Originally Posted by
Shaggy Sheep Driver
What worries me about Genghis's post is how did those people he came across pass a skill test?
You ain't the only one worried SSD!
I'm slightly cautious of posting too much detail on the topic, as the people may read it, but, with care....
- Somebody who had had a PPL since before I was born, and now rejoiced in about a third of my flying hours. Had got into the habit of flying with a certain proprietary moving map system on his iPad, which degraded his SA to the point where he declared himself lost, 10 miles from home airfield, after the battery went flat. I think he'd probably been okay when he originally got his PPL, but had never built properly upon it, using whatever crutches were available to avoid forcing himself into good flying standards. Also very poor handling, probably because he just had insufficient mental capacity to be on top of the task.
- Somebody who had passed his PPL around 4 years prior to flying with me, done a moderate amount of "easy" flying in known aeroplanes over known turf, then bought a syndicate share at an airfield he didn't know. The combination of new aeroplane, new airfield, new scenery - and habits bought of an undemanding known flying environment, meant that he pretty much had to learn to fly again.
- Somebody who had learned on very easy low performance aeroplanes in a country with minimal use of radio and minimal controlled airspace issues. He then bought a share in a high performance aeroplane at a busy UK airport with intensive use of radio and lots of controlled airspace - none of which he had strategies for dealing with.
Of the three above, one heard me out, put the effort in, and became a good safe pilot in the aeroplane. One tried, but simply wasn't up to it. One just threw his hands in the air, sold his share, and never flew the aeroplane again. Feel free to try and guess which is which!
G