We've been hearing about it for years... a pilot shortage... a
critical one, at that. For many in the aviation community, it
sounded like good news... at least if you were on the bottom rungs
of the pilot hiring ladder and working desperately to climb your
way up. However; after engaging in discussions thorough the
industry over the last year and in attending a particularly pointed
(and very well-organized) presentation at the FAA Forecast
Conference some months ago, ANN and Aero-TV are left with the
troubling impression that aviation has a BIG problem on its
hands.
The session devoted to discussing the Pilot Supply was, as
indicated earlier, exceptionally produced and wholly on target. The
session was presented by Moderator Peter J. Wolfe, Executive
Director, Professional Aviation Board of Certification (PABC), and
augmented by presentations delivered by Kit Darby, President, AIR,
Inc, Captain Paul Rice, First Vice President, Air Line Pilots
Association, International, Ron Levy, University Aviation
Association, John Dixon, Director of Pilot Recruitment for American
Eagle.
The third presentation was presented by Captain Paul Rice of
ALPA... who, of course, bring their own type of expertise and
concerns to this discussion. Rice discussed the 'Historic' Career
Paths taken by many newer airline pilots, which basically breaks
down into two segments -- Military v. Civilian. Rice also chatted
about the current state of Entry Level Pilot Positions in terms of
the Equipment Types being flown by 'Express' Carriers versus the 2
and 3 Pilot Crews at 'Network' Carriers. He further extrapolated
the issues among Network Carriers and Express Carriers to define
where the Pilot Shortage is, at present, and where it is likely to
be some five years hence.
In examining Express Carrier operation and the influx of new
First Officers, Rice discussed the need for additional operational
training and experience, as well as a review of SOPs and CRM. In
taking on the role of Captains at Express carriers, Paul opened up
some discussion on training and mentoring of new First Officers,
and the ever-present 'Exodus' to Network Carriers...
Rice's notes on future pilot training brought some clarity to
issues surrounding 'Traditional Cockpits' v. Glass Cockpits, the
use of Flight Management Systems, and the role of Flight
Simulators. In examining traditional civilian Pilot Training
concepts, Rice examined 'Experience Based' v. 'Performance Based'
training issues and offered warnings about 'Short Term' training
fixes. Rice also discussed the growing topic of ICAO Multi-crew
Pilot Licensing (MPL).
So... are you getting the picture that there are items to be
concerned about in terms of where our future pilots are coming
from? You should be. The situation is troublesome, answers are few
and aviation safety can only be negatively impacted if the
situation is not dealt with. Not sure about that? Well... load up
Part Four of our series on Understanding the Pilot Shortage and see
if you don't agree that this is an issue that needs urgent
attention.
E-I-C Note: This is the third in an extensive series on this
topic... each of which will be presented every Monday (barring
special programming requirements for breaking news or special event
coverage) until completed...
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