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FAA denies Republic Airways bid to reduce co-pilot training hours
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday it had denied a request by Republic Airways to allow the regional airline to reduce the number of hours needed to become a co-pilot. The FAA said it disagreed with the airline’s argument for allowing only 750 hours of flight experience instead of 1,500 hours. (www.reuters.com) 更多...
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The FAA does make concessions for hours towards the ATP rating depending on whether you were a military, had a bachelor's or associate degree (part 141 approved flight school). I believe the range is 750, 1000, 1250 respectively. And 1500 for everyone else.
A thought around this issue. Am I off in left field or does this make sense?
Root Issue: The FAA has not defined a training and proficiency standard that meets the needs of the industry.
Example:
You need a bus driver for a high-performance bus not just an old school bus.
Rule: The driver must have 1500 hours of driving experience to drive the bus.
Future gets their drivers license, then spends 1,500 hours driving a old used Nissan vista up and down the same interstate every day to build hours. The reach 1,500 hours and magically they will be a save Big Performance Bus Driver!
What about all the bad habits they learned in the slow old vista that must be broken when they try to drive the bus.
The Republic approach:
The US Military has fully trained and qualified pilots after 300-400 hours. Republic and the other airlines created a training program that applied to flying their aircraft, not an old beat-up Cessna 172. They have a very high standard program that creates related proficiency. Not memorizing the same cheap routine of building hours flying the cheapest aircraft they can rent, Cessna 172.
The FAA standard for 1,500 hours was a union ploy to force regional airlines to have to pay more for pilots, wrapped in a public safety scare campaign.
The Union should work with the FAA and Airlines to define a training and proficiency standard. Everyone acknowledges that military pilot training is a much better and higher standard. This proves it is possible to have a good safe Co-pilot is a lot less than 1,500 hours.
Then for seasoning and on-boarding add a minimum flightdeck minimum crew standard. New co-pilots are only placed with seasoned Captains or Instructors for their first 200-500 hours. Even becoming an instructor in an old slow Cessna does little to prepare you for the world of the Passenger Jet.
You cannot learn to drive a bus by driving a car. Same goes for ATP rated pilots. They need time in real passenger aircraft not Cessna 172’s trying to build hours. As they are first hired, they are there for backup Captain. Today we have junior pilots learning bad habits in old slow aircraft building 1,500 hours. They are NOT experienced on the fast performant passenger aircraft. They do not think at the speed of the passenger aircraft. They can only learn this after they are hired or if they are lucky enough to be one of the few that fly private jets, cargo, or overseas airlines.
Root Issue: The FAA has not defined a training and proficiency standard that meets the needs of the industry.
Example:
You need a bus driver for a high-performance bus not just an old school bus.
Rule: The driver must have 1500 hours of driving experience to drive the bus.
Future gets their drivers license, then spends 1,500 hours driving a old used Nissan vista up and down the same interstate every day to build hours. The reach 1,500 hours and magically they will be a save Big Performance Bus Driver!
What about all the bad habits they learned in the slow old vista that must be broken when they try to drive the bus.
The Republic approach:
The US Military has fully trained and qualified pilots after 300-400 hours. Republic and the other airlines created a training program that applied to flying their aircraft, not an old beat-up Cessna 172. They have a very high standard program that creates related proficiency. Not memorizing the same cheap routine of building hours flying the cheapest aircraft they can rent, Cessna 172.
The FAA standard for 1,500 hours was a union ploy to force regional airlines to have to pay more for pilots, wrapped in a public safety scare campaign.
The Union should work with the FAA and Airlines to define a training and proficiency standard. Everyone acknowledges that military pilot training is a much better and higher standard. This proves it is possible to have a good safe Co-pilot is a lot less than 1,500 hours.
Then for seasoning and on-boarding add a minimum flightdeck minimum crew standard. New co-pilots are only placed with seasoned Captains or Instructors for their first 200-500 hours. Even becoming an instructor in an old slow Cessna does little to prepare you for the world of the Passenger Jet.
You cannot learn to drive a bus by driving a car. Same goes for ATP rated pilots. They need time in real passenger aircraft not Cessna 172’s trying to build hours. As they are first hired, they are there for backup Captain. Today we have junior pilots learning bad habits in old slow aircraft building 1,500 hours. They are NOT experienced on the fast performant passenger aircraft. They do not think at the speed of the passenger aircraft. They can only learn this after they are hired or if they are lucky enough to be one of the few that fly private jets, cargo, or overseas airlines.
If you can't figure out how to do your job after 750 hours?? And thats just the hours in the air! There are countless hours of out of the seat training also. The 1500 hours need to be dropped!
Thank you FAA for stopping that nonsense!
