How can you improve yourself as a pilot?
- Thread starter FlyGuy9k4
- Start date
ppragman
No pasa nada.
By striving for excellence in all things, aviation and otherwise.
A good captain is a leader. He demands stellar performance and coaches when not up to standards. A manager just delegates tasks and accepts the results.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
IMHO no subsitute for real life experience, and preferrably lots of it. Studying, systems knowledge, sim time is all good and well, but it only goes so far in terms of preparing you for the unknown. Aside from that, I guess I would just say always being hard on yourself about the basics. If you refuse to accept deviations in basic airwork and such, then when things pile up on a bad day, it is just a habit pattern to at least have that much suitcased already. One of my favorite instructors in advanced training during flight school always posed various derivations of the same question in briefs/debriefs: "what is that ball telling you when it is low/high?", "what is your airspeed indicator telling you when you are 5 knots fast?", "what is your altimeter telling you when you are 50' high?", "what is your bearing line telling you when you are acute?" and so on. The answer: "You suck". There is a whole hell of a lot more to good airmanship than just flying the numbers, but I have NEVER met a really good pilot who didn't make it their job to nail them in spite of everything else going on around them.
gne in prog
Well-Known Member
depends who is interviewing you. i don't think that would be a good answer for an hr manager.
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
Love it...classic fighter pilot wisdom.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
Wise wise words. Any deviation is too much deviation. That doesn't mean deviations don't happen, but a good pilot views striving for perfection as the minimum not the limit.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
Agreed, he was a former Tomcat guy too, so I'm sure that would make him smile
His other favorite was talking about BFM as being a "chess game with brass knuckles".....liked that one too.
Blackhawk
Well-Known Member
Lots of good pilots out there. Good captains, fewer.
It goes without saying that a captain must be a good stick and know his airplane, but also don't be afraid to learn new things from FOs.
A good captain needs to know the regs or at least where to find the answer.
A good captain should be pushing himself to learn new things and extend his aviation knowledge.
But a good captain also needs to be an instructor and mentor. How will that young FO ever learn to be a captain if no one teaches him?
A good captain needs to put the needs of the crew and pax before his/her needs.
A good captain needs to be able to communicate and listen.
A good captain can't be afraid to put his career on the line for the safety and welfare of his charges- the crew and pax.
A good captain needs to know what the most important thing is right now. Maybe it's not so important to fly the airplane right now- the FO can do that. If there is an emergency on a ship does the captain run to the stearing wheel, or does the captain manage the emergency? Does not mean the captain does not take the wheel when necessary for the safety of those on board, but is it the most important thing right now?
It goes without saying that a captain must be a good stick and know his airplane, but also don't be afraid to learn new things from FOs.
A good captain needs to know the regs or at least where to find the answer.
A good captain should be pushing himself to learn new things and extend his aviation knowledge.
But a good captain also needs to be an instructor and mentor. How will that young FO ever learn to be a captain if no one teaches him?
A good captain needs to put the needs of the crew and pax before his/her needs.
A good captain needs to be able to communicate and listen.
A good captain can't be afraid to put his career on the line for the safety and welfare of his charges- the crew and pax.
A good captain needs to know what the most important thing is right now. Maybe it's not so important to fly the airplane right now- the FO can do that. If there is an emergency on a ship does the captain run to the stearing wheel, or does the captain manage the emergency? Does not mean the captain does not take the wheel when necessary for the safety of those on board, but is it the most important thing right now?
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
What I'll remember from my CFI always is "You don't have to be a commercial pilot to be a professional pilot". I have fun when I fly, but its serious buisness. I always give my friends a full briefing, and make them open and close the door. They always laugh and think it seems stupid, but if I'm making a forced landing with an engine fire, I have a lot less to worry about if they know whats coming and how to get out.
Personally, I think you can never know enough about the systems of your airplane. I knew enough to pass my oral, but I'm still no where near 100% on how everything works. I'm not a car guy, so engines and all that aren't my idea of fun or interesting, but I feel is very important to understand.
Personally, I think you can never know enough about the systems of your airplane. I knew enough to pass my oral, but I'm still no where near 100% on how everything works. I'm not a car guy, so engines and all that aren't my idea of fun or interesting, but I feel is very important to understand.
:whatever: Sorry if that would offend the HR people. To bad they don't care if people are making mistakes and don't bother correcting them in a constructive way.
gne in prog
Well-Known Member
strong strategy.
the word you were looking for is "too," seeing as you like mistakes corrected.
ryan1234
Desensitized Member
That is some great advice Hacker!
The other day - I watched a pretty well known former Tomcat guy jump from an MS760 into a P-51 (within minutes of each other) and fly both to respective ends of the envelope - all with amazing precision.