Originally Posted by
Yoda2
I have an idea how this might have happened, or at least contributed. Basically somebody ruins it for everybody type of deal... For instance, in the Mid 70's many guys were getting typed in Lears, typically 24D's, using the GI Bill. (It was about a 6K deal with a 10% Co pay as I recall) A portion of those folks only had Private cetificates that rendered the ratings practically useless. For that segment, who also had little interest in persuing a flying career, it was essentially a cheap joyride at significant taxpayer expense.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
Those guys coming back from Vietnam had no business at all using their GI bill benefits, even though they earned it. Of course a lot of them never got to use those benefits, because, well, they died, fighting a stupid war, in a far away land, and for what? To be spit on when they returned? If you think that they had no right to use their benefits as they saw fit, then you really need to have your head examined. As for someone screwing it up for the rest, I raise the BS flag. It would take hundreds and hundreds of guys, doing the exact same thing wrong, before the VA or the government changed anything. As well, and more to the point, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that they would want one to get some real flying under their belt before they undertook an instrument rating. I mean, seriously, what are you going to do with a private pilot license and an instrument rating? Fly your C-152 in clouds? How about icing? Yeah, that would look good on an aviation resume.
As a final thought, when I got back from Vietnam, I took some college courses, one of which was a gym class (to fill in a space between other classes), and you know what, I didn't then, nor do I now, feel that I wasn't entitled to take that class, even though I never became a gym teacher.