I've got more hours than many of the hours-building instructors around and think I can do a pretty good job of assessing what's acceptable and what's not when it comes to flying. Can I have the power to stop someone flying too please?
(I hope not!)
twistedenginestarter wrote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Isn't this like "It failed the MOT. Don't worry the old one doesn't run out until 2 weeks time"
Somebody with a vaild opinion has got worried about the ability of someone to fly safely. Why not sort that very important problem out? </font>
If I take my car in to a garage that's not qualified to do MOTs, with 6 months left to run on its present MOT certificate, I don't expect a single mechanic to rip up the certificate because he doesn't like the look of my exhaust.
There are two issues here. One is that instructors are qualified to teach but not necessarily qualified to examine. They should not be asked to make a judgement about whether a pilot meets the standard for a PPL. There's a perfectly well-established skills test for that, involving examiners who are "in the loop" when it comes to standards. It also has a well defined appeals process.
The other is that when the revision to the UK legislation was proposed, this "training flight with an instructor" was presented for consultation to the aviation community as just that -- a lesson, not a test. To change it into a test by the back door would be perfidious.