Gentlemen, please!!!!

My last post was tongue-in-cheek, intended as some light-hearted banter, as I alluded to at the end. My postings here have not been intended to offend - if they have, I apologise.

The point I was making, and thank you Reheat and Tandem for spotting this, was that the SCOPE and BREADTH of military training is far beyond that in the civil aviation world. Airline pilots are not trained to fly transport aircraft at 250' (or lower), in hostile environments, often on NVGs, to airdrop stores to ground forces or ships, or land on remote short semi-prepared strips. If you read through my posts carefully, nowhere did I say or imply that ex-mil guys are BETTER PILOTS than civ-trained guys, just that the range of skills we have developed are much broader. Yet this thread seems to imply that ex-mil guys and the experience they bring to the civ world are not valued very much, at least not at BA.

Yes, I am fully aware that civil aviation is a different kettle of fish, but surely experience on the mil transport fleet is relevant? You guys make out that it is worthless and not welcome.

I am not arrogant about flying - arrogance in the air will get you killed, whatever you fly and whoever you fly for. I certainly do not think I am gods gift to aviation - far from it. I will admit that I have never flown a jet - and whilst I did, like almost everybody, join the RAF with the ambition to fly fast jets, I was never given this opportunity, so I do not know if I would have been good enough. And no, I wasn't chopped anywhere - it was a case of ME slots that needed filling at the time.

What IS obvious here is the vitriol directed at ex-mil guys in BA, deserved or not. Virgin seems like a much more pleasant place to be right now.

16B

normal-nigel

Nice one, I haven't laughed so much in ages!

Lots of ex military types in Virgin and they are generally pleasant, nice folk to share a flightdeck with. They generally only talk about their exploits if you ask them (usually worth it!) and I have yet to meet one who says out loud that he/she is superior to everyone who didn't wear a green (or red) flying suit.

There were some jokers a few years back who thought that they should jump the seniority list simply because of their background but they were given short thrift from the powers that be.

Anyone like Lord Flashart would be unlikely to get through the selection process unless they could disguise that incredible arrogance for a day. The whole point of the process is not to find out if you can fly upside down over Scotland but if you are the sort of bod that you could stand being with for 10 hours in a flightdeck and several days in a hotel. This point seems to have been missed.

normal nigel,

You're not management are you? :{

Tandem

Do you laugh when you don't have an answer then?

Come back when you get a licence.

Love child

Def not

NN

16 blades,

I accept all your comments. You will need one more skill when you arrive though. Working as a co-pilot for a younger Captain. Too many ex-mil guys don't 'get the picture' until they've got a reputation that is hard to shake off. Oh, and if you fly manually in a civilian jet try to remember that their are a lot of people behind you. Smooth.
P.S. I heard that whenever the wind gets up you all sit in the mess. Is that why your x-wind landings are so ropey?

normal-nigel

What kind of answer were you looking for? Did you ask a question?

What kind of a licence would I require for you to consider you were, "dealing with an equal and not a 'City' boy"?

normal? nigel?

I don't think you're either. You sound more like a 'Simon' to me!

Mods - please can we close this thread and have one that is of use to those interested in joining BA instead of the slagging match that it has decended into.......:\

It is getting a bit long and unwieldy. If anyone wishes to start another thread on this subject , go ahead.

Well a professional one issued by the CAA would be a start.

Try CPL or ATPL.

Oh and the insult was cutting. Ouch

At Jet Driver's request, I've started a new thread to continue the discussion about DEP recruitment and Terms and Conditions.


NN,

I'm sure Tandemrotor can defend himself, suffice to say he's suitably qualified to debate you on here. :E