Sorry to go off topic, but I believe the original question has already been answered.
Do we give instructor tickets to newly qualified motor-vehicle license holders, or do we give them 'P' plates to display for a few years, and steer clear while they get the hang of it? If my memory serves me correctly, you must have held a drivers license for over four years to be able to supervise a learner driver.... bad habits or not!
MBA747
Quote: "So how many simulated assy failures would a 500 hour charter pilot have as opposed to an instructor with twin approval?"
It's not all about engine failures. (A simulated failure at a safe height, a safe speed, an unrealistically low weight, and in a totally controlled environment is not hard to pull off anyway. Just procedure really.) A gear not locked indication, an overheating engine or an electrical failure (just to name a few) are 100 times the problem when you are 300nm from civilisation on a dark stormy night, with 10 petrified POB and min fuel. You have some real decisions to make. (Thats of course in addition to the fact that you must take all of these possibilities, plus the commercial requirements into account when planning the flight in the first place).
Instructing should be a career path, not a stepping stone. The 200hr instructor is probably very good at both flying and pattering through a stall and a circuit, but he just doesn't have the experience to draw from. Probably the very first time that he encounters wind shear close to the ground, challenging weather, strong gusty crosswinds etc he will supposedly be teaching someone else what to do.
I know of (experienced) guys who would love to instruct one day, but there is no way that they can afford to join the line of 19 year old instructors willing to sell their soul to get a flying job in their home town. Schools just have to pay more, wait for the right people, and charge what the training is really worth. Quality doesn't come cheap.