Attitudes and Flying

[Champcar]

Attitudes and Flying


We are all taught the FAA's 5 “Hazardous” attitudes during training. All pilots have some of theses attitudes in them at one time or another and is a part of the growing process as a pilot. Flying demands a amazing amount of respect, not only for yourself but for those around and bellow you.


A pilot has the most control of safety of flight through their attitude. Think about it, you can't control a lot of MX failures, mid airs, or ATC errors. But if you the right attitude towards flying then the odds of a safe flight go that much higher. I don't know what the right attitude is, nor do I think anyone has it but lets look at a few common behaviors;

1. WAY too Cautious- Flying is ALL about experience, if all you do during you Commercial time building is go to the same airport all the time then you as a pilot are failing yourself. Start off slow and keep moving that comfort level, just don't ever go past your ability. Get some actual, deal with crazy airspace, make weather decisions. You need to learn and get these experience so that you can make decision further down the road in your career.
2. I know EVERYTHING- Most of us know at least one. They could be a young fresh CFI or someone that learned to fly in a Biplane. Pilots have a special “judgmental” capability, sometimes they think they could of handled a emergency or accident that another pilot was involved in. It drives me NUTS when you tell another pilot about a accident and they first thing out of their mouth is “Oh well I could of handled it.” As a pilot you will always be learning, I don't if you have the FAR/AIM memorized, it just doesn't work that way. Own up to your knowledge level, NEVER be afraid to ask a question.
3. Flying isn't FUN enough- Maybe its just me but flying in its self is fun enough. I've yet to understand why pilots just have to go out and spin the crap out of a airplane or try and roll it. Why? You can sit here and tell me its safe all day long and I know it is most of the time, but ask yourself is this necessary?
4. Crying about the FAA all day long and their stupid rules- I may be on my own on this one but FAA does what it does for a good reason. The FAA has a safe and efficient system, the rules are there for a good reason. Just fallow them with the thought that they are not their for just your safety, but the safety of everyone around you in the air and the ground. So relax, no one likes authority, but I honestly think the FAA is around for our own good.

Sure I have had some of these attitudes at times and sure there are many more. But for a young or new pilot, its so import to look at your attitude and how much you respect flight. I hate seeing pilots with bad attitudes because I just pray they don't take someone else with them. Fly safe and with a good attitude your ability to fly safe won't be blocked.

[pilot4500]

Well said! It is so important that pilots never forget to always put safety first. I think that the most important thing to remember is that a good pilot is always learning. Show me a pilot who says that he knows everything, and I will show you an NTSB accident report waiting to be written. You will always be learning. This is true whether you have 10 hours in a C-172, or 10,000 in a B-747. The learning never stops. I always learn something new on every flight.

[falconvalley]

I'm a fan of performing aerobatics in an airplane approved, with the right training. I'm not a fan of going out and rolling the Beech 1900 on a 91 flight. That's not cool.

I also agree that some people are WAY too cautious. Don't get me wrong, everyone has the right to set their own personal limits. But don't lecture me about mine. I learned to fly at a very conservative flight school, so I know how to make a safe approach to a flight. It's all about risk management.

I worked for a knowitall once. Not a big fan. We are students even on our finé flight.

[MarineIP]

Pilot starts out with three buckets; one for knowledge, one for experience, and one for luck. In the beginning the luck bucket is as full as its ever going to be, and along the way the buckets for knowledge and experience get filled. The goal is to fill the first two buckets with out having to dip into last, too much!

[MarineIP]

Pilot starts out with three buckets; one for knowledge, one for experience, and one for luck. In the beginning the luck bucket is as full as its ever going to be, and along the way the buckets for knowledge and experience get filled. The goal is to fill the first two buckets with out having to dip into last, too much!

[falconvalley]

That's a very good way of looking at it and turns out to be very true the longer you fly. It's all part of human behavior.