DAR and T78, I had much pleasure reading your posts, and I must say that I do acknowledge your assertions as being full of sense.
Even if I do recommand a strict system of diplomas and qualifications, that doesn't mean that I do advocate an apartheid sytem where people would be doomed for ever in their positions ! Steps ans stairs have to exist, to encourage people to climb them - and we all know some talented professionnals who did.
It's just that some order is needed, and competitive exams based on established abilities and knowledge do seem for me (and a lot of others) the fairest way to get to the positions.
I remember a CTP about to depart for an experimental flight with a big airliner, disembarking in a most expeditious way some people without a clearly defined role or position... and that doesn't mean mistakes have never been made in that field.
DAR, we have in this country a TP course for light aircraft, which is by no means an easy program. Those aircraft have to be treated with respect - I think in my whole career so far, the most difficult a/c I happened to land (or try to) had been one of them, an absolute terror...
TP from this country get the right to fly everything, which is the beauty of the job, trust us.... But it's usually a short-timed assignment (in fact it's probably better, as some would consider themselves as God after some years) and then once with Airbus, it will only be Airbus products !
To finish with DAR, not, not in any case will it be a DGAC affair (they are too busy with licences, duty times, private flight schools agreements, colors of lifejackets) to have a Flight Test Department ( the sort of which Transport Canada does seem to have, as per your post)
Maybe all of us will have learnt a little bit from those exchanges, and that prospective TP will have found a little bit of it useful....
In any case TPs often have to suffer from the jealousy of other colleagues, so maybe we can limit our disagreements between ourselves !
And... guys, sorry it was a great day in Qatar today (no civilian stuff) - read the aerospace news - so back to the drinks....
Last edited by Reinhardt; 30th Apr 2015 at 15:11.