How Flight Hours Translate to Experience

Whenever two or more pilots get together in the same place, the conversation eventually gets around to which of them has the greatest number of flight hours. The yardstick of how much time youve spent aloft is more than just small-scale bragging rights, of course-it also can determine whether youre eligible for a subsequent certificate, or even legal to carry passengers. And then theres the matter of insurance coverage.The simple fact is that most of the aviation world measures how competent we are in the cockpit by how much time we may have spent there. The inference is that high-time pilots are safer, and that low-time pilots are less safe. The fallacy is highlighted if we put someone with 20,000 hours as PIC of a 747 into a piston single and ask him or her to perform an engine-out approach from downwind: Without some practice-i.e., some experience with that particular operation-its not likely to turn out well. What is experience? How to measure it? Most important: If its so valuable, how can we get more of it?

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Friday, December 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

True pilot experience goes beyond flight hours, encompassing practical knowledge and skill gained from direct participation and understanding lessons from both successes and mistakes.
While higher-rated pilots (e.g., ATPs) generally have fewer accidents related to fuel or weather, student and sport pilots show lower overall accident rates, often due to operating within stricter limitations and under closer supervision.
To gain valuable, low-risk experience, pilots should fly more, intentionally practice new operations (ideally with an instructor), and critically assess their limitations to avoid risky situations or overconfidence.

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The simple fact is that most of the aviation world measures how competent we are in the cockpit by how much time we may have spent there. The inference is that high-time pilots are safer, and that low-time pilots are less safe. The fallacy is highlighted if we put someone with 20,000 hours as PIC of a 747 into a piston single and ask him or her to perform an engine-out approach from downwind: Without some practice—i.e., some experience with that particular operation—it’s not likely to turn out well. What is experience? How to measure it? Most important: If it’s so valuable, how can we get more of it?