Dave J wrote:
On Sep 11, 9:59 am, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:

They have shortened the time it takes to get a certificate that will
let you do what 90% of the private pilots do by about half. So that
is a start.

Agreed.

As far as planes not flying themselves neither do cars. I'll bet you
can take the average driver from today and put him in a car from the
30's and they won't have to much trouble. Except maybe with the
manual transmission.

Yeah, but cars are easy to drive. Actually, as far as basic
transportation, I think airplanes are pretty easy to fly, too. What
makes airplanes different are the squirrely corners of their
envelopes, and the fundamentally fail-unsafe failure mode that comes
from being in the sky, in vehicle that cannot be "pulled over."

And flying will never be the same as driving. It's that third deminsion that
is the issue. And don't think for a second that cars don't have those
squirrely corners of their envelopes. It's just that flying has more hence
the additional training.


But the rest of your statement basically boils down to not wanting
to learn something complex. And that can be further reduced to
instant gratification.

Right! But why must aviation be so complex? It requires a level of
training commensurate with, say, some trades and para-professional
degrees. Should that level of training be the necessary cost of entry?


Some things can only be simplified down so much. Basic flying has been
simplified from 40 required hours to 20. That's pretty damn good and I
really don't see how you could get it any shorter without taking everything
away that makes it worth while to do.



There is a spectrum between instant gratification, and a long, hard
slog uphill. It's not so black and white. People do *learn* to drive.
It doesn't happen instantly, and in fact, if you've watched teenagers
drive recently, I'm sure you realize that it actually takes years to
get really good at it. So people do put in some level of effort.

I just am tired of hearing about how lazy "kids today" are. People
have been muttering about "kids today" forever. Either man has been on
a constant descent to laziness or stupidity, or much more likely, the
notion is absurd. As tempting as it is to go for the first option, the
second is much more likely.

-- dave j

My instant gratification comment isn't aimed only at the kids.