I like to go against the grain, so can someone tell me what is so wrong about rich parents paying for a child's flight training? Is the implication they aren't as skilled or as committed to the job as someone who had to take out a big loan? Seems to me, it's all about jealousy.

As for the 800 hour compromise, the devil is in the details. Off the top of my head, the requirement for icing basically seems to indicate the government is setting up the 135 world as the feeder system for the regional world. Again, are there enough jobs out there in 135 land to help meet those requirments so airlines, big and small, can remain adequately staffed?

Also, isn't this compromise just setting the 135 world up as the next area for a major problem? Are the members of Congress going to scream and shout about poor training when the inevitable accident occurs with a 600 hour SIC pilot at the controls of a King Air? It certainly seems to me they are sloughing off this problem on the 135 providers because they are used by significantly less passengers.

Now, if the requirements listed in this article are to be rigorously covered in sim training by 121 carriers as opposed to be forced to take place before hiring, that's a different story. Still, I think this compromise is even worse than the ATP rule. At least with the ATP proposal, there was no tinkering with what flight conditions were needed to fly.

Nothing good happens when uninformed members of Congress get involved in a field about which they know nothing. Are there any former airline pilots in the Congress?