I am within a couple of hours away from my check ride. Since I soloed, I have done an off-airport landing due to engine out at 800 feet while practicing ground reference maneuvers. I have arrested a near stall on take-off. Both incidents would have been fatal if my training were not up to par. I am training with an independent CFI but our training aircraft are aging and so is the entire GA fleet. Those who can’t afford modern aircraft are flying dinosaurs. A new Cessna 172 is approaching a half a million dollars. Air frames are not being produced in sufficient volume to automate production. They are essentially hand-built. The engines are still being manufactured with 1940’s technology. Both the training and the entire fleet is 1940’s technology.
If we are going to get ahead of the accident curve, we need to rethink our training process. Why do we practice maneuvers instead of practicing scenarios like the airlines do?