A bad/poor pilot

[Maximilian_Jenius]

I often here and other message boards as well in IRL pilots often saying "so and so" is a bad, or a poor pilot. Or they either flew with a pilot who they say is a bad, or a poor pilot. Not knowing what to know, I wanted to pose it to the group and maybe get some examples of a bad or poor . My instructor @ KGEU always bad mouthed other CFI's, the owner and the chief pilot as bad pilots during our flights. Saying that he was smarter and a better pilot than all of them. When I was at my pilot mill I would hear CFI's gossip about students, or other CFI's saying that they were bad or poor pilots/instructors. @jtrain609 as another example in another thread mentioned a Compass pilot that was a poor pilot, because he landed with a 25 kt. tailwind.

So, what exactly makes a pilot a bad pilot or a poor pilot? Is it judgement calls, decision making ability, bad/poor stick and rudder skills? Pilot type control issues, insecurity?All of that, maybe more that I didn't mention? What specifically?

 

[web265]

 

[GypsyPilot]

So, what exactly makes a pilot a bad pilot or a poor pilot? Is it judgement calls, decision making ability, bad/poor stick and rudder skills?

Pilot type control issues, insecurity?All of that, maybe more that I didn't mention? What specifically?

It can be any of the above traits in the first paragraph, and they’re typically foreshadowed by the issues in the second paragraph.

I think 100% of the pilots I’ve ever flown with that do crap like hover their had over the flap/gear handle are crappy pilots.

 

[gliderboy]

Airplanes, like motorcycles, aren't for everyone.....

 

[MFT1Air]

Good or bad? They are "labels." I dislike labels because they are relative/subjective evaluations with ZERO concrete indicators to make "good" or "bad" an absolute.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

I often here and other message boards as well in IRL pilots often saying "so and so" is a bad, or a poor pilot. Or they either flew with a pilot who they say is a bad, or a poor pilot. Not knowing what to know, I wanted to pose it to the group and maybe get some examples of a bad or poor . My instructor @ KGEU always bad mouthed other CFI's, the owner and the chief pilot as bad pilots during our flights. Saying that he was smarter and a better pilot than all of them. When I was at my pilot mill I would hear CFI's gossip about students, or other CFI's saying that they were bad or poor pilots/instructors. @jtrain609 as another example in another thread mentioned a Compass pilot that was a poor pilot, because he landed with a 25 kt. tailwind.

So, what exactly makes a pilot a bad pilot or a poor pilot? Is it judgement calls, decision making ability, bad/poor stick and rudder skills? Pilot type control issues, insecurity?All of that, maybe more that I didn't mention? What specifically?

I think you need to re read what you wrote. Most of this is coming from insecurity from the pilots trash talking other pilots.

In my career and experience the ones talking trash are usually horrible. Just look at the pilot group that I had the most issues with, trash talking me at XOJET.

It’s not like I stayed in touch with any of them but I know one has been fired from my present shop others are avoiding upgrade. The director of safety was discovered with his AR15 after shooting himself outside of his home. There’s a lot of other examples.

These people were a mess, they knew it and were compensating by trash talking others.

Whenever I hear someone trash talking another pilot I usually suspect they are the problem.


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[mikecweb]

Your definition will change over the course of your career. Right now it’s probably test scores and landings/maneuvers which probably divide “good” & “bad”. When you start flying professionally, no one cares about what your tests scores are and it more morphs into cockpit behavior and who makes the job harder than it needs to be.

It’s very personal too. For me, I judge another pilot with how smooth they are on the controls and how they behave when plans change. If you throw an airplane around because you did that in a previous life (i don’t care if there’s just boxes) it shows me nothing except you don’t have finesse. It’s much harder to fly smoothly than aggressively. Second when plans change, do you lose your • or do you calmly adjust and manage the situation. I also can’t stand people that rush.

This explains why captain cadet @Dacuj is getting so much blowback. He still thinks someone’s background and career foundation makes a pilot better or worse. Don’t be a dick is really the only foundation that matters. The rest can be trained (for the most part). There is the 5% who have a good attitude but just are in the wrong career. Usually the bad attitudes also lack ability. I’ll let you psychoanalyze the chicken or the egg with that one.

 

[Roger Roger]

Second when plans change, do you lose your • or do you calmly adjust and manage the situation. I also can’t stand people that rush.

This is a huuuuge one for me. If you can adapt when The Plan changes even if it seems like a goofy plan to you, that’s great. Bonus points if you can see the humor in the situation.

 

[Richman]

Good or bad aside, a CFI talking poop about other CFIs or students is unprofessional, and it would cast serious doubt with me about anything else they said.

 

[🦈💜]

@jtrain609 as another example in another thread mentioned a Compass pilot that was a poor pilot, because he landed with a 25 kt. tailwind.

"A superior pilot uses her exceptional judgment to avoid situations that would require her to use her exceptional skill."

Absent mitigating circumstances, landing with a 25 kt tailwind is a pretty good example of a failure of part 1.

So, what exactly makes a pilot a bad pilot or a poor pilot? Is it judgement calls, decision making ability, bad/poor stick and rudder skills? Pilot type control issues, insecurity?All of that, maybe more that I didn't mention? What specifically?

Dunning-kruger. Most of the time when someone describes themselves as a good pilot, it's a somewhat reliable indication.

 

[Screaming_Emu]

This is a huuuuge one for me. If you can adapt when The Plan changes even if it seems like a goofy plan to you, that’s great. Bonus points if you can see the humor in the situation.

And really you should have been thinking ahead enough that you’re not caught without a plan. Monitor the threats, think about a plan for what to do if those threats become a reality.

 

[bike21]

And really you should have been thinking ahead enough that you’re not caught without a plan. Monitor the threats, think about a plan for what to do if those threats become a reality.

Perhaps a generalization, but it seems those who've flown freight/commuters/RJs seem to roll with the punches a little easier. Always chuckle at the time one of my first captains at SJI had a mini meltdown because he ACTUALLY had to stop the airplane for a brief moment while rampers got into position on a 100+ degree sunny day.

Kinda like those folks that complain about seeing constructions workers 'standing around', some just haven't every truly labored a day in their life and it shows.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

Some guys shouldn’t be driving a car let alone flying a plane. That makes for a painful trip.

 

[fholbert]

1. Mechanical knowledge: When you do this, the airplane does that. I find pilots that don't have mechanical knowledge fly a poor aircraft.
2. Over confidence: A KingAir pilot I know says there is nothing weather can throw at him he can't handle.
3. Lack of modesty; A pilot who takes off his clothes then pages the FA.
4. Showoff: Anything that starts with hold my beer.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

Perhaps a generalization, but it seems those who've flown freight/commuters/RJs seem to roll with the punches a little easier. Always chuckle at the time one of my first captains at SJI had a mini meltdown because he ACTUALLY had to stop the airplane for a brief moment while rampers got into position on a 100+ degree sunny day.

Kinda like those folks that complain about seeing constructions workers 'standing around', some just haven't every truly labored a day in their life and it shows.

Captain No Chill


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[milleR]

The worst pilots I’ve met suffer from a complete lack of self awareness. Anything that goes wrong is somebody else’s fault or the result of external factors. They don’t need to learn or improve, everybody/everything else needs to conform to their self-perceived notion of excellence. These qualities apply to the asshats in all professions.

 

[GypsyPilot]

Perhaps a generalization, but it seems those who've flown freight/commuters/RJs seem to roll with the punches a little easier. Always chuckle at the time one of my first captains at SJI had a mini meltdown because he ACTUALLY had to stop the airplane for a brief moment while rampers got into position on a 100+ degree sunny day.

Kinda like those folks that complain about seeing constructions workers 'standing around', some just haven't every truly labored a day in their life and it shows.

I cannot like this post enough. It absolutely amazes me when some of the guys I fly with have a meltdown over the most trivial issues. They wouldn’t make it through one day of an easy 4 day RJ trip.

RJ and freight guys quickly learn that going into chill out mode when crap hits the fan is the fastest and most error free way to handle issues. Without question, this is what makes me want to upgrade ASAP.

 

[jtrain609]

I often here and other message boards as well in IRL pilots often saying "so and so" is a bad, or a poor pilot. Or they either flew with a pilot who they say is a bad, or a poor pilot. Not knowing what to know, I wanted to pose it to the group and maybe get some examples of a bad or poor . My instructor @ KGEU always bad mouthed other CFI's, the owner and the chief pilot as bad pilots during our flights. Saying that he was smarter and a better pilot than all of them. When I was at my pilot mill I would hear CFI's gossip about students, or other CFI's saying that they were bad or poor pilots/instructors. @jtrain609 as another example in another thread mentioned a Compass pilot that was a poor pilot, because he landed with a 25 kt. tailwind.

So, what exactly makes a pilot a bad pilot or a poor pilot? Is it judgement calls, decision making ability, bad/poor stick and rudder skills? Pilot type control issues, insecurity?All of that, maybe more that I didn't mention? What specifically?

The EMB-175 has a tailwind limit of 10 knots, so that's a good start; when you are either so situationally unaware that you're breaking a limitation, or don't know the limitation, or don't care, you're not making the cut.

Guys that put themselves into square corners with no backup plan, people who have no interpersonal communications skills, guys who don't know how to say "no" at work when they need to. All of these are indicators that someone is a subpar pilot.

 

[SteveC]

I’ll pick up on one aspect that @mikecweb already mentioned, a good pilot is “smooth”. A pilot that is so smooth on the controls that you can’t physically feel the changes in aircraft attitude is a pilot that is way ahead of what’s happening in the flight. His head has already done what his hands and feet are just starting to do, and he has anticipated possible upcoming changes five moves ahead. He makes easy thrust lever adjustments and you can barely hear the engines change pitch nor feel big changes in acceleration or deceleration in flight, rolls into and out of turns so easy you wouldn’t know if you weren’t looking out the window, is very progressive on the brakes, and makes it all look easy-peasy.

 

[Screaming_Emu]

I’ll pick up on one aspect that @mikecweb already mentioned, a good pilot is “smooth”. A pilot that is so smooth on the controls that you can’t physically feel the changes in aircraft attitude is a pilot that is way ahead of what’s happening in the flight. His head has already done what his hands and feet are just starting to do, and he has anticipated possible upcoming changes five moves ahead. He makes easy thrust lever adjustments and you can barely hear the engines change pitch nor feel big changes in acceleration or deceleration in flight, rolls into and out of turns so easy you wouldn’t know if you weren’t looking out the window, is very progressive on the brakes, and makes it all look easy-peasy.

I like to think that I’m just nudging the airplane along. Once you get it pointed where you want, it’ll keep doing what you told it to. I always laugh when I’m riding in the back and can hear the autopilot disconnect horn through the door, then the airplane starts bouncing around.