GA pilot versus airline pilot rift. What causes it?

BellyUpFish

BellyUpFish

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Why do so many of you guys who post here seem to have an axe to grind with airline pilots?

I ask as a GA pilot first and an airline pilot second.
 
BellyUpFish said:
Why do so many of you guys who post here seem to have an axe to grind with airline pilots?

I ask as a GA pilot first and an airline pilot second.
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"Some of my best friends are airline pilots."

(Sorry - couldn't resist!)

I've noticed that GA pilots can be pretty hard on each other too. I assume the same is true of airline pilots.
 
BellyUpFish said:
Why do so many of you guys who post here seem to have an axe to grind with airline pilots?

I ask as a GA pilot first and an airline pilot second.
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Probably a combination of jealousy (both ways) and a general lack of tolerance for others. Such issues are common in any group but I know lots of pilots who wear both hats (airline and GA) so they can't be all that incompatible.

And this isn't the only divisive issue we have. There are pilots who enjoy formation work and those who believe that's a waste of time and based on snobbery and military wannabe-ism. Freight dogs and pattern Nazis. Pilots who won't fly any trips VFR and look down at anyone without an IR vs the VFR pilots who think that flying light singles in IMC is nutz. High wing vs low wing, single engine vs twin. The list goes on.

But fortunately IME the vast majority of pilots regardless of their specific corner of those issues enjoy the camaraderie of other pilots regardless of their petty differences.

If you think there's an anti-airline bias here I suspect you're seeing something that's not all that prevalent.
 
BellyUpFish said:
Why do so many of you guys who post here seem to have an axe to grind with airline pilots?

I ask as a GA pilot first and an airline pilot second.
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What axes are you talking about? I guess I haven't been reading the right threads.

Are we talking feelings of jealosy or envy?
Frustrations about a lack of professionalism that is a growing problem in certain circles of the 121 world?
Frustrations with the lack of pilot ability expressed in a few incidents in the last few years?

I will be completely honest - I have a ton of respect for most pilots flying for the Majors. I tend to be a bit leary of the guys that suffer from SJS that you tend to see taking jobs at the regionals these days. But that is just a general feeling. There is good and bad apples in both just as there are good and bad GA pilots.
 
I sometimes pick on their radio work, but I do that to everybody. :)

Part of it is just that my initial/Primary instructor was an airline guy and he picks on airline guys worse than I do. He knows all their foibles. :)

Now if you want to know why I pick on AIRLINES (not their employees...) that's a whole different topic. :) :) :)

Airline pilots are actually highly respected by me... they're held to a much higher standard than I am, and have to pee in cups, take off their shoes, and all sorts of silly stuff, just to go to work every day. Not to mention the $40K or more in debt that most of them are, before they get a $17K/year job. Ouch. That's some rough livin' there.
 
I am not sure what axe the OP is referring to. I think we have issues with the airlines not the pilots of said airlines. Well other than some of their radio work as Nate mentioned. But that is no more or less an axe than the threads on RV drivers and their over head breaks, or the doctors in V-tail Bos, plastic airplanes with parachutes, etc.
 
I have no problems with airline pilots and I hope they have no problem with me. I fly commercial a fair amount- I don't tell them I have a PPL, nor do I critique their flying. I figure they don't care and the most junior aircrew has probably forgotten more than I know. I try to do nothing dumb such that they need to avoid me when we are flying in the same airspace.
 
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I think you guys all make good points.

I think gismo nailed it pretty well..
 
I dunno, last airline guy I talked to basically responded with... "Oh yeah, I remember those days. That was fun!" :D
 
bob_albertson said:
The rift comes from a long tradition of them vs us. There used to be a lot of airline captains that bashed GA pilots
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Actually, it was airline captains that bashed anyone who wasn't an airline captain.

(The same is true in every field -- if we could eliminate the people, flying would be so much nicer!)


predator-7.jpg


Oh...... :redface:
 
No problems with airline pilots. I am tired of the airlines trying to throw GA under the bus
 
Jim Logajan said:
What guys? What posts?
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Eh, I don't want to dig them all up. :) It just seems like a trend I've noticed here.

Another board I post on is full of both airline pilots and ga pilots and the bashing/mud slinging/****ing contests are not near as prevalent over there as they are over here..

With that said, there is a message board full of almost nothing but airline pilots that is an absolute joke. :)
 
BellyUpFish said:
Eh, I don't want to dig them all up. :) It just seems like a trend I've noticed here.

Another board I post on is full of both airline pilots and ga pilots and the bashing/mud slinging/****ing contests are not near as prevalent over there as they are over here..

With that said, there is a message board full of almost nothing but airline pilots that is an absolute joke. :)
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Hmmm. I suspect that as a member of the group in question you would be more sensitive than I to such slings and arrows. I've seen clear cases of RV pilot bashing, TSA bashing and Cirrus bashing, and over in the Spin Zone tea party and liberal bashing, but I've seen no comparable amount of airline pilot bashing. What little I could find appears to be just above the noise level. Again, if you have something in mind that triggered this thread, that would help me to understand.
 
gismo said:
And this isn't the only divisive issue we have... single engine vs twin. The list goes on.
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Well, that's really not a divisive issue, because we all know that twins are better. :D :yesnod: :yes: ;)
 
I admit, I have not observed the phenomenon of which the OP speaks; I rather think we get along with most pilots pretty well.
 
SCCutler said:
I admit, I have not observed the phenomenon of which the OP speaks; I rather think we get along with most pilots pretty well.
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Except RV pilots, on one notable occasion.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Which one? There are at least 3 that I can think of....
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Well, I was speaking of Flightinfo. Airlinepilotcentral is kinda iffy as well. I like Jetcareers..

Jim Logajan said:
Again, if you have something in mind that triggered this thread, that would help me to understand.
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Palmpilot said:
How about digging up just one or two? You know, like, examples? :)
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I tell you what, I'll post links next time it happens. :) I don't necessarily want to call some guys out who might have meant it more kidding than I took it. Inflection and all that are serious parts of dialogue and here we don't get any of it. It's not that huge of a deal, I was just curious.

Palmpilot said:
Except RV pilots, on one notable occasion.
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Yeh, RV pilots are dangerous. ;)
 
So one person expresses concerns about things he's heard airline pilots do on the CTAF, and that a "rift."

Ohhhhkay.
 
jesse said:
He is probably referring to my post about airline hotshots.

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?p=765945
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Or he could have been referring to my post:

timwinters said:
I've only heard "tally ho" twice in well over 1000 hours of x/c flying.

Both times it was an airline pilot.

Oh...and speaking of airline pilots. Let's not forget:

"got him on the fish finder" i.e. "traffic is being displayed on the TCAS".
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I didn't mean it as disparaging to airline pilots...just an observation that they are who I hear do it.

Regarding Jesse's observation, I too hear the infamous ATITAPA far more from commercial pilots (both airlines and private jets) than I do from others.

Again, not picking, just relaying what has been my experience.

If you want to hear me pick on someone then just get me started on the guy I heard on the radio one day who forgot what his destination airport was.
:hairraise:
 
We did have this thread recently.

Airline Pilots "Forgetting how to fly"?

Although I don't know if that was a commentary about airline pilots or technology in general. Usually when I hear gripes about airline pilots it is about radio technique or perceived lack of hand-flying skill. I'm not sure if you would call that a "rift" though.
 
BellyUpFish said:
Well, I was speaking of Flightinfo. Airlinepilotcentral is kinda iffy as well. I like Jetcareers..
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I know what you mean - FI.com used to be great several years ago....now it has gotten so ridiculous that I have not posted over there for a while. I found that most of the quality posters left Flightinfo and are over at Pro Pilot World....PPW's requirement that you must hold a commercial certificate or higher to join seems to have cut back on alot of the riff-raff.
 
Explain the term " Bug Smasher" and you'll know your answer.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I know what you mean - FI.com used to be great several years ago....now it has gotten so ridiculous that I have not posted over there for a while. I found that most of the quality posters left Flightinfo and are over at Pro Pilot World....PPW's requirement that you must hold a commercial certificate or higher to join seems to have cut back on alot of the riff-raff.
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I haven't looked at FI or JetCareers in a number of years but I have met quite a few local pilots through PPW. I think the percentage of airline pilots is lower on PPW, though. It seems to have more pilots from the corporate/charter or other GA segment. I agree that the small fee keeps some of the riff-raff away. They also ask for your real name when you join so they can check you against the FAA database.

I think one of the big reasons the tone of the airline/working pilots boards can be different is that these are people's jobs and you hear way more venting about it. You also have boards full of type As, even more so than here.
 
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