Primary training in a high-performance & complex aircraft can
certainly be done and done safely. In my opinion the only reason NOT
to do it is the increased risk of incidents due to pilot error.

More speed, plus more items on the checklist means less time in which
to accomplish more tasks thus an increased probability of making an
error, failing to complete a checklist item or possibly less attention
spent outside the cockpit.

As a general rule it's easier for someone to learn a smaller number of
tasks and add more tasks onto that as they master them. Starting in a
high performance & complex aircraft just dumps more things into the
students lap at an early stage in their training. A student pilot is
no less capable of learning these things things than a private pilot,
but generally speaking a student is more likely to make certain types
of errors. Giving the student more potential errors to commit just
increases the odds of one happening.

Personally, I think the most important factor would be the
instructor. If properly trained, I think a student can fly a HP/
Complex aircraft safely.

On Mar 23, 11:36 am, "Kingfish" wrote:
Total stream-of-consciousness post here...

Anbody learn to fly in a high performance complex aircraft? Bonanza,
Saratoga, 182RG and the like? I know it's possible, just wonder how
much longer it'd take for a student to master something with
significant power and prop & gear controls. (I did all my instructing
in 172s and PA28s)
I watched that goofy Segal movie Executive Decision the other day
where Kurt Russell was a student pilot flying a Bo, and later used his
stellar(?) flying skills to plant a 747 at a GA airport. It got me
thinking about ab initio folks learning in Cirruses (Cirri?)
Obviously with no prop or gear control it's a simpler aircraft to fly
but the performance is equal to or better than a A36.