"Barney Rubble" wrote

Would you say that an 18-wheeler truck driver is safe, even if he has never
held a CDL? The public purpose is to stop any old yahoo from grabbing the keys
to their friends plane and launching off.

I started driving a school bus, with a p endorsement on my regular driver's
license. I got that by taking a very simple test, and perhaps a few hours
training.

Enter the beginning of the CDL program. I got grandfathered into that, and now
hold a CDL, with a (m)ortorcycle, (p)assenger and (s)chool bus endorsements.

I am no better or worse driver when I got the CDL, than before.

It is possible that a person got a lot of training from flying with their
father, or as a passenger with a friend, or a military pilot that never got the
PPL instituted after he got out of the military. They all could have just as
much flight experience as a PPL holder, but not be legal.

I do not endorse such a way around the system, but it is possible to fly safely
without a formal certificate.
--
Jim in NC