Quotes from BEagle
"The civil world trains pilots with rather more flying hours under their belt by the time they start their Type Rating courses."
150 hours would be fairly typical. On arrival at first OCU, what would the equivalent RAF figure be?
"their [civil pilots] TRTO course will equip them for the minimum level of knowledge and skill necessary to operate in the right hand seat on groundhog day flights..."
Presume you must be referring to third-world and/or shoestring operators?
"Hence when things go wrong, you're likely to see an AF447 accident."
Sweeping statement, and the problem to which it refers results partly from a level of automation not present in RAF cockpits until the Voyager. Also, RAF transport flights generally do not demand the unruffled experience expected by the fare-paying, travelling public - on which commercial pilots' jobs depend. That is not to say that the airlines must not amend their SOPs to encourage the practising of basic flying skills on the line - subject to safety constraints.
"Whereas the RAF receives pilots with less experience and vastly less theoretical knowledge, but requires them to cope with a much wider range of flying tasks."
Agreed, though not about the theoretical knowledge. I imagine that an RAF pilot arriving at first OCU would have comparable knowledge to that of a civil cadet pilot starting his/her first type conversion.
My experience as a line captain of RAF pilots coming into a mid-sized jet airline as co-pilots from the late 1970s was that their theoretical knowledge and handling skills were high, as were their leadership qualities. Their ability and motivation in adapting to the limitations of the right-hand seat on an airline operation were variable, and not easily predictable. For example, one guy off Lightnings on to the One-Elevens was unassuming, supportive and conscientious in a role that must have seemed pretty tame.
Last edited by Chris Scott; 25th Oct 2015 at 18:20.
Reason: Quote italicised.