I certainly don't believe in the X-hours = IR formula. I am a firm believer in proficiency and recent experience on type creating safe IR pilots. While mastering actual aircraft handling in IMC may not have required a lot of training time, I think that learning to deal with failures, recovering from unusal attitudes, and functioning safely inside the IR system can easily fill the 15 hours dual instruction required to finish an FAA IR. I never bothered to learn what the dual training requirements are for the Euro IR, as I will never have time for the theory study. I have managed to learn many new things doing the IR training, and I know it has made me safer.
I haven't encountered anyone assuming that we will be training on junk aircraft so far, probably because there are alternatives if one looks, but I'll keep my eyes peeled.
