Flying Schools in the U.S.

Skylune wrote:
"Precious FAA" That is priceless. They are the ones busy doling out
grants to expand aviation. They are a huge part of the problem.

Hell, we actually agree on something, although I think for differing
reasons

And yes, I believe standards for licensing/testing need to be much more
stringent. Now, you can waltz in with a drivers license as "proof" of
medical fitness, do 20 hours, and fly an LSA.

Yeah, I'm not so sure I'd go along with the driver's license in lieu of
a medical either

I think this is a disaster waiting to happen, especially if the VLJs really
mutliply, and you have many types of planes/jets with pilots of varying
experience in traffic patterns.

We have that now. The insurance industry - which essentially trumps the
feds - is wary of lower time pilots (say 1000hrs) flying 300kt+ jets
and has put into place strict training & currency requirements for VLJ
owner/pilots. The bigger issue is that VLJs are expected to operate
from the underutilized small airports which means sharing the pattern
with slower piston aircraft. This is not necessarily a recipe for
disaster, but is something the FAA will undoubtedly be watching.