Ham Fisted, old bean, I think you're over-egging it a bit. In my opinion it is far more civilised up at FL410, above most of the weather in an Airbus A330 making the occasional 10 deg heading change to avoid a CB, 100 miles ahead, than mincing about at FL250 (or even FL100 in a Shed!) actually in all the rain and icing and turbulence, and hoping that your de-icing boots are going to work!
The heavier the jet, the more inertia, so more comfortable in turbulence. Jet engines; no vibration, no noise - bliss, and the modern jet does so much for the pilot.
The turbo-props are a fantastic learning experience, and some, such as the Q400 have very good performance and cockpits, but I know which I prefer now.
As someone once said to me: "You know you've made it in aviation when your aircraft's nose wheel is behind the cockpit; you don't have to bend down to walk under the fuselage; and it has more toilets than engines."
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Last edited by Uplinker; 25th May 2012 at 15:44.