Kev writes:

Which makes sense... I mean heck, sometimes I think that automobile
drivers should be certified for manual transmissions.

Some jurisdictions require this, but there seems to be little or no
enforcement. In my home State, as I recall, most people took the exam in an
automatic, and there was a box in which one could restrict them to automatics
only on the license, but this box was never used, leaving them able to drive
manual transmissions as well, even with zero experience.

But learning to drive with a manual transmission only takes a day. I suspect
that learning to move a gear lever or a flaps lever is comparable.


I see way too many drivers who are very scary to be behind, when starting on hills
with their new 5-speed ;-)

Yes, but much depends on how often you are in that situation.

I'm sure there are many exceptional situations in which the average pilot
would be hopelessly and dangerously at a loss, but if those situations don't
often arise, it probably won't ever be a problem.

It goes without saying that most pilots, like most drivers, will handle the
most common situations well, and will handle the exceptional situations
poorly. Having a license doesn't change this.

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