reply to post by videoworldwide
Oh, well....if you insist, I will provide a detailed refutation, based on MY depth of experience in aviation.
EDIT: NOT in this post, of course. Will take some time. BUT, since I have so much of it.....(end edit)
I respect Capt. Lear, and acknowledge his accomplishments. Dozens of type ratings ( I have four....they are EXPENSIVE!!! ).
He is in the Record Books, for various reasons. He had opportunities that I did not. Perhaps, his "drive" was different than mine. I was focused
on just getting a job with a Major Airline, and having a career, wasn't focused on any sort of noteriety. BUT, that's just me. Capt. Lear, that is
him. HE had the different drive, the different desires, the different opportunities.
At my airline, I knew a guy ( retired some years ago ) who had TWICE as many type ratings as Capt. Lear. Again, his personal choice, his "hobby",
if you will.
BUT, notwithstanding numbers of type ratings, and other life experiences, it boils down to other factors, such as hours and years of experience, in
flying.
ON THAT POINT, by that yardstick, I am at least Capt. Lear's level. I stopped counting at 20,000 hours. I flew large passenger jets, same airline,
for 23 years. Before that, other passenger operations in smaller equipment, various companies. Before that, I taought people how to fly, in various
disciplines, all the way from "Basic" to "Advanced" (I could elaborate, but I simplified it...)
I cannot say why Capt. Lear professes these opinions, he claims to have "inside knowledge" of a sort that I am certainly not privvy to.
HOWEVER, there is so much
other preponderence of evidence to make his claims, at least, questionable.
When Capt. Lear was contributing here, much more frequently at ATS, he had a phrase in is "signature" that seemed to me to be a little
toungue-in-cheek, almost as if most of what he wrote or advocated was just in fun....
Pilots, in general, have wicked senses of humour!!!! We can be quite clever, at times too.
[edit on 11 August 2009 by weedwhacker]