This matter of pilot training has bought me around to thinking that there exists two parallel systems born from expediency and philosophy. Now that may be to state the obvious but bear with me.
During my twenty eight years as an airline pilot there were always more pilots than jobs and anyone starting off in the profession could expect a long apprenticeship in general aviation. Graduating, if that is not too subjective a word, to an airline was often years away. Today the flow rate through to the airlines has increased dramatically. No longer is it necessary to spend a number of years as an instructor ( a peculiarity of our industry in that those instructing are often just months ahead of their pupils ) or flying around for hours over ‘tiger country’, in a single engine aircraft, earning less than a check-out clerk at a supermarket. Such is the need within airlines for pilots, world-wide, that movement into the right-hand seat of an advanced turbo-prop can be swift. The long journey through the aero club or flying school, which emphasised the need for good ‘stick and rudder’ skills has gone for those who are in search of a career in airlines. Enter the second parallel .
Because of the urgent need for pilots within airlines it is felt, in some quarters, that time does not permit a long apprenticeship in general aviation, indeed that the very experience is redundant. Such is the level of automation within the modern glass cockpit that ‘stick and rudder’ skills are, if not superfluous, passé and that with the appropriate training a person can be plucked from the street and with just 350 hours flight time, backed up by a commercial licence and a multi-engine instrument rating, they can be sporting a first officers uniform aboard a B737.
All of which begs the question, has the need for good ‘stick and rudder’ skills been replaced by a requirement for good computer skills, systems analysis and personnel profiling. The last of these stems from the need for ‘ compatibility’ in the cockpit on long hauls, some of which can now stretch to fourteen hours. Who wants to sit next to a complete bore for that long?
There will always be a need for good ‘stick and rudder’ skills within general aviation. It is one segment of our industry where the failure to absorb such expertise can be fatal. Whether the smaller training institutions, e.g. aero clubs, can compete with the multi-million dollar colleges who churn out potential airline pilots with minimum hours, is a matter for debate.top
The savage dawn of the 21st Century, with the attack on the World Trade Centre, in New York and conflicts of universal scope that have brought unlimited warfare to civilians, should alert us all to the need for security in aviation. The livelihood of all who are dependent upon the aviation industry is under threat from those who would disrupt and destroy it. It has been predicted, by some intelligence sources that over the next ten to fifteen years terrorist tactics will become increasingly sophisticated and designed to achieve maximum casualties and impact. If we define terrorism as war, then each one of us employed in the aviation industry is in the front line.
No matter how isolated your country may be from the chaos and mayhem to which parts of the world are exposed, nobody working in the aviation industry should underestimate the threat to them personally, their industry or to their nation. Whether tucked away in the South Pacific, secure in an island retreat or safe in a nation that professes to be politically neutral, the denial of and disbelief in a possible threat to our way of life, is all too easy. To believe that it can't happen here is at best naïve and at worst irresponsible. With civil aircraft now being used as offensive missiles and suicide bombers roaming the world, programmed to wreak maximum casualties among the innocent and a media hungry for spectacular and horrific events, this history of war against civilians presents us with certain lessons the consequences of which if remained unlearned, may not be slow in revealing themselves.
What are these lessons and how should we respond to the threat that the aviation industry, our industry, faces in the 21st Century?
The most important lesson for us all is that each one of us can make a difference in helping to keep our industry secure. Whether you work air-side or land-side, whether you are an employee or an employer, all have a part to play. For many years it was believed that aviation security was the reserved domain of the experts in the aviation security service. In the current environment it is now recognized that all have a role, as well as the professionals. They have a part to play, a very important part, but they are only one piece in the puzzle. Aircraft and airports are tempting targets, not only for terrorism but also for lower-impact crimes perpetrated by asylum seekers, mentally deranged individuals and common criminals. Airports are high profile targets that offer the opportunity to disrupt society and are at the same time, hard to secure. In one year an international airport can process millions of passengers, with aircraft movements running into the tens of thousands. An airport can be spread over a thousand hectares. Maintaining security of passage for all through such a busy terminal and over such an extensive area requires the participation of everyone who is employed at the airport. The need is the same at domestic airports, where the ratio of passengers to aircraft movements can be every bit as heavy as at an international terminal. We need to develop a culture of security so that it becomes an important component of all our activities. The wake up call to aviation security in the United States, following the events of September the 11th 2001, is a lesson from which we can all learn. None of us can afford to be either careless or complacent. We start by being aware of the need for a more secure environment and then we move on to create it. top