Anything that weens the starry eyed of the "big jet" is a good thing, in my opinion. Aviation isn't just flying Airbuses and Boeings around.
The bad? As someone mentioned - if it forces people into instructing who don't have the aptitude or interest for it just to get the hours, then that's not good. Hopefully this will be a minority and those who don't want to do that can build time some other way. This is only a Part 121 requirement to have an ATPL - for part 135 or 91 for hire, it's still just CPL, so there's plenty of opportunity to build hours just like in the past - banner towing, parachute jumps etc, etc.
Last edited by AdamFrisch; 19th Aug 2012 at 16:37.