Qualifications needed to fly modern airliners?

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Reading the back and forth arguments over on the other forum about flying a modern jet airliner got me to thinking.





First question:::


What minimum education level do you need to learn to fly one?

[Chuck Ellsworth]

What formal schooling do you need to get an ATPL?


By grade three you should be able to read most anything, so is grade three acceptable to be issued an ATPL?


What I am trying to do is understand what exactly one needs to qualify to fly a modern jet airliner.

[Colonel]

Education has little or nothing to do with the ability
to safely [i]operate[/i] heavy equipment.

Similarly, a PhD in physics is rarely possessed by
the people who can throw (and hit) a 110 mph fastball.

This guy graduated high school, but I doubt he learned
his skill there:

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Dalkowski]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Dalkowski[/url]

[quote]Estimates of Dalkowski's top pitching speed abound.

Cal Ripken Sr. guessed that he threw up to 115 miles per hour.

Most observers agree that he routinely threw well over 110 miles an hour, and sometimes reached 115 mph.

Dalkowski's wildness frightened even the bravest of hitters.

Ted Williams faced Dalkowski once in a spring training game. "Fastest ever", said Williams. "I never want to face him again."

Weaver had given all of the players an IQ test and discovered that [u]Dalkowski had a lower than normal IQ[/u][/quote]

He's probably as bright as the AvCan expert that just
asserted that pilots don't need to know

[b]ATTITUDE + POWER = PERFORMANCE[/b]

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Can someone here confirm or discredit my contention that you can get a ATPL with grade three education and pass the medical and meet the minimum age requirements?


Because I just want to get some benchmark of what it takes to fly a big jet.


To bad Rockie does not post here because he would know.

[Blinder]

You'd need more than grade 3 I believe.... though lots of adults function well with minimal education because they pick it up elsewhere.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I have never seen any minimum education requirement to be a pilot except the requirement to pass some written tests and some flight tests.


For sure grade eight will do it.


The point I am attempting to make is those who make flying a modern airline jet into some great accomplishment fail to mention the minimum requirements are no greater than driving any other piece of machinery.

[Blinder]

Education, no. But there are regulatory requirements in the form of licensing, examinations, training, and hours. It also depends on whether you're talking a crew member or captain.


Using that, even someone with a PhD in aeronautics (if there is such a thing) wouldn't be qualified to fly it on education alone.


I would agree that Grade 8 would give anyone the base skills realistically needed to fly an airliner.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Yes, there is a lot of training required to be issued an ATPL.


But in the grand scheme of things it is really not that difficult to get the ATPL.


Flying a modern jet airliner is understanding the automatics of the machine you are flying.


Coupled with the mechanical skills needed to take it off and land it.


An interesting thing about my flying career I was never asked if I had any education other than my licenses.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I wonder if Delta would hire someone with say five thousand hours command time in large jets but did not have the four year degree program education?

[vanNostrum]

From the Delta Airline website


[color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][font=verdana][size=11px]General Requirements[/size][/font][/color]

[list]
[li][color=rgb(51, 51, 51)][font=verdana][size=11px]Graduate of a four-year degree program from a college or university accredited by a U.S. Dept. of Education recognized accrediting organization.[/size][/font][/color][/li]
[/list][list]
[li][color=#333333][font=verdana][size=1em]Post secondary education is needed to be [b]hired[/b] to fly the big jets[/size][/font][/color][/li]
[/list]