I have to say, when I posted this thread, I didn't expect quite such a response! But thanks!

Stumpy,

Once you have completed your first solo you are as much a real pilot as the guy flying a 747 for the airlines. If there is a difference it's that your last flight was more fun, and remember the 747 pilot has somebody in the next seat making sure he doesn't make a mistake, you don't. You will find out for yourself, but I find that people who let it be known what ratings they have or how many planes they have flown are a bit strange, both in real life and on internet boards. Be humble and get under their skin another way. Do as I say and not as I do :)

Now, your goal is to get a taildragger endorsement and get a rag and tube based at a grass strip, nothing else counts ;)

:ok: Hear Hear Paris Dakar. There are enough people attacking aviation and GA without us fighting amongst ourselves.

All start with a PPL. Now I am ATPL and fly biz jets. I never worked as hard as when I flew pistons. As you go up the aircraft ladder it gets easier and easier with reference to good kit and stable a/c. FL350 is much more relaxing than 3000 ft. If you have a PPL be proud of it, I would hesitate to jump in a 172 and fly away today. I need instruction, from a PPL.

I think avaiation somehow atracts snobbs and just d1cks in general.
Look at all the posts on pprune , how many times have you been flamed or abused for stateing your opinion.
Personal insults , belittlement, one upman ship etc etc you name it we have it in abundance on this board. (i have also met nice people as well so dont get me wrong)

I dont know why avaiation attracts such a large number of w@ nkers !?

Take a look at the car forums on pistonheads or diver forums on divernet, you'll find generally people falling over themselves to help each other out , have a joke and give good general advice.

I am in a syndicate of six, and one of our members is an ATPL who flys an A320 out of Heathrow.

I once asked him why, when he flies for a living, in his spare time he comes along and potters around in our little Jodel.

With a wry smile he replied "Ah yes, but this is REAL flying!"

:ok: :ok: :ok:

and this comes from someone who has used the words "W*nker", "Dick" in his post? :hmm:

Cheers

Whirls

[QUOTE=neilcharlton;2810667]I think avaiation somehow atracts snobbs and just d1cks in general .......... I dont know why avaiation attracts such a large number of w@ nkers !? [QUOTE]


You make the mistake of presuming that most people on Pprune have some relationship with aviation. ;)

Wherever you go and whatever you do you will encounter snobbery, I suppose it is part of human nature. I think the thing is that you have to learn to distinguish between casual banter and genuine snobbery/ oneupmanship.
In my experience snobbery is usually a sign of insecurity and/or lack of confidence.
The people who are the most snobbish are usually the people who have very little to be snobbish about.

Oddly, the only snobbery I noticed was when I was part way through my PPL - a couple of the instructors seemed to treat CPL students much differently to their PPL student counterparts - to a point where some people wouldn't fly with them. They seemed to believe that teaching PPL's was now below them :ugh:

2 things stick in my mind that redeem the oft-believed 'gods' with their 'superior' licenses ... on my 1st solo, the owner of a Mk9 Spitfire based at the airfield (who really WAS viewed with awe) who was 'held up' behind me as I flew the circuit and landed congratulating me on my 1st solo, and the crew of a BA 737 patiently waiting at the Hold in Jersey as I landed the Chippy from my 1st circuit after being signed off, commenting over the R/T about my 'nice landing'.

A lot of the 'big boys (and girls)' use the social club in Jersey and are more than happy to mix with us lowly PPL's. Now as for cabin crew........... :mad:

Try the boating fraternity... I work in it and had a boat... Got so fed up of snotty and unprofessional w*nkers in it that I bought a plane instead.

To be honest, in general most people involved with flying have been really good to me. Any snotty ones either usually have the piss taken out of them (a well timed fart behind them when they're not looking usually works) or are ignored anyway!:}

Haven't read the whole thread but in the UK a CPL is purely an exam passing exercise on the way to becoming an airline pilot, with a starting salary as low as 20k p.a. in the RH seat of a 737, or worse a RH seat of a turboprop doing night cargo, while furiously thumbing through the airline job ads looking for something a lot better.

Nothing to be proud of, IMHO. No more than doing a Masters in Multimedia at one of UK's many second-tier "universities".

Outside of air transport employment, the scenarios where a CPL is usable outside the AOC context are very very few. I can think of a paid company pilot, and very little else.