I actually thought nobody had noticed. This thread is humiliating and denigrating to the profession, and I'm surprised people were so happy to spout tales that do none of us any credit (and are one-sided anyway- who knows what the truth is?).....and I have the baseball bat, OK?

To show balance, I also intensely dislike the other thread about copilots. Just as denigrating, and I am still young enough (just) to remember when I was learning this job and making daft mistakes. I was carried through by the patience and understanding of others for years, so I can't help questioning how a 21 year old considers himself ready for a jet command! There is still a long way to go and a lot of experience to tuck away!

Go single pilot folks, it's the way ahead!

Just taking meself off round the back of the bike sheds for a good thumping

well it was a barbie jet...didn't mention that...:} .

You say you cant understand how a 21 y/o considers themself ready for a command....if a 21 y/o has the nessesary hours, passes the command assessment, has a good route and aircraft knowledge and generally has a bit of common sense...why is that different from a 40 year old with the same hours? Of course the 40 y/o has naturally 'tucked more away'...but that doesn't mean the 21 y/o wouldn't be a good operator.

I'm under no illusion that everyone has alot to learn as they grow up and gain experience, but you either have an assessment process that works or it doesn't.

I shouldn't bring up the 24 y/o TRI that i know of.......should I?? :oh:

Okay, I can answer that question. My father, at the age of 20, was a B-17 aircraft commander in 1942. He was obviously Air Force trained. However, he was not the only young aircraft commander in the military back in those days, he was one who survied. The ratio of combat losses to operational/training losses was 1 to 10. In other words for every aircraft lost in combat, 10 were lost in non-combat. Another little know fact was that the older the pilot was when they entered training the better odds were that they would survive.

One saying my father had, that is just as true today as it was then, is that you 'cannot train experience'. If one looks at the air war in Korea it was not the young buck 20'ish year olds that had the majority of the air to air kills, no it was the older guys.

I am not saying that there are no 21 year old pilots that are "ready for command". I'm sure there are, but not in a Boeing 747-400 or any heavy jet, or mid-size jet. They need to get experience starting from the bottom of the food chain, so to speak.

Now having said that, do not compare military flying with young pilots to non-military young pilots. A whole different world that is.

In any case randomair, good luck in your career. :ok:

Wow, it's like stepping back in time reading some of what is written on the subject of command. We all know people that have commands with all different carriers who are young. In my case i know someone with a command at age 24 on B757, reason, he's been flying commercially since age 19 and knows what he's doing. In fact you could argue that a young mind is a sharper one and more able to think 'outside the box' which as we know is a very important quality in a good Capt. Experience is important no doubt, but you don't have to be old to get it!