Have pilots lost their sense of adventure?

[Colonel]

[quote]some instructor might get a few extra bucks out of it[/quote]

... and this is where I am failing to communicate.

If they milk on checkouts, they probably milk
on flight training.  You don't want to do either
there.

And if you can't trust them with a 172, you sure
can't trust them with anything more expensive.


I know flight instruction isn't fun, and it sure
doesn't pay very well.  That's why 99.9% of
instructors do it for as short a period of time
as possible, then move into the right seat of
a clapped-out twin somewhere godforsaken.
That's the way it's always been, and that's
the way it will always be, so get used to it.

But here's a tip for the young pilots:

[b]No matter what job you are doing, do it well[/b]

That might seem like quaint, stupid old
nonsense from a grumpy old guy, but
remember, even if you have no honour
or character, people are watching.

And keep in mind that no one cares if
you crash - it's a "learning experience".

Pilots get hired for meeting HR paper
requirements and [i]character[/i], not [b]skill[/b],
which explains what we regularly see
in the news these days.

A young pilot might not be rich.  He
might not own a lot of stuff, but his
character is the most valuable thing
he has.  And it's either sh1t, or golden.

Sounds stupid when I try to put this
into words, but it's really important.

I might tangentially point out that
although no one else could give a flying
f__k at a donut about pilot skill - hence
the new CPL's from the puppy mills that
I see, that can't land with 5k crosswind -
pilot skill is of paramount importance to
me.  It's kept me alive for 40 years, and
someday, life might hand you a test of
yours.

I know that's an old-fashioned thought,
and I'm ok with that.  As I get older, I
find it totally bizarre that it is accepted
that it's ok to crash and die in an airplane,
as long as you don't hurt anyone's [i]feelings[/i].

Basically, f__k safety.  Just don't be
mean to me, because my mommy
never was, and everyone should treat
me like my mommy does, or I'm going
to burst into tears.

WTF?!

[Barneydhc82]

As far as "check outs are concerned here is a little story.  Many years ago a friend a YPK running a FTU asked me to do a check-out on a guy who wanted to rent a C172.  The candidate presented a CPL and log book at the initial meeting, his walk around was very professional as was his flying skills and I was very pleased with the whole ride.

The bozo had stolen someone's licence and logbook and used the name to rent an aircraft even though he did not have a real valid licence.  In court I testified against him and he served two years for theft of an aircraft and low flying.  As he left court with his very wealthy family looking on he asked me to teach him to fly so that he could get a legal licence .

Not bloody likely
Barney