The concern about 'stalling and spinning in' is obviously a valid one … which is where my comment about piloting 'aptitude' came in. Evidently, I (or more correctly, the men in the driving seat) managed to avoid doing it over many years and hours, otherwise I would not be here to write this.
Not wishing to start a war therefore,Thomas coupling, I'm always willing to listen and learn. You presumably interpret 'aptitude' in a way that is different to me, or are seeing it from a different perspective.
I'm taking the common-sense dictionary of 'having a natural ability'. I agree than it can be argued that, in order for anyone to perform some specialised or skilled task, they need some degree of innate ability. But it comes in different orders of magnitude. And I have flown with some pilots (who were under assessment or training) who could demonstrate all of the skills that you would expect of someone who has been granted a CPL/ATPL … but they just weren't comfortable (or assessed as being confident or safe) doing all those piloty things whilst waffling around at low speeds at 1500 feet (and sometimes less). Some had earned their hours sat at FL Nosebleed crossing the Atlantic, etc.
Requirements for F/W pilots? We specified Minimum CPL/IR, 1000 hrs total, 500 hrs multi-engine, 100hrs turbine (not relevant here) … but preferred ATPL with 1500 hrs, 500 hr turbine, and 200 hrs night multi, with similar role flying experience … plus of course interview and flight test in a similar regime to what they were being recruited for.