Since I have no intention of ever going to work as a DC-3 pilot,
I don't think there are any ethical issues with buying a type rating
to improve my skill and knowledge as a pilot.
It works for me, because I have TCA and FAA ATP's.
US$18k is the same price as one dual flight in a CF-104D in Florida,
which I think I will also do, when I have time. Time is the most precious
resource for me. I'm not Elon Musk - he works a lot harder than I do -
but he says in the last 12 years, he's tried to take a total of 10 days
off (and probably failed).
I tried to take one week off last summer. Something came up - doesn't
it always - and spent it at work. Jesus, the wife was pissed. I know a
guy, he was on vacation in Hawaii, a problem came up on the production
line, he was flown from Hawaii to another continent to solve the problem
during his week off. I can only imagine what his family thought of that.
Other type ratings I would dearly love (but I don't think I'll ever be able
to get the time off for) include C-46. This probably doesn't make sense
to the people that fly plastic airplanes, and that's ok.
I know I'm not a good person, but I have found over many decades that
if you fly really unusual aircraft, it noticeably increases your pilot skill and
knowledge. That's important to me. See, all my friends are dead, and
I'm not. Why is that?
Here's a picture that I took of a really unusual airplane:
You know cat ladies? Old spinsters that have like 100 cats?
That's me, except instead of cats, I have airplanes, motorcycles, guns and dogs.
People around me know better than to (and are afraid to) mention the subjects
of airplanes, or motorcycles, or guns, or dogs, because there's 20 minutes
of their life gone, that they'll never get back again.
