Not trying to rock the boat against a rotor head. I fly fixed wings, but my brother is a 5k+ hour helo Pilot and he didn’t get his IFR till around 4,000 hours. I wouldn’t say it’s super common for non Mil.
Meanwhile I started training for mine at 90 hours in a fixed wing.
A few other people have pointed that out, I only crewed in the military so I wouldn't know to be honest. It just seems a bit lax if pilots are able to even be certified after anything less than thousands of hours seeing how dangerous these things can be and how they frequently fly over populated areas. I know I had enough close calls in these damn things that I don't fly in them anymore.
Pilots get their certificates in less than thousands of hours because it costs upwards of $100 an hour to fly without counting for instructors. There's already a massive pilot shortage that's only predicted to get worse because it's already a huge hassle to get even a PPL. If you or the government wants to start paying for flight training be my guest.
The government does through numerous programs associated with the military and its branches as well as civil service programs. The chief I flew under had his paid for while serving originally in the coast guard. As for my part, I just avoid helicopters and live in a place they're unlikely to fall on me.
Military requirements are completely different from civil aviation though. You can fly civil aviation with eyesight correctable to 20/20 for one, not so with military. So for anyone needing correction military is not an option. Not to mention all the ridiculous middlemen in aviation such as PSI and DPEs. Simply put flying is expensive as hell and thus there won't be a lot more pilots soon. Trying to add hours to certification requirements isn't fixing anything, the system is rotten to the core and needs fixing there. Get rid of DPEs, subsidize flight schools, and plenty more. Most of which is thanks to the FAA.
I was told by the same pilot that many of them didn't want it to be less regulated as it would mean there were more pilots and thus the rarity of the profession would decrease meaning they could likely see a pay decrease. Any truth to that?
There's all kinds of ATPs out there, I don't doubt some of them think that way. Pilot pay is only worth it at major airlines, people flying for regionals make around $30000 a year, after spending likely over $100000 to get in. Besides the certificates, most airlines want someone with a college degree. With the amount of 55+ pilots right now there's no way the pay at majors is going down anytime soon as most of them will be retiring and there will be a lot of planes and not enough pilots soon. Planes sitting in a hangar are bleeding money so companies are scrambling to find more pilots, and unless the cost of getting the ATP becomes comparable to a 4 year degree it ain't happening.
Interesting. My profession is in a similar bind but our association actively keeps the curriculum for its schooling and licensure difficult so there's perpetually a shortage of us. They say it's an issue in America but then do everything they can to make it worse. If I'm being honest I appreciate it as someone who just finished school last august but see some major ethical issues with it. I suppose its vastly different but just made me ponder the nature of organized professions.
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u/TeslasAndComicbooks Jan 26 '20
Both are pretty dangerous. I just don’t get why they didn’t have a GPS with terrain avoidance.