HC
A very astute observation. There is a very appropriate saying that applies to people like me, appointed to teach on the 139 when there were virtually no type rated drivers in the world.
'In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king'
This translates into "as long as you know more than your student then you can keep on teaching".
We had to get to grips with teaching the 139 from zero operational experience. A necessary evil one might observe.
We became very good at the job because we did it day in day out but there comes a time, and for me it is now, September 2013, when I feel I have exhausted my credibility. It's a fine balance because I can teach most pilots a lot about how to manage the FMS and how to run the AP but without the operational experience you are always on the back foot.
That said my forte is teaching in the simulator environment and I hope to spend the next few years helping those who are charged with working in this challenging world to polish and perfect there skills.
By the end of this month I expect my student count over the last 7 years to be 320 from 49 different countries. I may have taught a lot of guys and girls in that time but they should know that I have learnt from them too and one of the things I have become aware of is how varied the quality of pilot training is around the world. If we are to prevent a spiral of decline then I pray we find a better way of doing things than the one we use today.
G.