Slightly off thread, but as a comment on The H.H. ,,,,,,,,
Cor Blimey ! If H.H. was trying to wind you all up he certainly succeeded ! But if he was serious I’m sad that members of my erstwhile profession are so bitchy and back-stabbing, and I thought pilots like H.H. had long gone with the retiring of the old style North Atlantic Baron, W.W. II bomber pilots, of the early BOAC. But they had at least survived flying a war, so even if unjustifiable, their autocratic behaviour could be understood – a bit.
The Hamble cadets and Oxford graduates that followed my generation (we were largely Nat. Service and Short Service Commission ex-RAF / RN pilots ) were trained for the task that they are now called upon to do, and if they meet the constraints of their final check ride, and subsequent 6 monthly checks, what’s the gripe ? If they don’t, whose at fault in continuing to employ them? Flying a high speed pursuit ship at Mach 2.0 and low level against a ground target has no relevance to being in command of a large 4 eng. passenger jet and meeting the demands of ATC whilst completing a Cat. II ILS ( WAAS / GPS maybe now ? ) approach to O’Hare in a snowstorm.
During my Flt. Nav. training an old style Nav. instructor told me that I would never make a real Navigator until I had achieved a three-wind drift sight reading with the shells coming through the cockpit over the target - I never had to. Every generation has it’s own problems to tackle and must move with the times, and I had to get to grips with INS, something my old Nav. Instr. could never have dreamed of in his wildest moments, but we were aces at crossing the North Atlantic with a sextant - in a 707.
I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what FADEC, or EICAS or other acronyms associated with a Glass Cockpit mean, but I don’t need, and never had, to, present day pilots don’t even know what a GCA, or Radio Range let-down means – but they don’t have to. It’s Horses for Courses, H.H. 