2 ms·
Apparently somewhere around 30% if this is to be believed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/20/the-odds-youll-be-flown-by-a-former-fighter-p
by VBprogrammer 8y ago
Apparently somewhere around 30% if this is to be believed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/20/the-odds-youll-be-flown-by-a-former-fighter-pilot-like-southwests-shults-have-plummeted/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/20/the-o...
"A grain of truth" doesn't mean it's provably true. But it's hard to argue that flying a plane load of passengers on autopilot from the same 4 airports for hours on end remotely gives you the same skill level as flying low level, in high performance and often in formation with other aircraft would.
- inferiorhuman 8y agoBut it's hard to argue that flying a plane load of passengers on autopilot from the same 4 airports for hours on end remotely gives you the same skill level as flying low level, in high performance and often in formation with other aircraft would. Fine, I'll argue that. Southwest pilots do just that because Southwest is primarily a short haul airline. They do more takeoffs and landings on a daily basis than nearly any other airline and often from relatively small airports. If you're flying for them you're going to routinely practice the most dangerous parts of the flight. IIRC Southwest is less draconian about mandating autopilot usage than many other airlines. They have a reputation for being aggressive about timing (as my friend put it, you never want to be stuck in front of a Southwest pilot) and yet they have an enviable safety record.
- VBprogrammer 8y agoSure, but southwest already has US pilots, many of them ex-military, who have all of the advantages I've mentioned.