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Fledgling Pilots
The next time you fly on a U.S. commercial airliner, consider this. Due to the
decade-long drawdown on the military, airlines are employing far fewer captains
with military flight training and in their place using fast-tracked civilian flight
school graduates. In some cases, regional jets are being flown by pilots with only
a few hundred hours logged. In 1992, Delta Airlines had 97% military and 3% civilian
trained pilots. In 2001 the ratio was 60/40. By 2007 it is expected to be 30% military
to 70% civilian. In the view of one veteran flyer, "That doesn't mean the civil
pilot is substandard - it just places them far behind the learning curve. Put a
civil-trained commuter pilot in a third-tier carrier with a quick upgrade to captain,
and you have a very empty suit."
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