Could the Captains and the First Officers switch from classic to newer aircraft types?

Question

Could they switched from the 747-100/200/300/SP to the 747-400 or from the DC-10 to the MD-11, if the airline decides to retire its whole classic fleet and decides only to maintain newer aircraft?

Answer 1

It all depends All 747's are mostly alike, only with newer technology they could still change but would need training on how to use the new technology.

Answer 2

if they are type rated they can....

Answer 3

As a pilot for a regional airline , all it requires is a type rating from the airline or a training facility

Answer 4

If the company is going to introduce a new type, management will develop a training program in cooperation with the manufacturer and the FAA, and will select a roster of crew members to make the transition first.

The transition from the B747-300 to the 400 took about four months, and involved lots of training on the electronics and the glass panels.  Lots of simulator time, learning how to make the new panels do what you used to do with the old panels, only now it's prettier and it lights up brighter.

It was fun.

Answer 5

Yes, they can with additional training.  It's not just a matter of an airline retiring a "classic" fleet and moving the crews to the new generation equivalent the next day.  The "classic" and "new generation" airplanes do not have shared type ratings, so going between a 747-100 and a 747-400 would require the same kind of training as going from an A320 to a B777.

Answer 6

Its a fairly easy transition.  When they are similar aircraft.  In fact, they only need to undergo something called "differences training" which takes a few days at most.

The dials might be different, but when it comes right down to it, an airplane in many respects is an airplane.  Once a pilot knows the limitations (published in the AFM) and where all the buttons and k***s are, moving from one type to a similar type is pretty easy.

If, however, they are radically different (as in the case of the 747-400 compared to the previous generations) the pilots must undergo the same basic training that they would if they were simply hired off the street and had never flown that type of plane.  It can take a few months.