This rose tinted perception of the old Section L BCAR oral exam with a CAA surveyor needs to be put into context I feel.
In essence, whilst it was ( in theory ) a detailed examination of your knowledge ( and lack of ) it could also be wholly dependent on the whims and personal quirks of the surveyor...for example, the one who conducted my first attempt made no secret of the fact he did not like ex RAF engineers...hence the smirk of satisfaction when I was unable to answer some obscure electrical question contained in about 4 lines within CAIP's...same individual also told a colleague just before the exam that, as he already had an engine type rating, if he failed the basic airframe..he could take his t/r of him !..he did though, meet his match with another, who, when called by his surname ( note the arrogance here ) duly responded with the surname of said surveyor...it was all down hill thereafter of course, but a moral victory nevertheless....it is my understanding however, that karma, shall we say, arrived one balmy night on a tropical beach....
My second attempt ( which I passed ) involved a rather long interrogation about, erm, aerodynamics...this being, as per Mastermind, his chosen subject.
The cessation of the oral examination did, at least, remove the wild variations of subjectivity then in force.