Captain Homesick,
Some excellent points sir. Thanks for that.
I wonder though if what you're saying could be interpreted as meaning that pilots get an oportunity to 'improve' as they move through the commuters - the weeding out being of those who fail to do so. Or fail to do so enough. If that is true, than I would be inclined to believe that foreign students training ab-intio to CPL in the US would be returning home with 'incomplete' skills. As you mentioned, most (all?) other countries do not have the setup of commuters that the states does.
IMHO, many trainees opt not to go to the US, despite its economic incentive, because of this reason.
Similarly, as the title of this thread was, US trained private pilots, would appear to have been left to fend for themselves in the fine tuning department.
P45
------------------
'Watch thine airspeed
Lest the ground arise and smite thee'
[This message has been edited by Pub 45 (edited 13 December 1999).]