Note that the author is an "airport owner". So he has a direct interest in more general aviation.
Airline pilots today rarely fly light aircraft recreationally because they can't afford to. Airline pilots are paid much less than they used to be.[1] Regional airline pilots make $30K - $60K. Some bus drivers are paid more. Only senior pilots of major airlines break $100K today. Also, in the US, pilots usually have to pay for their own training.
As for "losing the basic skills", the author doesn't mention the best known example - the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at SFO. The pilots had to make a manual landing in clear weather, instead of using autoland, and they undershot the runway.
Some of that was a lack of manual piloting skills, and some of that was mode trouble with cockpit automation. (This is a huge issue. Read crash reports, and all too often part of the problem was something being in the wrong mode.) On the other hand, the "miracle on the Hudson" of US Airways Flight 1549, which he does mention, was a triumph of automatic control - once the pilot decided to land on the river, the Airbus control system did a very good job of providing a smooth descent.[2]
Airline pilots today rarely fly light aircraft recreationally because they can't afford to. Airline pilots are paid much less than they used to be.[1] Regional airline pilots make $30K - $60K. Some bus drivers are paid more. Only senior pilots of major airlines break $100K today. Also, in the US, pilots usually have to pay for their own training.
As for "losing the basic skills", the author doesn't mention the best known example - the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at SFO. The pilots had to make a manual landing in clear weather, instead of using autoland, and they undershot the runway. Some of that was a lack of manual piloting skills, and some of that was mode trouble with cockpit automation. (This is a huge issue. Read crash reports, and all too often part of the problem was something being in the wrong mode.) On the other hand, the "miracle on the Hudson" of US Airways Flight 1549, which he does mention, was a triumph of automatic control - once the pilot decided to land on the river, the Airbus control system did a very good job of providing a smooth descent.[2]
[1] http://thetruthabouttheprofession.weebly.com/professional-pi... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Fly-Wire-Geese-Miracle-Hudson/dp/03126...