Obama Wants to Cut the FFDO Program - Page 2

KyJim · April 18, 2013, 03:06 PM

Quote:

I don't really know that strict "hands off" policy would be the best choice in *any* industry.

I can think of such things as children's lemonade stands being shut down because of unnecessary and/or overzealous enforcement of regulations. These are not "critical areas of our economy," which is the phrase I used. I don't think we are in basic disagreement.

pilot141 · April 18, 2013, 08:55 PM

Just so people know about the FFDO program - every pilot who does it volunteers for it, goes through a thorough screening process, and then goes through initial and recurrent training on their own time.

Meaning they take what time they have off from their job, and go through this training on their own time, not getting paid by their airline or the government. The initial training involves travel away from home, and then shooting for currency every 6 months (again on their own time).

This is by far the most cost-effective anti-hijacking program we have seen since the old Mail Gun days. That fact that Obama wants to cancel a cost-effective, actual deterrent means that he hates guns more than he cares about airline safety.

Derius_T · April 19, 2013, 01:27 AM

I am all for qualified carriers on planes, or anywhere else for that matter. Heck, I am for any qualified Permit Holder carrying on the plane or anywhere else. The best deterrent for crime, and the best way to stop "gun violence" is for the perpetrators of said violence to be so scared out of their minds by the fact that anyone or everyone around them may be or better yet probably is carrying a firearm, and will use it to stop them at the first flicker of malicious intent, that they decide it's better not to commit the crime they were thinking of in the first place.

Willie Sutton · April 19, 2013, 01:59 PM

"When you fly on a regional airline, there's a high likelihood that the pilot sitting in the right seat qualifies for food stamps. The companies get away with this because they have a stack of resumes a foot tall on their HR desk of people literally begging to let them fly their airplanes."

Had to chime in, since I had that job once: $11K a year, 21 days of flying a month, standup overnights (meaning that you had less than 8 hours of rest at your "night" stop, but that they gave you 8 hours between 7:00AM and 3:00 PM to "rest" and gave you a boiled egg and a pack of cookies for your "crew meal" since there was never a break to eat. Ten legs a day, and pilots on food stamps. Nothing like working for an aspiration, rather than a paycheck. Quit, burned my ALPA card, went corporate, and never looked back. The OP of the post I quote above knows exactly what he is talking about.

The TSA required lock thru case and trigger guard in an interesting twist. In FAR Part 91/135 ops I just carry a Glock (.45 ACP) with a loaded mag and the chamber empty in my flight bag. This is NOT a FFDO writing. I'd be interested in knowing more about their protocols, but I am equally sure it would need to be told over a beer, not here where all can read it.

Willie

.

April 18, 2013, 08:55 PM	#27
pilot141 Member Join Date: February 17, 2013 Location: Way south Tejas Posts: 21	Just so people know about the FFDO program - every pilot who does it volunteers for it, goes through a thorough screening process, and then goes through initial and recurrent training on their own time. Meaning they take what time they have off from their job, and go through this training on their own time, not getting paid by their airline or the government. The initial training involves travel away from home, and then shooting for currency every 6 months (again on their own time). This is by far the most cost-effective anti-hijacking program we have seen since the old Mail Gun days. That fact that Obama wants to cancel a cost-effective, actual deterrent means that he hates guns more than he cares about airline safety.

April 19, 2013, 01:27 AM	#28
Derius_T Senior Member Join Date: November 29, 2004 Location: South West OHIO (boondocks) Posts: 1,337	I am all for qualified carriers on planes, or anywhere else for that matter. Heck, I am for any qualified Permit Holder carrying on the plane or anywhere else. The best deterrent for crime, and the best way to stop "gun violence" is for the perpetrators of said violence to be so scared out of their minds by the fact that anyone or everyone around them may be or better yet probably is carrying a firearm, and will use it to stop them at the first flicker of malicious intent, that they decide it's better not to commit the crime they were thinking of in the first place.

April 19, 2013, 01:59 PM	#29
Willie Sutton Junior member Join Date: January 26, 2012 Posts: 1,066	"When you fly on a regional airline, there's a high likelihood that the pilot sitting in the right seat qualifies for food stamps. The companies get away with this because they have a stack of resumes a foot tall on their HR desk of people literally begging to let them fly their airplanes." Had to chime in, since I had that job once: $11K a year, 21 days of flying a month, standup overnights (meaning that you had less than 8 hours of rest at your "night" stop, but that they gave you 8 hours between 7:00AM and 3:00 PM to "rest" and gave you a boiled egg and a pack of cookies for your "crew meal" since there was never a break to eat. Ten legs a day, and pilots on food stamps. Nothing like working for an aspiration, rather than a paycheck. Quit, burned my ALPA card, went corporate, and never looked back. The OP of the post I quote above knows exactly what he is talking about. The TSA required lock thru case and trigger guard in an interesting twist. In FAR Part 91/135 ops I just carry a Glock (.45 ACP) with a loaded mag and the chamber empty in my flight bag. This is NOT a FFDO writing. I'd be interested in knowing more about their protocols, but I am equally sure it would need to be told over a beer, not here where all can read it. Willie .