A large part of the problem Cat, as I see it, is the simple fact that actual "hands and feet" flying skill (outside of bush flying etc.) is just not as important to the airlines as it use to be. I'd wager a 777 is a far easier beast to master, what with auto-everything, than, say a DC6 on a windy strip in Anything Lake, Anywhere? Not talking computer systems here....just "handling" the beast.Cat Driver wrote:There has to be a reason that flying skills are declining, so what is the root cause?
Maybe poor training quality control and to many low time instructors without proper supervision by experienced instructors?
I know I like to bitch and moan (as do you) the demise of the "good old days", but my friend, they are perhaps moments in the past. There really is NO reason "non-pilots" (because, lets be frank, that's what they are) can't safely operated the newest that Boeing and Airbus have to offer. Hell mate, bloody Airbuses don't even have control wheels! So, probably one time in several hundred thousand flights "hands and feet" are REALLY needed, then you get pilots like the Air France crew, (none of which were "cadets" I take it?) and these guys were so far behind in brain cells they couldn't even recover from a simple stall?
My only beef with the cadet programme in Canada is.....we have a pretty large number of GA pilots to select from. Asia and Europe do not.
Another interesting thought. While many of the "bush rats" would love to put on stripes and strut through terminals at major airports, that would leave the "farm teams" with VERY low time pilots.....who, to be honest, would create a major hazard in that sector of the aviation community. Do we want 800 hour captains in King Airs? 300 hour captains in Navajos? We do NOT!