Was he by any chance American trained? There was an American view that, "With 4 good enough engines you can fly a s***house door; you guys have managed to fly the entire s***house". Most of those who flew the Viscount on this side of the pond thought this was probably motivated by professional jealousy emanating from a rival US manufacturer.
We tend to forget what an incredible technical advance the Viscount was in the 50s (800 in particular). Dakota UK domestic block times were halved - often within a few minutes of what current jets achieve - and smoothness and pressurised comfort were simply in a different league. The 800 cockpit was the first in Britain to attempt an ergonomic layout.
As my earlier pic showed, they were still providing reliable service to the islands of Scotland till 1982.
I could go on!