“Self-help gurus are always advising us to think positively and envisage success, but it’s about as helpful as thinking about cupcakes. Just thinking about them isn’t going to help. It’s more important to think what could go wrong with a mission. Visualize failings, not success. That’s what’s essential to survival as an astronaut. I was an astronaut for 21 years, but I …
Category: Link to Article
Dani Arnold on Self-Criticism
Several great ideas in this interview of record-breaking mountaineer Dani Arnold: “Climbing is all in the mind. It’s about being fully conscious in the here and now, not getting distracted by anything and keeping totally focused.” “You’ve always got to be brutally honest with yourself. That also means acknowledging your own weaknesses and limitations and then working on them.”
Automation and the FAA/NTSB
I’m going to let the dust settle before addressing this issue fully. But right now the Washington Post has a great article on the FAA/NTSB automation debate. And the full FAA IG report is online here. “We’ve recommended that pilots have more opportunity to practice manually flying the aircraft.” Robert L. Sumwalt, who spent 32 years as an airline pilot …
Airport Worker Killed in “Freak Accident”
The Daily Express newspaper reports today that an airport worker was killed in a “freak accident.” He was sucked into a jet engine. Or as human factors professionals calls it, a “normal accident”. An Air India official told The Hindustan Times: At the moment, we are absolutely clueless on how this person was near the aircraft. Only an inquiry can establish whose …
Harrison Ford Talks (Some) Flying
“When the engine quit, my training had prepared me to deal with it in a way. I really didn’t get scared. I just got busy. I knew what I was going to do, and I knew how to do it. The mantra aviators carry around in our heads is: Fly the airplane, first thing. Fly the airplane — even if …
How Pilots Intuitively Make Critical Decisions
Excellent Aviation Week article “How Pilots Intuitively Make Critical Decisions” is free online.
Flying Both the Boeing 747 & Edge 540
The essence of Inner Art of Airmanship is finding the core principles that makes good pilots great. Learning the techniques that are universal when flying a Piper Cub, an Airbus, or a helicopter. Paul Bonhomme is uniquely qualified to understand these issues, as he flies an Edge 540 in the Red Bull Air Races and a ‘day job’ at British …
Frog, Toad and Black Swan Checklists
Excellent article on checklist use – and when not to follow them. Quotes from Frog, Toad, and the black swan pilots of Qantas Flight 32. Written by a systems ergonomist/work psychologist with a real understanding of aviation issues. http://humanisticsystems.com/2015/10/01/toads-checklist/
Tired Cathay Pacific Pilots
One of the hardest things to do as a pilot is to not go flying. To tell your boss, your passengers, or your brother-in-law that no, I’m not flying today. Because I’m tired. It’s macho to say “need a straw?” (So you can suck it up.) It pays more to fly more. And unless you are absolute worn-out, it’s a …
Am I a Good Pilot?
I think I’m a good pilot. Above average, anyway. For sure. Over 17,000 hours, 5 type ratings, published scientific research into pilot behavior, on and on. I work at it, every flight. Well, most every flight. But a paper recently published in Psychological Science: Journal of the Association for Psychological Science (I’m not a nerd, but I am a subscriber) …