In a message dated 97-02-03 08:44:25 EST, you write:
<< It's good of you, Wendy, to put pilot education and training in this
different perspective. Aviation has always done well training pilots
operational flying skills, but hasn't been very successful in providing
career development support. It's "every man for himself" as far as personal
and professional growth is concerned.
We expect pilots to assume increasing responsibilities as they gain
experience -- to become team builders and mentors, to become leaders in the
cockpit. Yet, achievement is measured in terms of flight time and ratings;
that is, measured by individual initiatives. We provide the prospective
career pilot with little in the way of leadership education and career
guidance, but tend to complain that many pilots have difficulty adopting
team concepts. It's important to develop leadership skills early, and while
training will always be an important part of a pilot's development, methods
and techniques alone do not provide a long term aviation safety solution.
>>
Bob, I grew up in the military pilot training system, so take what I have to
say with that in mind.
The aviation community may not have done as well in "providing career
development support" as some would have liked. However, I bet that we more
good than bad pilots out there than bad by some large order of magnitude.
Otherwise there would not be so many successful civilian and military pilots
both in and out of the cockpit. I think "every man for himself" may not be
all that bad a filter, if it seperates those who spend the extra effort to
improve themselves from those who wait for someone to bring progress to them.
As pilots gain experience one would hope that they have selected models of
appropriate leadership to emulate as they progress through the seniority
ranks and upgrade to new equipment or positions or both. Certainly there is a
mass of material and courses available in and outside of the industry on
leadership and career development. The interested professional should have no
trouble finding more than enough information in those areas.
I think most aviation enterprises select their candidates for upgrade by time
and ratings as you suggest. They also select by maturity and some sort of
evaluation system. In the case of upgrade to positions of leadership my
sheltered experience tells me that their judgement and demeanor are also
considered. Sure, some pilots "have trouble adopting team concepts" . I
would hope that they become a focus for more intensive training by their
employer or that the upgrade training system could be made more
discriminating. In part, that is what a good CRM program is all about.
You are right in saying that methods and techniques alone do not provide a
long term solution, or panacea, for aviation safety. However, when teamed
with a pilot's training, appropriate observation, attention to detail, study,
personal initiative, and common sense they do go a long way.
Regards
Dave Wilson
HTI