Diminished Skill

BalooAirService

BalooAirService

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Jul 31, 2016
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Cloud Kicker
Before I started flying (flight training and just small planes only/since) I always thought the "guy in a little piper/cessna" private plane was just an average pilot, no where near a 747 pilot (for example). This is common thinking among most people. But as time went on my view on this has completely switched around.
Airline pilots are spoon fed (I work in the airline industry as a non pilot and see this everyday) everything except literally having the auto pilot turn itself on automatically at 100 AGL after takeoff.
Almost dumbed down to a point that given certain bad situations I personally think a lowly private pilot in a piper would react better than an FO (even with yearly recurrent training) who has 3000 hrs flying an A319 or a CRJ. Just because I think certain skills and real feel are not being used the way they were before they started flying super highly advanced aircraft. So many incidents/crashes has proven this.

The lowly cessna pilot flying into the Alaskan bush, off airport-ers, and the piper guy taking his family cross country without an auto-pilot or FMS.. these pilots are my heroes.
NOT the guy flying a 787 14hrs to Beijing.
 
Alright alright, another airline pilot basher here. So you don't fly airliners or know the pilots who fly them, but you know their skill level. Got it. Guess you don't realize many of those 'unskilled' airline pilots own GA planes, and a lot live on grass strips. Oh and many are POA members. So, mind telling me what you're trying to prove by your asinine comments? But of course you, as a NONPILOT, know all. :rolleyes:
 
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BalooAirService said:
Before I started flying (flight training and just small planes only/since) I always thought the "guy in a little piper/cessna" private plane was just an average pilot, no where near a 747 pilot (for example). This is common thinking among most people. But as time went on my view on this has completely switched around.
Airline pilots are spoon fed (I work in the airline industry as a non pilot and see this everyday) everything except literally having the auto pilot turn itself on automatically at 100 AGL after takeoff.
Almost dumbed down to a point that given certain bad situations I personally think a lowly private pilot in a piper would react better than an FO (even with yearly recurrent training) who has 3000 hrs flying an A319 or a CRJ. Just because I think certain skills and real feel are not being used the way they were before they started flying super highly advanced aircraft. So many incidents/crashes has proven this.

The lowly cessna pilot flying into the Alaskan bush, off airport-ers, and the piper guy taking his family cross country without an auto-pilot or FMS.. these pilots are my heroes.
NOT the guy flying a 787 14hrs to Beijing.
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You can value whichever skill set you like, as everyone has a different perspective and opinion. But, I would suggest your definition of a hero may miss its traditional meaning.
 
lol @ doesn't sound safe. God forbid you mention mel and AP in same sentence.
but.... to be fair here is my EDIT.
** pilots who once they get that big plane NEVER go back to GA flying**

Maybe this will end asinine comments.
 
Oh, I love all airline (non-pilot) employees who know how to fly the airplanes better then the front seaters.

Having worked as a mechanic at the airlines and listening to the mechanics complain about pilots and then working as a pilot and hearing them complain about the mechanics... sigh**
Everything is about perspective and your post has none!!
 
Last time I flew with an airline pilot, I was pretty impressed with his stick and rudder skills. He hadn't been in a taildragger in years, and never in my ride. But he sure made my landings look bad.
 
BalooAirService said:
but.... to be fair here is my EDIT.
** pilots who once they get that big plane NEVER go back to GA flying**

Maybe this will end asinine comments.
Click to expand...

No because you just made another one. I know a Delta pilot who, after retiring after 30+ years, bought a bi wing aerobatic (forget the make/model) and is having a blast flying it. I retired 3 years ago and back in GA, instructing and flying for fun. More examples for you?
 
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flyingmoose said:
Having worked as a mechanic at the airlines and listening to the mechanics complain about pilots and then working as a pilot and hearing them complain about the mechanics... sigh**
Everything is about perspective and your post has none!!
Click to expand...

I'll say one thing about airline mechanics as a retired airline pilot. I can only speak for myself but I had the utmost respect for the job they did and always felt they should be paid a lot better.
 
Wow.. touchy folks here.
I apologize to all then for my post/opinion. And as that I am a private (only) licensed pilot, I can never imaging what its like to be in the big seats up front, so yout right.
So again, apology given.
 
Apology?? Man. You really killed all the fun. You should have let it go a little longer.
 
Hasn't there been some discussion in the airline industry recently, about having their pilots do more hand-flying?
 
Yes Sir.. being the grown up. No replies since lol. Arguing in a forum is pathetic at best.
I never want to offend my fellow pilots. We all have the same love (boobs, lol) AND flying : ) .. this is why site like these exists.
 
BalooAirService said:
Yes Sir.. being the grown up. No replies since lol. Arguing in a forum is pathetic at best.
I never want to offend my fellow pilots. We all have the same love (boobs, lol) AND flying : ) .. this is why site like these exists.
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Dude, its Friday. I was about to make some popcorn.
 
My father-in-law is a 767 Captain for Delta and a former Air Force T38 instructor with about 20,000 hours to his name. He's described to me some of the things they've thrown at him in the simulator during recurrent training and the thought of an inexperienced Private Pilot being able to handle it is laughable. Then there's the real world stuff he deals with regularly like dodging thunderstorms over the Atlantic while several hundred miles from land and shooting CAT2 and CAT3 approaches in foggy weather. Believe me, airline pilots are anything but button pushers and his pilot skills are way beyond what mine will ever come close to.
 
BalooAirService said:
Yes Sir.. being the grown up. No replies since lol. Arguing in a forum is pathetic at best.
I never want to offend my fellow pilots. We all have the same love (boobs, lol) AND flying : ) .. this is why site like these exists.
Click to expand...
While there have been a few accidents where airline pilots have displayed weakness on some very basic skills (like Asiana 214 at SFO three years ago), such instances are very rare, especially at U.S. airlines. Meanwhile, your initial post came across as quite divisive.
 
BalooAirService said:
The lowly cessna pilot flying into the Alaskan bush, off airport-ers, and the piper guy taking his family cross country without an auto-pilot or FMS.. these pilots are my heroes.
NOT the guy flying a 787 14hrs to Beijing.
Click to expand...


I know exactly what you mean. Not only the 787 jocks flying to Beijing but also the A320 pilots flying from LaGuardia to Charlotte or the DC-10 pilots who cannot even land in Sioux City with a single engine out or the 767 pilots who ran out of fuel between Montreal and Edmonton. Take away their engines, hydraulics, electronics, fuel, etc. and what happens? They fold, right?


:ihih:




Oh, they save the day? Oh.... Never mind.




How would you have done? :dunno:
 
Sully and Skiles sat behind one of the most automated airplanes in the sky and their reaction and skill level was anything but "spoon-fed." I wouldn't be so quick to degrade their hand flying abilities. :nono:

Edit: to add, I personally know two airline pilots who fly heavies. One UPS MD-11 FO and a Delta 777 FO and they have some of the highest level of skill and knowledge that I know of.
 
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mscard88 said:
And subsequent post about not ever returning to GA. That's two strikes, and as Yogi would say, "yer out!".
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I'm no baseballologist but I think it's three strikes
 
Busting balls....baseball....Yogi...I see what ya did there....like.
 
lol @ Flysince (i dont know how to quote, im sure its easy, but I dont care to learn how).
I was just imitating another poster (I think its mscard88) who always brings up boobs as the answer.
No disrespect meant towards Canjun. I have seen many of hers posts and I like them. Plus ladies always comes first if your a gentlemen.

I didnt know Airlines pilots egos were so easily brused. But again, my apology is given once again.
 
They're not bruised at all but when someone like yourself posts ignorant statements about the profession I know I'll challenge your ass on it, as I'm sure others will too. Besides, there's a couple more on POA that like to attack airline pilots and I'll challenge them also. Why is beyond me but whatever gets you off.
 
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