The problem is that the majority of todays flight instructors don’t know how to teach and don’t know much about flying. An aviator who had survived a pretty ugly situation on a DC8 post maint test flight said regarding learning the basics without all the bells and whistles:
In that area the Piper J3 stands tall. I would take that a step further and say that those who soloed a glider at age 14 and then transitioned to the J3 are far better than those who skipped the basics.
I am a huge supporter of hiring based on knowledge and skills and physical strength and size. Not based on favoring DEI as Delta has stated in theri recent ads for pilots.
As far as the 99’s I sincerely believe that the WASP pilots were better than the women airline candidates of this era. There are exceptions to that and I have met quite a few of them and flown with some.