Its the people skills, learning how to handle refuelers, scared pax, airport officals, engineering and also the main thing is how to gauge someone elses work load and stress level.
I respectfully acknowledge your points Mad_Jock but in fairness one has to do alot of those things during ones private flying days too. When flying out to the country airfields in the US I had to handle some very difficult people. Hairy, mexican moustached red necks with knuckles dragging behind them would be an apt description. Politeness didn't come into their vocabulary! Was it useful? Hmmm, I guess so but I must admit I've faced just as difficult situations elsewhere in life but at least I now know how to butter these people up to get what I want. Oi, quiet at the back there......
The part I do however feel is lacking is the gauging of others work loads/stress levels which as an instructor you have obviously gained. That is something which the 200 houred chappie missed out on when he/she hopped into the RHS of a large aircraft and I honestly don't know a way of teaching this apart from backseating students on their lessons. Done that quite a few times and must say I've been lucky enough to witness
some of the signs of stress and strain on a student like the "yessing" and lack of coherent response to questions put to them. It is useful stuff which the CAA need to recognise if they wish to overhaul the training system.
Not too sure that I've met many in the modular world who get drawn in by the percieved glamour of pushing knobs at FL330 but I'm sure there must be some. The longer you hang around the aviation scene the more you get a sense of realism and know that
that lark ain't all it's cracked up to be because as you rightly point out jet guys looking miserable can often be seen!
It all depends on where the student wants to go after their training and with the way jobs are found these days there really can be no firm solution. Unless one got a contract from an airline/taxi and then went off to pay for their training what other way will a student have of knowing the route they're taking is the best one for
them?
I know one thing though...... the other day I was lucky enough to unstrap a BE-76 from my arse and walk straight into the cockpit of a B737 for a nosey. One feeling struck me immediately - the complete lack of resemblance to anything I've ever flown before and a big sense of the huge hurdle required to move from an MEP to a jet!
How
do they do it???? I know the idea amazed me enough to realise flying something larger than a BE-76 but smaller than a B737 would be a better idea as a first foot on the ladder! Having said that I know of one guy here who stepped into a B747 after leaving integrated training!
VFE.