Originally Posted by
parkfell
It is just a pity that the new recruits didn't/couldn't start off of the 737s to earn their spurs.
At least the BA students going through training in the late 1980s, early 1990s at Prestwick/Oxford then had steam driven ac to build a solid foundation, before migrating onto more sophisticated types.
The initial part of any apprenticeship needs a fundamental building block.
If you are in any doubt, ask one of them next time you fly with what will now be a fairly senior chap.
Or maybe the Viscount, or the BAC One eleven?
The 737-400 was well past its best. I'd say it's more of a shame that there weren't things like the highlands and islands routes of days gone by. I'd have loved to start off on a turboprop buzzing around in ****ty weather. My F Reg Audi 80 didn't have power steering, although I'm not convinced making someone drive it will make them a better driver than someone with a new A3 as their first car. Operational experience strikes me as the key thing, which is why starting on smaller aircraft with lots of sectors and shorter routes seems more effective than using older technology for the sake of it. It does make you wonder about the schemes where folk go straight to long haul.
Anyway, there's no reason that cadets shouldn't be cutting their teeth by taking all of the automatics/FD's, etc out and flying the Airbus manually on a regular basis, at least once the capacity bucket has enough space in it.