Deep system knowledge is only needed on rare occasions. Unfortunately those occasions, when things break, when checklists and abnormal procedures are not enough, tend to require you have that knowledge NOW. Dr. Nicklas Dahlström is Human Factors Manager at Emirates, and a former researcher at Lund University School of Aviation in Sweden. Quote from his presentation at the 69th International …
Tag: mastery
Roger Cruickshank on the Perfect Flight
Roger Cruickshank is a front-line RAF Typhoon pilot. The Queen’s version of Top Gun‘s ‘best of the best, tip of the spear’. He has intercepted 22 different Russian aircraft, including the Tu-95 Bear, Tu-160 Blackjack, Il-78 Midas, Su-34 Fullback, Mig-31 Foxhound and An-26 Curl. Before this posting he was a RAF flight instructor and Olympic skier. So when he talks about making …
Know What Comes Next
Know what comes next. Captain Harry Linfield Harry Linfield, Concorde captain & instructor, when I asked him in the Brooklands Concorde simulator what good pilots did well. He has instructed in RAF Jet Provosts, B707s, Concorde and after retiring, in piston Cessna’s. He told me whatever the speed, stay ahead of the aeroplane. And know what you are going to …
Jeff Clark on Mavericks
Jeff Clark is a surfing legend. He discovered the huge wave surfing site Mavericks in California, has surfed there 40 years, and has been featured in several super cool surfing movies. I was reminded of his eloquence and deep insights into managing moving mass by an article in this month’s The Red Bulletin magazine. He also is quoted in the …
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)
Do ‘Brain-Training’ Games Make You a Better Pilot?
The Association for Psychological Science recently published a massive 200-page research report on brain training programs, seeing if fun cognitive tasks or games can enhance performance on other tasks. Peer-reviewed, respected authors, fully-referenced. It covered all the valid studies that have examined this question, a huge research database. And the results? Based on this examination, we find extensive evidence that brain-training …
Maya Angelou on Becoming a Great Pilot
At an airshow I admire the biplanes, the jets, the smoke and the sounds. But the persistence of the pilots to get this good is most amazing.
Elliot Seguin on the Perpetual Pursuit
Elliot Sequin is an experimental test pilot working for Mooney Aircraft, the founder and pilot of Wasabi Air Racing, and learnt his craft at Scaled Composites at the Mojave Air & Space Port, Mojave, California. He shares his considerable passion of flying in this cool video.
Fly Like an Eagle
I just re-watched the excellent rockumentary History of the Eagles (2013), over four hours on the band that made the biggest-selling album of the twentieth century. The movie has several revealing interviews with members of the legendary band. Contemporary thoughts from the early 70’s, and reflections after 40 years: “Perfection is not an accident.” Glenn Frey “Our goal was just to …
Make the Sky Your Canvas
Graham Hill is the only driver ever to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport—the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. Wow! He was the Formula One World Champion twice, with a total of 14 Grand Prix wins. And in his spare time, he liked to paint. Which makes this quote even more meaningful. “I am an artist. …