Andrew Sarangan wrote in message .158...
In my limited experience dealing with those who earned their certificates
long before I was even born, I do tend to agree somewhat with CJ's
comments. I have done several flight reviews with such individuals, and
it was not a pleasant experience. The ground review is dominated by them
telling me war stories and never really answering my questions. I try to
be polite and listen to the stories, but my questions go unanswered. It
is a very frustrating experience for me. I had one guy who flew the
entire time with his feet on the floor. However, some of the greatest
pilots I have met are also from the same generation, so I would not
generalize this observation. It is however safe to say that on average we
are training better pilots today than we did several decades ago.

We run three 172s, a 182RG and a Citabria, and that Citabria is
the most popular airplane among both students and instructors. It's
worth as many dollars as any of the 172s, but the insurance costs no
more than a 172. The students that start in it are more competent when
they finish the PPL than those who do it all in a 172, and that's in
all areas except basic instrument flying, since it has a rather basic
panel. The student has to maintain control of an unruly airplane and
has to be able to read a map, use a wet compass and and a watch. No
fancy radios to do all the work for him, no self-landing gear. And the
student spends no more time learning all this than he does in the 172.
He goes on to the 172 and 182 with sharp flying skills and is a much
better pilot in the end.
We just bought another Citabria, and they can't wait until it's
ready to go.
As far as another poster's rant about EAA types: As with any group
of people, you have the black sheep that seem bent on giving the rest
a bad name. We could paint all private pilots with the same brush, as
this poster did with the homebuilders, since there are enough weekend
warriors that will tangle with thunderstorms and winds and unairworthy
airplanes, and who will buzz friend's houses and ultimately kill
themselves and a couple of friends. But that wouldn't be fair, would
it? You only hear about the few brainless EAAers, not the thousands of
earnest guys/gals building and flying airplanes that are light-years
ahead of anything Wichita sells.

Dan