it would be interesting to see some hard numbers. In airlines where FOs taxi, are there more taxiing incidents?
I'm making a bold assumption, if FOs are properly trained, that's not the case. I'd stipulate that taxiing an aircraft isn't more difficult to learn than driving a car/bus/truck/motorbike: after observing taxiing for a reasonable amount of time, you may need 40-60 hours of practice under competent supervision to become somewhat proficient (that's what it usually takes to pass a drivers licence test in some countries) and while that doesn't make you an expert, it will allow you to grow your skill set and experience.
The responsibility question is real though (CYA...), yet, would you rather be a passenger with a captain who was first introduced to taxiing on his command upgrade course (how many hours of taxiing?), or someone who has years of experience? In summary, I don't think RH tillers are such a bad idea.
Last edited by deptrai; 12th Oct 2015 at 13:26.