What is the goal of aviation? That’s the title of an intriguing blog post on The Aviation Guy. Commercial operators want to make money. Normally by moving people or goods quickly. Or for a few tour operators, the method is by giving great views of our planet. More than all this however, there are two things that strike me about …
Poberezny on Perpetual Pursuit
Paul founded the Experimental Aircraft Association, and clearly he knew about the perpetual pursuit of piloting perfection!
Effortlessness and Yet Such Total Presence
“Rowing at its best occurs when you are gliding through the water with such effortlessness and yet such total presence that you almost seem to disappear. Rowers use the term ‘swing’ to refer to that magical kind of condition when the boat seems to fly over the water and a lot of effort disappears from the stroke. The athlete becomes …
Astronaut Chris Hadfield on Negative Thinking
“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 …
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.”
Success and Excellence. Having and Being.
Super Bowl winning NFL football coach ‘Iron’ Mike Ditka getting philosophical on having vs. being. Given the choice of only one: would you want to own a B747 – or fly one?
Airmanship in Action
Your first choice isn’t always right. So keep turning! Plot from AA flight ORD to DCA. Looks like they ended up on the upwind side of the storm, almost always a better place to be, even if it is a longer track.
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 …
Do What You Love
How much longer am I going to do this? I don’t know. I love it, you see. Anthony Bourdain, Chef.Writing about 27 years of cooking professionally, in his book Kitchen Confidential. He wrote that in 2000. If you want to be good, you have to love the doing.
It is Never Finished
“It is never finished. I don’t have a sense of triumph or resting on laurels. I am quite a restless person. I just want to fly. I wish I was leaving tomorrow and flying on.” Tracey Curtis-Taylor. After flying an open-cockpit biplane England to Australia. Sounds like she knows of the perpetual pursuit … Her website is www.birdinabiplane.com, some great press …