I don’t really understand CAFlyer’s remark about “not doing this to your CFIs”. Advancing a pilot’s capabilities is what they do for a living. Anyway, I applaud Mark Phelp’s efforts to get back in the saddle of improving his skills. Mark, if the Class 3 represents a barrier for you, you might consider a Basic Med. I’ve been flying my Comanche 250 with that for several years now, and find it much easier to deal with at the age of 80.
I appreciate the concern, but Gus works with a few different CFIs and I’m confident he would never pressure any of them to pencil-whip a sign-off. If he’s not ready, he postpones the trip and studies and trains some more.
As a CFI it’s not that uncommon to have someone call you on a Tuesday with an airplane new to them, and they have an aggressive timeline in mind to make a big trip. Training is my job sure but the situation as described creates a form of get-there-itis and sign-off pressure which are both counter to safety. That’s what I was attempting to convey.
Mark: Well done! Somerset Airport is a particularly excellent operation: I should know as I moved a few blocks away from it when we were in NJ. (We parked our Cardinal there for a while…) They have one of the best people around and Mark is a lucky guy. …or smart.