nachosdelux

I was directly involved in the hiring process for pilots at an Air National Guard unit, for many years. Consistently, the worst pilots (had the most trouble in training) were the former Army and Navy helicopter pilots who were trying to transition to fixed wing jets. They had good "hands", but their brains worked at 100 knots, and they ALL had difficulty managing the 400+ knot jets. All of them.

On a side note, we looked at the degree as a box that had to be checked (to be a Commissioned Officer in the Air Force.) Oddly, those with engineering degrees seemed to do really well, or struggle (not much in between.) We looked for well-balanced (rounded) individuals who would be decent to hang out with on a deployment. Pilot training would weed out the weak.

Silver Fox

I know plenty of pilots in (UK) BA, easyjet, and private airlines that do not require degrees. The obsession that the US has with degrees conferring all seeing and knowing intelligence is odd.

https://careers.ba.com/future-pilots

https://becomeapilot.easyjet.com/

Froma safety and competency POV I don't have a problem flying either.

bl-ord

Education is a two way street. Sometimes the trainer is the one who fails to communicate. Flying a helicopter is a challenging job minute to minute. Much harder than a fly by wire fighter.

Microwave

This thread has strayed well afield of American Airlines, and seems to have found itself in a Molniya orbit around planet OMNI. I’m going to put it to bed for the moment, and it will likely find itself stripped of its OMNI content in due course.

~Moderator