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Who's going to fly the plane? Pilot shortage could get worse for regional carriers
A pilot shortage across Canada is causing some regional carriers to cancel flights, put less experienced pilots in the cockpit and has even had an impact on some air ambulance services. A combination of factors is causing the shortage — ever-increasing air travel by Canadians, a shortage around the world and a large number of pilots reaching retirement. (www.cbc.ca) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
The solution is simple as previously stated, it's the abhorrent pay and working conditions. Shooting a CAT II down to minimums loses it's appeal when you come to realize that the guy in the 737 who landed ahead of you and the guy in the A320 that just landed behind you are doing it for 3 times the hourly rate that you are being paid for doing the EXACT SAME THING!
No pilots. No truck drivers. We're going to hell . . .
Good Pilots are paid for their experience
Airbus has for years tried to take the pilot out of piloting an aircraft! Unfortunately, mechanical things break and the fall back is to a human mind. I think of Apollo 13 and all the great minds on the ground and in the air (space) that made up fixes and got the crew home safely. A computer in that era would be useless at solving a series of problems on it’s own. Airlines and accelerated learning flight schools can and will pop out future pilots at an alarmingly low rate, but they will only be systems managers not pilots in the real sense. That ship has sailed and we are now in the transistion zone between manned and unmanned flight. Too bad really because I really liked hand flying a airliner and it separated the taxi drivers from the limo drivers.
This is incorrect. As a currently practicing airline pilot, the training is emphasizing hand flying more and more BECAUSE of over reliance on automation. The pendulum swings both ways. My guess is the next 10-20 years will emphasize both hand flying and system management equally.
Come back a talk to me after you have hand flown a heavy over the Atlantic due to a u/s autopilot and yes it was out of RVSM airspace. Now good for you that you actually fly the aircraft because most don’t. My comments are well placed in an environment that is fast tracking pilots with little knowledge (experience) and even less stick time and some want the standards lowered even more. Again, I applaud your thinking and actions but most airline pilots would not let the automation run them that is probably why your airline has instituted more hand flying.
You make it seem like new pilots won't know how to hand fly. (And yes I've flown with MEL'd autopilots... Jets are easier than Cessnas to keep level.
Honestly I'd rather have a broken autopilot than lose an FMS.
Hand flying is, in my opinion, the easiest part of flying. What makes flying challenging is mx, atc, airspace, terrain, fatige, etc.
I agree with you that lowering time requirements is a bad idea, but to say "most" pilots don't/can't hand fly properly is just false.
Honestly I'd rather have a broken autopilot than lose an FMS.
Hand flying is, in my opinion, the easiest part of flying. What makes flying challenging is mx, atc, airspace, terrain, fatige, etc.
I agree with you that lowering time requirements is a bad idea, but to say "most" pilots don't/can't hand fly properly is just false.
What I meant was that most pilots don’t hand fly their aircraft often enough and for long enough to maintain excellent proficiency not that they don’t know how to. I can't really blame them due to long duty days and even longer flights.