Give it a rest Gymble. All you do is upset the minority of readers who can't see that you're taking the piss and bore the rest of us who can.
Rob, thanks for the info and for your efforts on behalf of the industry. Sorry to hijack your topic but I\'m not the first so here goes.
Just Another Trick, what a delight you must be to work with. Just to summarise your beliefs (without the spelling mistakes):
pilots have attractive rosters, guaranteed days off and better pay
pilots find their way to the head of helicopter companies
pilots have time on their hands
pilots can focus on company requirements during their down time
pilots have a good operational understanding of the company business
some pilots can\'t find their helicopter each day, or operate it safely
pilots cannot make the connection between good engineering and safety
pilots have achieved improvements - but only for themselves
pilots are stupid
engineers are frustrated because they have evidence that most pilots are stupid
engineers are gathering "substantiative" evidence of pilot stupidity on a daily basis
engineers became engineers by accident, because their girlfriends got pregnant or because they were in the wrong place
engineers have no career path
engineers have low pay
engineers are fools for working long hours
Yeah, easy to see how you concluded that PILOTS are stupid.
Mate, in all seriousness I sympathise with your position - I wouldn\'t want to be an engineer for anything, but I don\'t see how criticising pilots and generalising about their situation is going to gain you any support in the industry - except from other engineers maybe. If it\'s so bloody dreadful being an engineer and so wonderful being a pilot, go get yourself a pilot\'s licence.