WIX Archives
Re: An Open Letter to all
Posted by Steve Young on Sat May 10, 2003 06:30:52 PM
In reply top Re: An Open Letter to all posted by Rob Rohr on Sat May 10, 2003 04:42:44 PM
Rob,
I can see your point, and I don't know what the situation is for you guys out there in the States, but over here in the UK I really don't think it's quite that bad. True, there are a lot of owners / operators who covet their aircraft, but why shouldn't they? They've paid a huge amount of money for them.
Also, we find that the majority of pilots who fly these older aircraft are predominatly ex-military pilots who are much more disciplined in their approach to flying than a civvie who's worked his way up through a PPL. That's not to say the civvie has any less ability, just that the military guy has always operated within a strict system, therefore should in theory be a safer and more disciplined pilot, therefore less of a risk.
On the flip side, there are old hands in the warbird world who do take us (relative in my case) youngsters on and give us a chance. The Fighter Collection do seem to have a lot of younger volunteers helping out these days, and ARCO boss John Romain is a good example of how a young kid can work their way up. Just takes a lot of work, and no small amount of luck. :)