Wow, crazy. And I agree……getting through the 4 horsemen was a rite of passage. I wouldn't say it was always entirely productive, but getting through them ultimately gave you some confidence that you could probably get through more realistic problems as well. More of a santa claus type (at least if you shined your boots), but I remember "Mr K" debriefing one of my RI flights one time, and saying something to the effect of "one day you are going to have to fly the best PAR of your life, or you are going swimming". Flash forward a few years, and I was in the Persian Gulf, flying a night case III taxi light on approach after the ship drove into a fog bank. Broke out in close/at the ramp, had one power and lineup correction, and stopped. I remember that quote reverberating in my mind as I was clearing the LA and trying to get my legs to stop shaking long enough to hold the brakes.