In my experience (
+31 years in the business, and until quite recently +7 years in FZ.. though I've since resigned and departed the sandpit = happy days!), I've operated to more than my fair share of challenging places (
**** holes) around the planet.
During my stint within FZ, I regularly had the company of some very (
read that as 'very!!!') inexperienced F/O's in the RHS (
with some, but not all, being local UAE 'Cadet Pilots') and it'd be fair to say that all were as keen as mustard to learn and therein they rapidly developed & excelled, i.e. when under the auspices of good instruction.
That said, imho, the ones to watch out for were the supposedly experienced F/O's, and from whom I've more than once had to take control.
So, imho, it's not about total hours.
What is about is sectors; the operating environment in which those sectors were attained; their ability to 'adapt'; their ability & attitude to learn.
It's also very much about the ability & knowledge of their instructors !
Therein my biggest complaint would be that far, far, too many so called 'instructors' (
typically "yes!" men getting promoted to training positions) seemingly have a fine grasp of the non-essentials (
e.g. they're massively wrapped-up in the minutiae of the SOP's) but haven't a f'ing clue (
or are themselves unable to demonstrate, let alone teach) how to land a Public Transport jet in +35kt crosswind, and veritably the **** that some of them come out with (
and teach, to impressionable F/O's) simply beggars belief... for some of them I'm sure it'd be acceptable to fly into a f'ing mountain, just so long as you were following SOP to the letter and / or that it was 'legal' (
I can feel an attack of Tourette's Syndrome coming on).
Fwiw, I'm now HoT at my new lot and the regime I'm implementing here is all about flying the aeroplane first & foremost along with (
and I can almost hear my ME counterparts wincing at the suggestion) those old chestnuts called common sense & '
airmanship' !
