Blimey - why can't some people accept that just because some of us took different routes - doesn't make us any 'better' or 'worse'.
I guess HH must hate me - after all I'm self sponsored - not 'daddys' money, but the product of 15 years hard work in a professional career and some property development. I also didn't fly pointy things very fast, I didn't fail selection - I never applied, not what I wanted to do back then, I guess that makes me a bad pilot then.
I didn't get sponsored as there was no sponsorship available in the recession of the 90's. When BA re-introduced sponsorship, I applied at the ripe old age of 29. "sorry old boy, to old".
Yes I paid for my training, but I also worked hard, passed assesments and made my own luck.
I've got utter respect for anyone who gets the grade to do this job, but lets not pretend that some of us are superior, just because you were lucky enough to get sponsored training. And yes it was luck - sure you had to pass assesments and kudos to you for that, but it was luck that you were the right age in the right economic circumstances.