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    • Warning to Airlines: Flight Instructor Shortage Could Create Long-Term Problems [view article]
      I am astonished to see some of the things written above.. the most horrifying is "Being in command of an aircraft has very little to do with the actual manipulation of the controls" I had my pilots license at 17, back in 1972.. and I have been a professional pilot ever since, and that is the most inaccurate statement I have ever seen in my entire career. Gee whiz buttons and knobs do it all... well.. I have some more news for you... there is not one aircraft in the sky that doesn't have atleast ONE system inop.

      You are allowed to fly under prescribed conditions with a considerable amount of the aircraft not working. To say that actual hands on control of the aircraft is less of a concern is a considerable insult. Just because an airplane HAS an autopilot (and A LOT of them do not) doesn't mean it works, and if it works, doesn't mean it works PROPERLY and/or completely, and sometimes that JUDGEMENT is important enough to NOT USE the stupid thing if it isn't safe.

      Judgement is crucial to flying, and to operating any commercial venture, because someone makes those decisions when to go and when to stay, and that coupled with the HANDS ON ability to put the machine where it needs to go are what gets the job done.

      Ironic that this should come out the day that American Trans Air one of my former employers finally rolled over and died... following Champion and Aloha... it's been a heck of a week for aviation. Something that has NOT been addressed... is the zooming market of fractional jets. This is sucking the Instructor pilot pool empty faster than anything. You are only required to have a Commercial/instrument rating to be a first officer on a corporate jet... FAR less.. YEARS less experience than is required at any of the Regionals. Yes you read that right...you do not even need a CFI ticket (instructor) you can SKIP that whole phase... and not know the joy of being BARFED on by someone, and oh those lovely little training planes are so nice and warm in the Summer time, only about 125 degrees until you get to altitude at 250 fpm climb on Hot Texas afternoon in a C-152... where they cool down to a chilly 78 degrees about the time you get to go back to the airport. NO, they do NOT have airconditioning.

      I flew for AMR Eagle as well, and started at $15,700 my first year (1989) and was up to $75,000 a year as an ATR Captain when I left in 1998. That was not a lot of money for a 64 seat airplane (that was BRAND NEW) and flew FULL, 8 legs a day 7 days a week. You can make that salary now MUCH faster in the Fractional jet fleets that are EXTREMELY popular, and you will find that you are treated MUCH better. You WON'T have passengers that consider your plane (and crew) unsafe because it has propellors (which if you had to get out of an emergency situation can do it in about half the time of a jet and use a smaller area) you are not going to see guys coming out of the military any longer and hopping onto the majors.. because now they are staying in longer (hitches) AND the airline industry finally accepted the fact that pilots are pilots... being military is no longer going to get you hired over civilian candidates any longer.... particularly if you sporting around in a F-16 for a few extra years while some other guy was sitting right seat in RJ, who would you rather have at the controls of your airliner? Not a lot of MiGs flying around Tennessee these days... but that Part 121 experience sure looks good on your resume when you go interview with a major.

      The real problem with instructor shortage is, that it has ALWAYS been a crappy job, but it was the only way you could build time to get experience. No one will hire you if you are low time, and if you DO get hired... NO ONE will INSURE you.. and THAT is the kiss of death right there. Today.. you can get on at a Regional, Boxhauler, or Fractional JET (in the 80's only Military pilots got the jet jobs) without the need of spending time as a CFI... the only time you find new instructors is when nothing else is available. It is, and always will be THE bottom of the ladder... and was kept filled because it was the only civilian path (extreme wealth and great connections not withstanding) to a flying job. It is that change which has most greatly affected the instructor hiring pool.       Apr 03 10:46 PM
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