A strong wing does not blow all morning. A cloudburst does not last all day. The wind and rain are from Heaven and Earth and even these do not last long. How much less so the efforts of man? Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching Quote from Tao Te Ching: The New Translation from Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition, translation by …
Tag: go/no-go
Nothing is More Dangerous Than …
“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.” Emile Chartier Always have an out. And try to keep generating more ideas when things are going wrong. Are you fixing what’s really wrong?
Chair Flying
Jimmy Chin on Managing Fear
Jimmy Chin is one of the best mountain climbers alive. He knows fear. And how to manage it: The full quote, from Outside magazine 19 October 2015: Fear is always there, it’s a survival instinct. You just need to know how to manage it. It’s about sorting out perceived risk from real risk, and then being as rational as possible with …
Not Paid to Fly
“The best thing you learn when flying in Alaska is when to say ‘no.’ When I started, the owner told me that she doesn’t pay us to fly; she pays us to turn around. If you’re smart, that sticks with you.” Patrick Dugan K2 bush pilot and Extra 300 aerobatic competitor Quoted in the March 2017 edition of EAA’s Sport Aviation …
The Best Plan
My 5-yr-old son will ask why? Then ask why again. Why? Why? Why? As pilots we should ask ourselves what if that doesn’t work? And then what if that doesn’t work. What if? What if? Don’t box yourself in. Always have an out. Preferably a flexible changeable out. Quote by Derek Sivers in the 2016 book Tools of Titans.
The Word is “Pilot”
American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing 767, during takeoff roll from ORD suffered an uncontained catastrophic failure of their starboard engine yesterday. Just like the sim. Except in the sim you don’t have 161 passengers, the wing doesn’t melt, and people don’t make meme’s from your super cool pilot picture:
Listen to Your Plane.
Former NASA chief astronaut and USAF test pilot Charlie Precourt has a good article in the July edition of EAA’s Sport Aviation magazine. It’s on the normalization of deviance. That’s something we learnt about from studying the Space Shuttle accidents. And something we can apply every time we go flying. Listen to your plane. Don’t let standards slip. Don’t normalize …
Sudden Power Failure on Initial Climb
Total power loss at 300 ft. Eighteen year-old solo pilot glides back safely by flying the plan he’d verbally self-briefed. Very short, very cool video: Plan your flight. Fly your plan. Control your airspeed.
It’s Always a Balance
It’s always a balance — you have to make money; you have to stay on schedule; moving people is your goal. But you have to get them there safely. Captain Sheryl Clarke Director of safety, security and compliance, ExpressJet Airlines. While there are some concerns with SMS, it’s nice to see a senior airline SMS manager publicly (in Flying magazine …