The Elephant in the Room
Hi Guys,
Poor training (by underpaid 'hours builders' who really want an airline job,) poor skill standards, poor pilot currency, aged training aircraft that originated in a very different country far away and in a by-gone age and both government and the general public alike utterly uninterested in, and ignorant about, flying. (It would be different if Olympic medals could be won for flying).
The ultimate elephant in the room, however, is cost, aided and abetted by our poor climate that makes continuity in training virtually impossible and over zealous, needlessly expensive, micro-regulation by government; (thanks Europe!).
A friend of mine summed the British flying scene up in one sentence. 'Too many flying establishments chasing too few people with too little money' and that just about sums it up.
The clubs use ancient American aircraft because new ones would cost more than they could afford. People try to get their licences in the minimum number of hours. On qualifying, most can only barely afford an amount of flying annually to maintain a minimum standard of currency.
It always was like this, but in recent years it has become worse. And I can't see it improving.
BP.