With that as my standard, I was struck by the way the business pilots then operated. For the most part they were fine aviators. Most of them had been trained by the Army Air Corps or the Navy and had flown in the war. But once they got out of the military and began flying executives, their training pretty much ended.

Keep in mind, this was the same time when pressurized, high-performance aircraft began to enter the commercial fleet in large numbers. For airline pilots who were used to operating airplanes low and slow, the transition was challenging. I saw that among Pan Am's old flying boat captains, so I figured the problem would be at least as serious, or worse, within business aviation as its airplanes improved.

The airlines knew how to handle the challenge. Heck, I was assigned to help the older pilots through the transition to DC-6s and Constellations. In addition, airline pilots were required by the government to demonstrate proficiency in training at least once every six months. But there was no similar requirement for business aviation pilots.