Fox3
Then I joined a UAS and they started from scratch..., and taught me how to master the aircraft, which is completely different. My UAS instructors had flown Spitfire, Meteor, Hunter, Lightnings (2 of them), Canberra, Hercules, Nimrod, Shackleton, Liberator; and they taught me stuff both inside and outside the cockpit that proved profoundly useful later.
That might have been the case when you joined up, but these days a lot of the UAS/EFT graduates have to put in serious work (for both ground exams and flying tests) to achieve a PPL. It's not their fault, it's just that they don't get the same exposure anymore
I guess this is one of the reasons why the CAA/EASA could not agree with 22Gp regarding exemptions for licensing in CAP804 - we just don't train them like we used to.
In humble opinion, of course...
LJ