L@ser like focus for the IR?
And by extension, the TR as well?
Oh, and the ATPLs are hard stuff, equal to a degree?
Heard it all before - Sounds a lot like pilots overestimating the difficulty/talent required to meet the standard. Nobody cares; I know people that struggled throughout the entire course, failed IR and CPL multiple times, and they're now flying a big jet. Yes, even for Ryanair.
All it requires is a little perseverance and mostly personal enjoyment. Do you enjoy flying? Get your licenses and you'll probably make it. Don't enjoy it? No shame in it, you had an experience the majority of people never will.
@jamesgrainge - Everybody gets nervous before tests. It's a lot of money and overall a stressful experience. The examiner knows that, and they'll give you some leeway. They'll try to put you at east, and will overlook minor errors. Especially near the beginning of the flight. A test is almost never perfect and we all **** things up. They are mainly looking for coping skills and airmanship; Did you realise the error? Did you correct it? How far out of bounds were you? Of course, some examiners are total dickheads, but most of them are human too and might even chitchat about their own flying career during the test
I know it's easy to say 'just relax, you'll be fine', I know I was never ever relaxed during any of my tests! But it really is never as tough as you might expect, we have higher standards for ourselves than the examiner expects!