212Man;
I well remember that accident. I lived close to where the wreckage came down.
I was one of the lucky ones to go through a full time sponsored commercial course. My heart bleeds for the guys who pay their own way and I admire their guts and determination (at least these days the awful term of "self improver" is seldom used) but I wish there was some form of self selection, or some way of them going through the tests which were applied to me and my course mates.
I recently saw a man who had paid the usual fortune to get his licence. He jumped through all the hoops and then found he had reached his peak. Three operators tried with him and all gave up. His basic flying wasn't a problem, he just couldn't get on to the next stage of doing the job. Unfortunately commercial operators are often more ruthless than Mrs Windsor when it comes down to paying for training for possibly no reward. Very few operators have budget space for second tries, and often the pressure to succeed can be higher than anything one has tried in the past. Add to that the potential financial pressure and a marriage straining due to the commitment made by a couple when one of them gets the bug to come and do this and suddenly there is too much for one person to deal with.
I know GAPAN run some form of testing scheme at a reasonable cost, I just wish it was a mandatory part of licencing. It may save a lot of pain and misery.
VH