Air Force to UAL New Hire

[xkuzme1]

So I (a punty little 10 year regional Captain) was making friendly banter with a United Pilot commuting from RIC to EWR today. I asked him what airplane he was on. He said the 737. Well thinking that because he was on the 737 in EWR he must be relatively new, I asked how long he had been with UAL. He said that he had been there since September, and he explained that he liked it a lot. Going along with the friendly mood of the conversation, I asked where he worked before. He said that he was with the Air Force. I then asked how he thought the transition from military to civilian life was. His reply blew me away!!!

He said, "Well United does not do a very good job of training Military Pilots". They have a lot to learn about what we need to learn!"

What the hell?!?!? Could he be serious? Shouldn't he already know how to do the job?

Why is he more qualified than the thousands of regional pilots if he needs "special training".

X

 

[Data]

In the old days, before General Lee ruined FI, I would have wagered a 100 pages. This should hit 5 though, for FI that's pretty good. Begin the Military vs Qualified Regional Captain debate...

 

[xkuzme1]

Not regional vs military at all...

How could someone think that they should get special training because of their background!?

If a regional pilot said... "They need to give me special training because I am obviously deficient", we would get schewered!

X

 

[crash312]

Try Part 121 regs, Rest rules, calling company on the ground (who to call, when to call), working with a two person crew. Exemption 3585.

All things the military guy has probably not been exposed to, and probably not taught very well by the airline.

I remember getting hired at a regional in 2002 (from a crappier regional) and having a few military guys in the class. This airline had been getting so many new guys with regional experience they basically stopped teaching the 121 stuff and focused solely on systems (initial and upgrade). I spent about 1 hour explaining reduced and compensatory rest to the them, about 59 more minutes than the airline spent.

They weren't lacking anything, just actually needed to be taught real world stuff they would be dealing with on a daily basis that they didn't deal with in the military.

 

[densoo]

It's possible that the largely DIY academic and sim prep at UAL made him think it wasn't suitable for military pilots when in reality it may not be suitable for any pilot. He was seeing UAL training as different from the military when it may be that UAL training is different from every other flying flying organization, including the military.

 

[scoreboardII]

Face it, airlines don't train any more, they test.

 

[densoo]

Face it, airlines don't train any more, they test.

Our educational system has traded teaching for testing, too. Maybe there's a connection.

 

[B6Driver]

When and if enough pilots fail this area of training or when the training costs climb too high due to excess "extra training",the airlines may re-inflate the initial training program.

 

[General Lee]

In the old days, before General Lee ruined FI, I would have wagered a 100 pages. This should hit 5 though, for FI that's pretty good. Begin the Military vs Qualified Regional Captain debate...

Don't hate the playa, hate the game.... And, learn to debate while you're at it.

This one is easy. Most Air Force pilots (I've flown with tons of them) have 6 month courses to learn a new AF plane. Obviously, an airline course is like a "fire hose" to them.

As far as why AF pilots are chosen over a Regional pilot? I would bet most HR people think that if the AF spent time and money training him and testing him over his/her career, then he or she should be able to fly a 737 etc.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[sat74]

As far as why AF pilots are chosen over a Regional pilot?

Or.. because many are the typical "yes" "get the mission done" types that have a hard time learning to fly the contract and uphold the CBA. Seen it too many times.