“Only a cautious person, man or woman, should fly. I never mount my machine until every wire and screw has been tested.” Harriet Quimby. First woman to gain a pilot’s license in the United States and first woman to fly across the English Channel. Good Housekeeping Magazine, September 1912. SaveSave SaveSaveSaveSave SaveSaveSaveSave SaveSave
Tag: habit
Active Monitoring
How do we monitor autopilots better? How do we stop just sitting and sorta watching the magic show? A major US airline training slide says ‘Active Monitoring’ works by: Visualizing the outcome. Acting to achieve the desired result. & Comparing expectations to reality. Look FOR something, not just AT something. I think they’re on to something. Monitoring …
How You Do the Little Things
How you do the little things everyday is important. Why is explained by former RAF Tornado F3 fighter pilot and Red Arrows display pilot Justin Hughes in his 2016 book The Business of Excellence. The full quote is: How you do the little things is how you do everything. You don’t choose a different behaviour just because it’s a big …
1 in 5 Biz Jet Pilots are Stupid?
Ripped from the aviation press headlines: One in five business jet pilots don’t do a full flight-control check before takeoff. Actually one in five is a bit of an exaggeration. The would be 20%. The more precise number is 17.66%. And that’s actually a per-flight percentage, so maybe the percentage of pilots is a little less. But WTF Batman! 17.66%? …
Josh Waitzkin on Excellence
Excellence is super cool amazing. But you don’t get there by wishing or hoping or staying safe and comfortable. Your call. (For more from Josh about excellence, see JoshWaitzkin.com)
Fighting Complacency
Fighting complacency is not as exciting as fighting fires, but it’s a battle we will join many more times. We train for engine failures, electrical loss, and lots more. And we should practice multiple worst case failures. But we must also learn to handle ourselves on all those flights when nothing is going on. (Quote is from Coelho’s 2008 novel …
Being a Good Stick is Not Enough
Being a “good stick” is not enough. Good pilots are thinking their way through the air as well as simply moving controls. What comes next in flight is absolutely as important as what is happening right now. Jack J. Pelton EAA CEO, Sport Aviation magazine, Nov 2016 “Being ahead of the plane” they call it. And if you can always …
Live the Warrior’s Life
In Greek mythology, Telamon is son of the king Aeacus of Aegina. He accompanied Jason as one of the Argonauts, and was present at the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. I don’t think he ever flew airplanes. But his words are forever true. It’s good to study aerodynamics, regulations and hydraulic systems. But study is never enough. We must also do. The preflight at 04:30. In the cold. …
Preflight Like a Zen Master Drinking Tea
It’s hard to do a good preflight. It’s hard to see all that is in front of us. One thing that may help is to preflight like a Zen master drinking tea. Quote is from Thich Nhat Hanh. Photo is Capt. Andy Alfiero and a KC-135R Stratotanker before flying a refueling mission over the Persian Gulf, Aug. 30, 2013. (USAF …
Pablo Picasso on What Counts
The plane knows nothing of your intentions to soar like an eagle. The plane knows nothing of your good intentions about being a safe, smooth, expert pilot. Carefully reading the checklist, actually checking the weather, applying the right rudder pressure, these are the things that count. Don’t intend to be a great pilot. Just work on being a good pilot. …