"Not to forget how flying standards have fallen!"
Yes, I was appalled at what a Pre-commercial test candidate didn't know when I went for a fly with him BUT...
The plethora of bulldust they have to try and cram into their heads in the hours they need and struggle to pay for is pretty rediculous.
We learned to fly an aeroplane.
They have the pumped, up oom-pah band, marching girl, flag waving curriculum full of all sorts of politically correct, fancy trappings filling their heads.
Their peers, who’s fathers have deep pockets, stroll around the aerodrome wearin’ uniforms with golden bars on the shoulders, dreamin’ of the flight around Australia they’re gunna do in the Bonanza with two GPSs to get up hours when they’ve completed themulti engine Command instrument rating.
The fathers are skitin’ to their mates that, “Young Ashley is studying full time to become an airline pilot in fifteen months”.
David Clark headsets, Rayban sunnies, eleven buck a piece VTCs that are out of date every coupla months are regarded as necessary as wearin shoes.
The poor bugg*rs putting themselves through... themselves, have this “crock” as “normal”.
I went for a ride with that Commercial trainee when he was doing his last ten or so hours converting to Constant Speed Prop and retractable gear.
What a shemozzle… We spent most of the three quarters of an hour lookin’ for a couple of bandits (rich boys from another country who’s understanding of the international air language was a bit minimal) who were lurching round the training area, getting in the way while my pilot tried to get in a number of forced landings.
They didn’t seem to understand my pilot and I didn’t have a clue what THEY were sayin’.
Paid for an hour and a quarter and did two forced landings and two or three circuits.
Trying to learn to fly now… thank God I don’t have to.