Jobs in India with TR with no hrs on type!?
Join Date: Sep 2004
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well said av8r76
after reading the entire thread and being an ex-300 hrs comm-ir-me who got hired as a f/0 on a jet a few years back...i do wanna share my personal experience too.
i got into the glass cockpit sim at cae, madrid, after a 6 yr hiatus, as there were hardly any jobs in "now booming " india between 1996 to 2002.a lot of pvt airlines like east-west, damania, modiluft shut shop leaving scores of type rated pilots jobless leave alone rookies like us.
but i never lost hope egged on by my friends who were lucky enough or were connected enough to get hired! i knew the industry had to turnaround with the booming economy and the growing middle class, kept my license and medicals current, flew the MS flight simulator on my home pc and kept in touch with my pilot friends to keep abreast of the developments. i dont want to make this into a soap opera but the 6 yrs were depressing and hard with ppl suggesting alternate careers like bpo or the army!
i finally got my chance in 2002 ,paid for my TR, worked hard in my LOFT, and was released to fly the line as f/o in 2003, i got my 1500 hrs on type by 2005 and the so called "extremely tough" indian atpl, and was sent for command training with t.t of 1815 hrs!!
trust me 1500+ hrs from the rhs flying a glass cockpit in the airline environment with a minimum exp of two monsoons is really not inadequate to upgrade and I was not the only f/o to be upgraded, there were eight of us( with similar experience), out of which 6 have left and are doing their command training on the A320 and two are check pilots.
yes there are all kinds of pilots depending on their aptitude, age and background , we all take our time to reach an acceptable level in the cockpit and yes the shortage was a big factor in my upgrade but not the only factor!
airlines are more picky and demanding when it comes to releasing captains than f/o's as the rhs has to de filled thanks to the demand but what is the alternate.....i believe some pvt airlines have started their cadet programmes and have incorporated changes in the basic cpl syllabus so that they come out more prepared to make the transition... thats a start..
also we have archaic rules on assisted t/o and ldg in india, due to which a f/o with say 1000 hrs of type exp on the 737/320 can fly the widebody without ever having made more than a few t/o's and ldgs themselves...??!
just because we made it as 300 hr rookies to the rhs of a jet doesnt justify it but thats just been the way ( thanks viking ) in india from the very beginning and I am proud of our safety record so far keeping in mind the explosive growth in aviation lately and the poor infrastructure.
hats off to all the captains teaching and bringing the new hires upto the mark, it does take a lot of patience and balls and the f/o's for adjusting to the transition so quickly...cheers to indian aviation and its future!
i got into the glass cockpit sim at cae, madrid, after a 6 yr hiatus, as there were hardly any jobs in "now booming " india between 1996 to 2002.a lot of pvt airlines like east-west, damania, modiluft shut shop leaving scores of type rated pilots jobless leave alone rookies like us.
but i never lost hope egged on by my friends who were lucky enough or were connected enough to get hired! i knew the industry had to turnaround with the booming economy and the growing middle class, kept my license and medicals current, flew the MS flight simulator on my home pc and kept in touch with my pilot friends to keep abreast of the developments. i dont want to make this into a soap opera but the 6 yrs were depressing and hard with ppl suggesting alternate careers like bpo or the army!
i finally got my chance in 2002 ,paid for my TR, worked hard in my LOFT, and was released to fly the line as f/o in 2003, i got my 1500 hrs on type by 2005 and the so called "extremely tough" indian atpl, and was sent for command training with t.t of 1815 hrs!!
trust me 1500+ hrs from the rhs flying a glass cockpit in the airline environment with a minimum exp of two monsoons is really not inadequate to upgrade and I was not the only f/o to be upgraded, there were eight of us( with similar experience), out of which 6 have left and are doing their command training on the A320 and two are check pilots.
yes there are all kinds of pilots depending on their aptitude, age and background , we all take our time to reach an acceptable level in the cockpit and yes the shortage was a big factor in my upgrade but not the only factor!
airlines are more picky and demanding when it comes to releasing captains than f/o's as the rhs has to de filled thanks to the demand but what is the alternate.....i believe some pvt airlines have started their cadet programmes and have incorporated changes in the basic cpl syllabus so that they come out more prepared to make the transition... thats a start..
also we have archaic rules on assisted t/o and ldg in india, due to which a f/o with say 1000 hrs of type exp on the 737/320 can fly the widebody without ever having made more than a few t/o's and ldgs themselves...??!
just because we made it as 300 hr rookies to the rhs of a jet doesnt justify it but thats just been the way ( thanks viking ) in india from the very beginning and I am proud of our safety record so far keeping in mind the explosive growth in aviation lately and the poor infrastructure.
hats off to all the captains teaching and bringing the new hires upto the mark, it does take a lot of patience and balls and the f/o's for adjusting to the transition so quickly...cheers to indian aviation and its future!
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hey joe
I understand where your coming from, I did my Commercial in the US and I know the path to the rhs on a jet is long and tedious.....one trains to be a CFI/CFII/MEI...get some time instructing...flies a small twin...gets an atpl...and then probably thinks about applying to the regionals..that too on a turboprop!.....but its different here in india, GA has lately started picking up , most flying schools are now in the process of rebuilding themselves but then there are no instructors, everyone wants to fly a jet for the airlines!
So the situation here is really different compared to the US, once you had your commercial, your only career option were the airlines ( GA is now an option ) or a really low paying job as an instructor, most preferred to wait than become an instructor.
I hope this makes it easier to understand and trust me we are all for safety here in India, I am myself flying with new hires, some of them are 50 plus ( renewed their expired licenses to make use this boom ) with 300 hrs!! So the training continues well after the LOFT stage and ppl learn on the line itself...thanks to the experienced captains...
So the situation here is really different compared to the US, once you had your commercial, your only career option were the airlines ( GA is now an option ) or a really low paying job as an instructor, most preferred to wait than become an instructor.
I hope this makes it easier to understand and trust me we are all for safety here in India, I am myself flying with new hires, some of them are 50 plus ( renewed their expired licenses to make use this boom ) with 300 hrs!! So the training continues well after the LOFT stage and ppl learn on the line itself...thanks to the experienced captains...
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hi viking good to hear from u about india i an from delhi india and completed my aircraft maintenance engineering from india now want to do pilot course can u pls guide of from where i should do it (country and school )and is there any cadet pilot scheme for indian national and whet is present career of pilot in india . i would be glad to have your reply .
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hi sir i am from delhi and completed my aircraft maintenance engineering from delhi and want to be pilot now but lack of financial need and want to know about cadet pilot scheme in spice jet and kingfisher and any other airline if any started pls give some guideance over it and what questions they will ask in interview.
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A 200 hour pilot should NEVER be in the cockpit of a jet aircraft unless both the Captain and FO happen to die and this 200 hour pilot (passenger) is the aircrafts "last" resort (which would most likely end in disaster anyhow).
Dear jbroey3
Unfortunately I do not have too much knowledge regarding Aviation in India (reason to visit this section in order to learn about it) but I do know that some well known airlines such as LAN Chile and TAP are hiring and have been hiring low time pilots (200/300 hrs) to act as 737-200, A320/319 F/Os. Those are companies that have a good abnitio training program and as far I am concerned non of them have had an accident in recent years. Following your statement means that Lan and TAP hiring policies are wrong and should have been an accident because F/O were/are low timers?
Rgds.
