I think bringing back the FI rating on a PPL without doing the CPL exams (you can have an FI rating on a PPL but have to have done the CPL exams) would do wonders for the club flying scene. No longer would we have the seemingly endless lines of miserable instructors only interested in hour building for the jet job. We would have people who are career instructors interested in the students and there progression.
Having been through the CPL/IR route I totally agree that that 90% of the things learnt have no relevance on teaching ab initio adn club type flyers. When I first learnt to fly I learnt in microlights whose instructors do not a hold a CPL and the quality of Instruction was simply outstanding. I was taught by a guy who was a career instructor and his example set me up for a life of addiction to flying. On converting to SEP I flew with a bunch of different instructors and the difference in attitudes between the hours builders and the career guys was vast. The hours builders would try and make me feel that I should be honoured to sit next to an "airline pilot", the 10,000hr career instructor TAUGHT me.
It was the curiosity of seeing if these "airline pilots" were as good as they though they were that set me in on the CPL/IR road and guess what theres nothing special there!!
Before any one says anything I have no desire to teach or work as a "proper pilot"!!