If someone has the knowledge and/or time to do the research, current commercial pilot qualifications and training is a subject for us all to learn more about.
I constantly read about commercial pilot shortages and the rush to find qualified, trained and experienced people. The days of surplus former military pilots is long over, and I have questions about just how well new pilots are screened and trained.
I think a great danger is a pilot becoming too dependent on computerized systems and having little to no experience handling an emergency manually. If you ever watch "Air Crash Investigations" on Discovery or other channel, there have been many examples of inexperienced pilots not knowing what to do.
Can a 25 year old Cessna pilot be in the right hand seat of a commercial jet aircraft after 3 months of training? I guess the answer may be how badly that country/airline needs new pilots and what their training criteria is. Is training criteria standardized internationally?
If an interesting subject for anyone, this is the place to talk about it.
Commercial pilot training
Commercial pilot training
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Commercial pilot training
Not specifically about pilot training, but what appears to be cracks in the system causing breakdowns. 
BA flight lands in Edinburgh instead of Düsseldorf by mistake
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47691478
BA flight lands in Edinburgh instead of Düsseldorf by mistake
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47691478
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Commercial pilot training
First up, are you asking about training here in Thailand, or other parts of the World?
Thailand has a Government owned and operated training school in Hua Hin:
http://www.catc.or.th/2015/index.php/en/
Not had anything to do with it in recent years, but when I did it appeared to me to be strictly for the sons (and maybe odd daughters), of Hi-So rich parents that could afford the costs.
The other avenue is via the Thai Military, which again probably requires Daddy's connections to get into. No experience here with military trained pilots, but in Australia only the best of the best will survive the rigorous program. I do know that some Thai military trainee pilots are sent on intensive courses in Australia.
The end result in my experience is well trained pilots.
In either case the first step both here and overseas, is extensive ground school training. In Thailand this will also involve English language classes. All ab-initio training will start off in small, usually piston engine, basic aircraft. Military may use jet turbine propeller type trainers.
In civilian schools it is usual to start off with a "student" licence, plus some sort of radio licence. The training will be in single engine, fixed undercarriage, fixed propeller 2 or 4 seat general aviation aircraft, such as Cessna's etc. Also, these days, there are more and more small fixed wing training aircraft that use completely "glass cockpit" aircraft. The Hua Hin school has several of these types.
The next stage of progression is a "restricted" private licence (PPL), at least in Australia. The restriction applies to local area flights only, until sufficient training in cross country navigation is achieved, so that you have some chance of finding your way home!
The big thing in any flying is the number of hours experience involved before moving on to the next level. The following is a guide to Australian requirements:
https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/l ... -and-types
The next step is Commercial licence. Students trying to put themselves through training will now desperately look for an "hour building job" once they have this licence, which may involve sleeping in the corner of a hanger, sweeping the floor, washing aircraft and anything else the boss dreams up!
A more common method these days is to enrol in an "integrated" flying training school, of which there are many in Australia. But the cost of these schools usually means that the student is being "sponsored" by an airline.
The top grade of licence is an "ATPL", or Airline Transport Pilots Licence. This is the licence needed to operate big multi engine aircraft. It is a VERY big step up from a Commercial licence, and apart from the theory involved, will involve extensive training. Oh, and the first co-pilots job, now usually referred to as "first officer" or FO, will be in the right seat, as convention in fixed wing aircraft calls for the captain to be in the left seat.
I think that the best way for a young person to get into the industry is by being sponsored by an airline, if the military is not an option. But the entry requirements can be very high, mostly a degree of some type, not necessarily related to flying.
Each country has varying but similar requirements, some countries automatically recognise another countries licence, some do not. Australian and US licences can usually be exchanged either by application, or a small exam on air law in each other's country. I have a US licence issued on the basis of my Australian licence, but that was many years ago, so may not now be the case.
Helicopter licences have slightly different rules and requirements, but most of the theory is the same.
Thailand has a Government owned and operated training school in Hua Hin:
http://www.catc.or.th/2015/index.php/en/
Not had anything to do with it in recent years, but when I did it appeared to me to be strictly for the sons (and maybe odd daughters), of Hi-So rich parents that could afford the costs.
The other avenue is via the Thai Military, which again probably requires Daddy's connections to get into. No experience here with military trained pilots, but in Australia only the best of the best will survive the rigorous program. I do know that some Thai military trainee pilots are sent on intensive courses in Australia.
The end result in my experience is well trained pilots.
In either case the first step both here and overseas, is extensive ground school training. In Thailand this will also involve English language classes. All ab-initio training will start off in small, usually piston engine, basic aircraft. Military may use jet turbine propeller type trainers.
In civilian schools it is usual to start off with a "student" licence, plus some sort of radio licence. The training will be in single engine, fixed undercarriage, fixed propeller 2 or 4 seat general aviation aircraft, such as Cessna's etc. Also, these days, there are more and more small fixed wing training aircraft that use completely "glass cockpit" aircraft. The Hua Hin school has several of these types.
The next stage of progression is a "restricted" private licence (PPL), at least in Australia. The restriction applies to local area flights only, until sufficient training in cross country navigation is achieved, so that you have some chance of finding your way home!
The big thing in any flying is the number of hours experience involved before moving on to the next level. The following is a guide to Australian requirements:
https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/l ... -and-types
The next step is Commercial licence. Students trying to put themselves through training will now desperately look for an "hour building job" once they have this licence, which may involve sleeping in the corner of a hanger, sweeping the floor, washing aircraft and anything else the boss dreams up!
A more common method these days is to enrol in an "integrated" flying training school, of which there are many in Australia. But the cost of these schools usually means that the student is being "sponsored" by an airline.
The top grade of licence is an "ATPL", or Airline Transport Pilots Licence. This is the licence needed to operate big multi engine aircraft. It is a VERY big step up from a Commercial licence, and apart from the theory involved, will involve extensive training. Oh, and the first co-pilots job, now usually referred to as "first officer" or FO, will be in the right seat, as convention in fixed wing aircraft calls for the captain to be in the left seat.
I think that the best way for a young person to get into the industry is by being sponsored by an airline, if the military is not an option. But the entry requirements can be very high, mostly a degree of some type, not necessarily related to flying.
Each country has varying but similar requirements, some countries automatically recognise another countries licence, some do not. Australian and US licences can usually be exchanged either by application, or a small exam on air law in each other's country. I have a US licence issued on the basis of my Australian licence, but that was many years ago, so may not now be the case.
Helicopter licences have slightly different rules and requirements, but most of the theory is the same.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Commercial pilot training
Flight to Germany takes the high road … to ScotlandPeteC wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:29 am Not specifically about pilot training, but what appears to be cracks in the system causing breakdowns.
BA flight lands in Edinburgh instead of Düsseldorf by mistake
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47691478
https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2 ... -scotland/
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Commercial pilot training
Thanks for all of that. I think we can be confident in the training and qualifications in developed western countries. I wonder about 3rd world locations and China. I have seen some very goofy things when flying in China, like both pilots coming out of a 737 cockpit, sitting down in FC to read the newspaper and letting the plane fly itself. Not a soul up there for a good 20 minutes. This was south to north in China and visibility was not good at all.
Another instance I saw on a show was a pilot in the Mediterranean signing off on a fuel ticket and not getting any fuel. Never looked at the gauges until too late I guess and crashed into the sea off of Egypt somewhere.
Things like that all go back to training and character and what shortcuts are being taken when hiring people to quickly fill the ever growing need for pilots.
Of course there is no digest on the internet we can reference to find questionable things airlines do, we seem to only find out about individual cases after an accident. We would need to be a fly on the wall in a pilot lounge and I bet you would hear a lot of disturbing things.
Another instance I saw on a show was a pilot in the Mediterranean signing off on a fuel ticket and not getting any fuel. Never looked at the gauges until too late I guess and crashed into the sea off of Egypt somewhere.
Things like that all go back to training and character and what shortcuts are being taken when hiring people to quickly fill the ever growing need for pilots.
Of course there is no digest on the internet we can reference to find questionable things airlines do, we seem to only find out about individual cases after an accident. We would need to be a fly on the wall in a pilot lounge and I bet you would hear a lot of disturbing things.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Commercial pilot training
The Chinese operate a flying school in Australia, and have done for some time:
http://www.cswafc.com.au/
And as with a lot of their other overseas operations they like to have the upper hand:
https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-ze ... rport.html
http://www.cswafc.com.au/
And as with a lot of their other overseas operations they like to have the upper hand:
https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-ze ... rport.html
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Commercial pilot training
"Pilots trained for Boeing’s 737 Max airplane with “an iPad lesson for an hour”"
https://qz.com/1574878/pilots-trained-f ... ad-lesson/
"Are pilots outside the U.S. getting the training needed to fly jets, including Boeing 737 Max 8?"
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 240538002/
"Ethiopian Airlines Had a Max 8 Simulator, but Pilot on Doomed Flight Didn’t Receive Training On It"
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/worl ... oeing.html
https://qz.com/1574878/pilots-trained-f ... ad-lesson/
"Are pilots outside the U.S. getting the training needed to fly jets, including Boeing 737 Max 8?"
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 240538002/
"Ethiopian Airlines Had a Max 8 Simulator, but Pilot on Doomed Flight Didn’t Receive Training On It"
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/worl ... oeing.html
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?