28thJuly,
I THINK what he means is the following...
People who are planning to get ATPLs and be paid have to get PPLs first. So even if they're poor, they end up mixing with the crowd of private pilots who can afford to fly for fun, who are considered by others to be toffee-nosed and elitist. I'm not sure whether it's the poor wannabe or the toffee-nosed PPL who should be birched - but birching is the cure for all ills isn't it?
But 30 hours in a C150 with an AFI of dubious breeding....well, I don't quite get the point, but yes, that could be a cure-all too, if it didn't kill you first.
Add a hint of sarcasm throughout, and it makes...sort of perfect sense.
Chipped prop, please forgive me if I got that totally wrong. And if I got it right, for spoiling it with the explanation.
Has anyone noticed what a peculiarly BRITISH thread this is? Elitism, toffs, looking down or up on others because of who they are.... When I was in the US, you had money or you didn't. It didn't make you better or worse either way. If you had it, you could do more, and fly more.
If you didn't...well, perhaps you'd work hard and make some. You wouldn't get jealous or feel patronised or start threads on elitism - not a criticism, just a statement of fact. Perhaps it's the difference between the land of opportunity, and our overcrowded, still classridden little island. Anyone from across the pond care to comment?