Gentlemen I guess it is time some of us get in touch with the 21st century. Amos, flight engineers on modern a/c are finsihed forever. I don't think we need to cover that one again. My AGENDA as you put it is to keep this argument to the facts, nothing more nothing less.
Airsupport, I and many others have not and will not attack engineers despite your assertions otherwise.
1. I don't know and don't care what the differences are between the classic and the NG. I have no experience on the classic. To quote the Boeing 737 NG operations manual, Volume 1 page NP20.5 EXTERIOR INSPECTION "Prior to each flight, the flight crew must accomplish or verify that the maintenance crew has accomplished the following checks"..... There it is in black and white mate. No mention of 2 seperate checks being required. As I said I would prefer to have both pilot and engineer to complete transit checks. My OPINION however has nothing to do with the FACTS.
2. NO. Virgin pilots do not get any extra money to complete the checks. We should but we don't.
3. Perhaps you could now answer one of my questions. Why have airline pilots been allowed to perform transit checks in lieu of engineers for the last 50+ years as parts of airline SOP's? If it was in ANY way a safety issue it would have been stopped ages ago.
To re visit the topic "Engineers slam Virgin on safety". I ask once again to be shown how safety has or is being compromised. What I want to see and what is actually happening or being effected are 2 very different things. I say again lets keep the emotion out of the responses. Facts are sometimes hard to swallow so the responses have been embellished in an attempt to get the point of view across.
Older people in aviation (particularly Australian pilots and engineers) seem very reticent to change no matter how effective the argument for moving ahead. I think it is arguable whether taking away engineers from transit checks is a step in the right direction. That is not the issue though. The issue is does it effect safety. The answer is OF COURSE IT DOES NOT AFFECT SAFETY!