You have a religion that says if I want to live, I’m going to run the checklist. Robert Hulse Last week the NTSB released lots of details on a fatal accident that will keep lawyers and human factors academics busy for years. It involves rich high-profile (newspaper publisher) passengers, an iconic Gulfstream IV jet, the failure of a basic airplane …
Category: Link to Article
No Perfect Flight
I’ve spent six months in airliner jumpseats observing flight crews, recording their threat and error management behavior during three separate Line Operations Safety Assessments (LOSA). And I never saw a perfect flight. There is no such thing. I watched some master aviators come close, but we all can do more, do better. I’ve become resigned to the idea that I’m …
Love the One You’re With
“If you can’t be with the one you love … love the one you’re with.” While ‘make your passion your work’ is a good idea, it’s a little simplistic. And sometimes unrealistic. Thankfully, an article in yesterday’s New York Times titled Rethinking Work, shows us a better way — we can put some passion into our work. Work that is adequately …
How the Best Become Fulfilled
A creative man is fulfilled by accomplishments and a competitive man is fulfilled by beating others. I’m all about accomplishments. Ride the biggest wave. It has to do with me. I can always grow and keep accomplishing things. Laird Hamilton Fascinating article in the Huffington Post by Sasha Bronner about maybe the best surfer in the world, and why he does …
The Brain is Wider than the Sky.
Full poem and an excellent neuroscience discussion of the implications in this professor’s blog post: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/waking-dreaming-being/201504/the-brain-is-wider-the-sky
AOPA Article: The Art of Airmanship
This is an interesting article: The Art of Airmanship, by Christopher L. Parker, in AOPA’s Flight Training magazine, Aug 2006. A nice read, but I do have some comments. Like why oh why is the word Art at the start of the title but never mentioned in the article! The author states “Airmanship used to be about basic stick and rudder skills.” …
Counting the Hours
“I was counting the hours at the end, not because I was eager to land, because it was the only hours left for me to enjoy my time in this cockpit.” ~ André Borschberg, Solar Impulse 2 pilot, regards his historic 118 hour flight across the Pacific. Report in Wired.com
I Know My Personal Limits
“I knew my personal limits. It was my pride to know my abilities and those of the airplanes I flew. Still, there was always a part of me that knew I could dart outside the limits for a bit and sneak back in quickly.” ~ Ryan Lunde This quote is from an excellent personal article well worth reading: Impact, online …
The Aircraft is Our Tool
Formation aerobatic pilot Christophe Deketelaere on the perpetual pursuit: He flew for 18 years in the French Air Force, and currently is on the Breathing Jet Team. Quote is in an article on the Breitling Jet Team in the July, 2015, AOPA Pilot magazine.
Automation Addiction
In 2011, before the Asiana B777 crash, before the UPS A300 crash, industry experts were talking about automation addiction. It’s in an excellent AP news story, Automation in the air dulls pilot skill. Think they were onto something? How do you stay sharp?










