The Twelve Mindsets

Distilling Sam’s pushpull, sometimes stern, sometimes zany, from-the-cuff, master-to-student method of flight instruction into words is tricky. He was more demonstrate than discuss. But I’ve been slowly connecting dots to see what picture emerges.

The twelve web pages linked here are a good start. Airmanship mindsets that work whatever aircraft we are flying. Because no one is born a good pilot. We are all made. And we can make ourselves better:

Start right now

Being a great pilot starts right now. For if not now, then when? No one has a perfect flight, few pilots come even close. But that is just fine. While pretenders worry about not looking good and idly dream of amazing flights, the maestros are memorizing the manuals and doing the job of a prepared pilot. They are slowly making constant corrections. They are enjoying the details. Read more …

Flying can not be taught

But it can be learned. You are a pilot: It is a state of mind as much as a seat in the cockpit. You will not master the myriad skills without practice. But the good news is you can — in fact you must — practice outside of the cockpit. Visualize flight. Only when ready should you go up in the sky and fly. …

Voices in my head

We all have an inner dialogue, the voice in our head that talks to only us. And there are many times we need to think actions through using our inner dialogue. However, there are times we must somehow quieten the voice, and trust another inner self. …

No competition in the sky

It is as Gann titled a book: Fate is the Hunter. You should not worry about the friend to beat, or the government minimum standard to meet; this is a long game of solitaire. You must not stop if you have beaten the other student or have passed a test. The real exam will come when you are alone. …

Playing for fun & love

Sam was always laughing at himself, his students and most anything else that caught his eye. He said that flying is the only occupation that has such serious consequences for failure, yet is so much fun. A passion for flight is more powerful than rocket fuel. …

Always a beginner

The great masters always regard themselves as beginners, with minds open to new experiences, the momentary adventure of life. A close-to-retirement Boeing 777 examiner, who had also instructed in the T-37, F-4, F-15, B-727 & B-737, once told me he still learns something on every flight. If he does, I must. …

Up down, left right, yin yang

Seen from the cockpit, flight controls work the same inverted as they do in upright flight. But we must carefully define what up and down mean. In flying we must balance up and down, the technical and the artistic, left and right brain, System 1 and System 2, matter and spirit, Yin and Yang. …

Centered within

The mind of the pilot is centered within you. There can be no reliance on props or tricks when fully flying. Of course we fly the wing, by the book, using crew resource management — but you are pilot-in-command centered in the sky. …

Nothing special

The process of learning to really fly seems magical, the results superhuman. While soaring above the clouds is living a great dream of mankind, it is what we do. Clouds and mountains are still clouds and mountains. There are no tricks to being a pilot, just fly in the present right now. Nothing special. …

Trust the inner game

Are you gently grooving with gravity or do you have a death grip on the yoke? Can you flare with flair? “It is an action is which certain things are caused to happen and certain things are allowed to happen. Faults arise in trying to cause what should be allowed”. …

Flow on a million details

Mindfulness can make every action important, and then what were moments in the zone become an inner art. Matching skills and challenges, you are now flowing in an ocean of air, alive in the river of life. …

Unending journey of self-discovery

To the winged warrior the stick becomes as a Samurai sword. The sky becomes a practice. Each flight is new. And the more we fly, the more meaning we discover. What is not needed falls away, and airmanship becomes artful. …

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