You see, I actually think that Flintstone AND Mixmaster have good points. Flintstone and I have locked horns on this previously and I well know his view....correctly in some ways, that it's in the thrall of all of us to stop it.
However, for my money, the way to stop this is for ALL - Wannabes AND current LTCs, TRIs etc - to pull together....if a good percentage of us just refused to pay, AND the LTCs etc just stepped away from the whole training piece, then it would die very quickly....but therein lies the rub of this.
Current LTCs worked hard to get where they are, so why should they give up the extra bunce reward of their hard work? After all they didn't pay to get there, they worked hard. Indeed it is "I'm alright Jack", but it's disengenuous to suggest that this only exists from one side of the argument...
It's also kind of like the chicken/egg thing....did SSTRs crop up because Newbies were prepared to pay for it, or because they LTCs etc allowed it to happen and agreed to train those newbies...
One look through this thread shows how deeply divided the whole piloting community is - and speaking from my 10+ years in senior management, -rather than my shiny new fATPL, it's this that makes it a piece of piss to divide and conquer if you have little morals....
Sad but true.