wow....

[Slick Goodlin]

I think it's great that a professional pilot is also planning on flying for fun.  For whatever stupid reason that's a rare thing now.

[Colonel]

I will happily check out a current, competent
pilot in a fixed-gear fixed-pitch SEL in two
circuits.

First circuit I say nothing, and he'd better
nail the runway alignment, glide path and
airspeed during final to the touch and go
landing, which had better be mains first.

Any errors leads to discussion and remedial
training.

Touch and go landing.  Flaps had best come
up.  Another circuit, power goes to idle abeam
the numbers on downwind, and he'd better
initially aim for the first third of the runway,
with a touchdown on the numbers.  One
engine warming at 500 AGL.

If a pilot can give me one, good, precise
circuit, and can handle an engine failure
in the circuit (to a power-off touchdown)
he's ok.

Most pilots aren't that good.  They generally
need some slow flight and stalls to work on
their stick and rudder skills.

It shouldn't take an hour or two to size up
a pilot.  Flying formation, I can tell you in
30 seconds if he is a good stick or not.

PS  Like me, Mike Mangold (who spent OSH
teaching ex-mil jet formation) when doing a
joinup, loves taking a run at the lead and
doing barrel rolls around him to dissipate
excess energy. 

NB:  before Mike showed up, he asked another
red bull pilot about me, who described me as a
"good stick", I am told.  TC might despise me,
but if red bull pilots think I am a [url= stick[/url],
that's ok.