Here's a new angle on the self training debate (Flight International 8-14 October). One of the benefits of having had a career before aviation is that in hard times you can go back. An income means you can get yourself a rating in anticipation of making yourself more attractive on the economic upturn.
A colleague and I have been preparing to furnish ourselves with a Boeing 737 rating in anticipation of a shortage of skills in that area. Last week we were told by GE Capital Aviation Training that they were no longer able to offer a rating to "individuals" because they "could no longer find an airline to provide base training".
Unabashed, we looked to Flight Safety in the USA who told us that because we were not US citizens they could not provide us with a rating either (presumably because as aliens we are not to be trusted!). So it seems that the "self improver route" stops at a CPL/IR (Frozen ATPL) and an Instructor Rating. Truly a level playing field.
Nick Williams-Howes
London, UK
Source: Flight International
