The crash and subsequent investigation of Colgan flight 3407 was determined to be inappropriate responses from the crew when they encounter icing conditions which led to a departure from controlled flight NTSB (2009, February 12). This accident led to the consensus within the industry that first officers at regional airlines needed to have more experience. While it is hard to quantify how much experience is needed, the FAA felt that the requirements agreed upon in Public Law 111-216 were a good start. This legislation led to my research question “what is the best way for a newly certified commercial pilot to accumulate the required 1,500 hours” The four time building activities I choose to explore were; flight instructing, corporate flying, aerial advertising and ferry flying. …show more content…
Studies show that pilots who attain their CFI rating perform better (i.e. fewer training events) during airline training than those who do not posses a CFI certificate. (Smith et al., 2012 p.15) Additionally it should be noted that 80% of new hire air carrier pilots did some sort of flight instruction to build time. This indicates that there are plenty of opportunities to flight instruct. Additionally, through research it was determined that many of the skills needed to be an effective flight instructor directly transfer to an airliner cockpit.
Another type of flying this report will explore is building time as a corporate pilot. Corporate flying is very similar to airline flying, they both require a high degree of hand eye coordination better known as stick and rudder skills to fly the aircraft. Both are conducted in a crew environment where CRM skills can be practiced and lastly, corporate flying can help refine a pilot’s decision making process. While building time as a corporate pilot, a future airline pilot can really hone their skills in an environment similar to the airline environment. (Av Jobs, Air Taxi or Charter