Originally Posted by
Uncle Bose
Too much much credit is given to all the little gems and anecdotes that older, wiser instructors pass on. I'm especially cynical given what I've seen come out of the Kool-Aid-stained mouths of Riddle kids, who have convinced themselves that some fat old fart behind a podium prattling on about their glory days in an F-4 constitutes "learning a lot," and is worth their tens of thousands of dollars.
I'm with LAFF--stories about bygone days and obscure occupations, while charming, are still irrelevant, and not a good use of your time and money........
I do not agree with this 100%, not that anyone asked me to, I'm just stating my opinion. There is a great deal to be learned from the older instructors, my primary instructor was mostly an older aerobatics pilot who had built his own RV-6, and was a farmer and school superintendent of a small district in central Illinois. Another instructor I flew a good amount of time with was an Italian guy who flew during his off time. Mostly flew in Citabrias and Aztecs with him.
Also, I have learned a great deal hanging around the small local uncontrolled field from many old timers, including one Flying Tiger, Korean War on up vets, retired airline pilots, aviation magazine writers, and mechanics. Volunteering at EAA events and the county air show was good exposure as well.
Having a good foundation like a mom & pop FBO for your private license is great, but I want to make a career out of this, and don't really feel the need to dabble here and there while getting a new rating every year. If someone was done with college or was looking to make a career change then I would think the ATP Private Pilot program would be perfect for them. I personally earned a private license during high school, and now I would like to get my career started and after probably a good 6 months to a year of research and talking about it with family, I decided on ATP's ACPP.
It's very important to understand aviation, and airline history. Be knowledgeable. Operations like GauxJets wouldn't exist if more people cared about standards, and how they lower the bar for everyone when they fly struck work.