Guys,
I sometimes wonder what aviation is coming to these days. The requirements for ALTP are no more or less onerous than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Maybe it is a symptom of the instant pilot generation(3 week PPL from another thread).
In fact when I got my ALTP there was no requirement for co-pilots on a King Air and Caravans, so it is even easier now to attain those hours.
As to instructors...........as someone who is involved in management of a reasonable sized company, I would prefer to take an instructor any day over a non instructor. It does not go about flying abilities......any pilot with 1000 hours that think we want him for his experience had better go think again. I find that an instructor is someone who has gone the extra mile to attain his dream of flying. He tends to be more dedicated and far more knowledgable, and if fact more trainable.
I have often come across this argument about the value of instruction time versus charter time. In terms of experience I think one should have a balance, but all to often I find the non instructors trying to justify their existence by saying that instruction is not real flying. I think that if we were to take a poll, you would find that the people running down the instruction time are all non instructors. I have to wonder what they base their assumptions on........it cannot possibly be on any instructional experience.
As to the CAA.......I don't think anybody in any country like their CAA, but I find ours is better than most.
Ok.....now I won't get wound up again!
KTK