Pilot With an Attitude
--Is he resigned and does not see himself as being able to make a difference in his life or flying? It is always someone else's fault?
--He takes unseemly efforts to impress others in how much more capable he is in given situation. Only his solution is the correct one and best.
--Does he seem to feel that the system will not come down on him. He is invulnerable and that always his 'guardian' will come to his rescue?
--He needs to control his impulsive reactions to prove that he is the one in control. He often fails to select the best alternative and exacerbates the worst aspects of the situation.
--He does not like anyone telling him what to do. Being told what to do is considered always as a 'put-down'. He resents the rules and procedures proposed by others as silly or unnecessary. A pilot has an obligation to question authority but an anti-authority attitude is inappropriate for today's flying.
--Right-of-way challenges do not determine who is right; they determine who is left.

Knowing your limits
--A pilot must be both legal and competent. Being legal means have the licenses, ratings, medical, and currency. Beyond this is the physical condition and experience required to make the flight safe.
--A pilot must know his personal minimums for weather. Having passengers raises the minimums. Not going is always an option.
--The airplane must be legal with registration, airworthiness, weight and balance and radio station license. Discrepancies must be measured against the type of flight and need for the system.
--The time and route of flight must be measured against fuel and load capacity as well as any altitude concerns.

Hazardous Attitudes
------------------------------------ANTIDOTE
1) Don't tell me, I know............1) Follow the rules
2) Do it quickly.................…....2) Think first
3) It won't happen to me............3) It could
4) I can do it....................……..4) Pilots are poor gamblers
5) What's the use.................…...5) I can make a difference

We Do Stupid Things
We can break the chain of bad decisions because every link is a weak one. Safe decision-making skills can be taught and learned.
What We Do......................... Why We Do It...
1) Bow to peer pressure........ 1) Anti-authority
2) Get into a mind set .............2) Impulsiveness
3) Give in to Get-There-Itis.... 3) Invulnerability
4) Duck-under-to-get-there....4) Macho
5) Scud running .....................5) Resignation
6) VFR into IFR conditions
7) Getting behind the aircraft
8) Loss of positional/situational awareness
9) Inadequate fuel reserves
10) Descent below minimums
11) Flight outside the envelope
12) Neglect of flight planning
13) Inadequate preflight
14) Failure to use checklist

Proficiency
Just what is considered proficiency depends on the attitude of the pilot. Even checkride applicants vary in their proficiency at that time. More significant is what improvements they make after the checkride. The hours you accumulate are either learning hours or lucky hours. Often it is difficult to tell one from the other. Failure to have recent and frequent experience leaves the door open to proficiency deficiency.

Proficiency deficiency is most apparent close to the ground. Personally, I question the value of time spent in touch-and-goes for proficiency. I would much prefer to have a pilot fly between airports. There is more to being a proficient pilot than just taking off and landing. The art of being a better pilot is directly proportional to your knowledge of how the aerodynamics of situation and configuration can be anticipated. Being less that proficient makes you a potential hazard and may well cost you more than the alternative of getting proficiency training. Planning and training will get you out of difficulties at least as often as will new cockpit toys. Your best software is under your hat.

How Not to Let It Happen
You will never be good, if you don't push yourself to be better. Just the maintaining of standards requires first of all, the setting of standards. Flying to poor standards is a process of "doing yourself in". What you do when nobody else can be aware is the proof of your excellence. You should never lower your standards and ignore doing things the right way because no one is watching. Use right vs legal, maximum Vs minimum.  All FARs are MINIMUMS.

Proficient flying consists of critical intangibles related to judgment, attitude, parameters and all those other quality elements of good airmanship. The criteria is related to how we accept what we do while flying. The pilot must discriminate between the essential and nonessential. Knowing the difference is 90% in the head. The essentials apply to safety, efficiency, parameter selection and smoothness. The minimum airspeeds are flown down to the V(ref/fe  number not the gross weight POH number.

You do what you do, do, do because it is the right thing to do. Don't waste your efforts on inefficient procedures that have no real effect or bearing on the safe operations of the aircraft. Use a clean efficient checklist that is based on real-world operations. Pretty doesn't count. Size doesn't count. Even the POHs non-applicable items do not count. Sequence what you do in logical order and a straight line across the panel when possible. Adjust logic and the line to the higher demands of accuracy and preciseness. Where sequence is a matter of safety...do it in sequence. Feel free to vary sequence when it is in conflict with safety.

Do not let an inappropriate checklist replace common sense. Safety is the substance of all flying procedures. Do what is safe and it will be right. The irresponsible use of a checklist, using it and doing it because it is there, is potentially hazardous. Your way of doing things should be applied as much as possible to all aircraft you fly. Most things we do in flying can be sequenced the same in different planes. Be consistent where possible and make special note of the inconsistencies.  Make checklists not so much just for types of aircraft as for the specific aircraft.

What you do and how smoothly you do it is the ultimate standard of competence. Even making the choice not to fly is part of the competence standard. As a pilot you have a trigger mechanism ready to deal with any abnormality. Be it a starting problem, radio problem, or emergency you know things will happen and your alternative courses of action are already in place. You should not wait to have an accident to know your
proficiency limits.

1) Avoid the situation that contains distractions
2) Plan so as to always fly with a reduced workload
3) Plan for emergencies, follow the plan
4) Know your aircraft systems and be proficient in their use.
5) Know your personal limits and minimums and abide by them.
6) Do not let little problems grow into big ones.
7) If flying is stressful, find something else to do.
7.5 Check with local pilots and instructors before flying into unfamiliar areas and airports. There will always be local factors and differences that are specific to the situation.
8) Maintain your health
9) Maintain your physical comfort while flying.

Stress
A certain amount of stress is good for you and your flying. It keeps 'you on you toes' and alert. However, stress is accumulative. As stress builds it crosses a threshold level where your ability to adapt declines and your ability to perform decreases. The threshold varies every moment of your life. When your stress level gets you behind the airplane make a change. A change that ALWAYS works is to slow down the airplane.
---------------................................ANTIDOTE
Other than Flying:
1) Stress exists...............…........Know your stress agents
2) Change causes stress..............Don't take unsolved problems flying
3) Stress is insidious.........….......The Life Style factor
4) Stress is cumulative...........…..Flying requires emotional support

Flying
1) Avoid unrelated distractions......Safe flying is just flying
2) Reduce your workload.............Efficiency breeds efficiency
3) Maintain proficiency...........…...Fly regularly and often
4) Know your limits..............….....Instruction is cheap insurance
5) Flying is stressful............……...Flying should not be stressful
6) Mistakes breed mistakes...........Study mistake recognition
7) No emergency is "expected"......Checklist!!!

Risk Management
Using behavior modification techniques.
Using D-E-C-I-D-E
Detect....….that something has happened
Estimate......the need to counter or react
Choose.......the most desirable outcome
Identify.…...the best action required
Do.......…....the best action required
Evaluate.......the results

 

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