SM227, I've got nothing whatsoever against flying in a club, trading jump costs with 'elevator operator' hours, that's a fair trade in a non-commercial environment just like in a gliding club. Economic/industry impact of such a trade is small, and you're right of course, experience and contacts gained are valuable. Nothing wrong with that.
What I am dead set against is supporting some unscrupulous businessmen who try to exploit low hour pilots by effectively increasing their own margins through paying low or no pilots' wages. That's unethical from a business point of view, selfish from the point of view of the pilot, and no pilot should be under the illusion that it's not looked down on by most peers as the wrong thing to do. It
does have consequences beyond the own person by distorting supply and demand and thus prices and wages, and it's just not on!
If there is a commercial element involved, i.e. significant (above usual club fees) money changing hands for tandem and training jumps, the pilot deserves to be paid, make no mistake, if they're not effectively they're just donating their pay and some of their peers' pay to the operator!
Nothing to do with how much one can or cannot afford to pay for their own flying, really.
