When I were a lad, we used to dream of a hole in the ground . . .
then, the syllabus used to be
Loads a flying while having loads a fun
plus
A couple of slim volumes of "Flight briefing for pilots"
Now you need a PhD in English lit. before you buy a shelf full of books and a flight bag full of headsets, plotters, kneepads, maps, Pooleys, Lockyears, checklists. And a degree in computer science so you can access the AIS, the Met, not to mention the pinks, yellows, the GPS and w.h.y.
Oh yes, and then you do some flying, while wondering about CAS, mid-airs and not using the right words on the radio
I do think the skills test checklist is much more demanding now, but does it mean that the skills test itself sorts the wheat from the chaff ?
AND the statistics seem to say that it's a helluva lot safer these days.
But is it more fun ??
S. Driver