Competence:
In days of yore a command endorsement required the candidate to demonstrate his ablity to close down an engine and feather its propeller. Feathering meant pushing the feathering button and confirming the blades had stopped turning. A far cry from today's pansy training technique of throttling one back. Also an actual feathering brings about an awareness of serious business. Even the pedestal is alien to say nothing of the feel of the aircraft.
If yesterday's real pilots and instructors had the skill and confidence to push the feathering button why is it so different today? (As this DC3 incident implies).
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