Author: Dave English

Fingerspitzengefühl

By Dave English

Fingerspitzengefühl is a German word. (As if you hadn’t already guessed!) It literally means “finger tips feeling”. As such it applies directly to holding the stick or yoke. The student pilot ‘death grip’ is really not helpful. You can’t make smooth gentle control inputs if you’re holding on too tight. And you can’t feel the aircraft talking to you. One of the most influential pilots I’ve known had a cool callsign when he was flying the F-4 and F-15: ‘Stroker’. People used to wonder what dirty fighter pilot innuendo it involved. But it actually referred to how he gently stroked … Continue reading Fingerspitzengefühl

Morning Checklist

By Dave English

My boys are 6 and 4. School mornings can be … challenging. So this weekend I nailed a checklist in each of their rooms: It worked great! They were actually excited to check off items as they were completed. Of course, how long will this diligence last? How long before the checklist is ignored? It takes us all a while to learn that having a checklist is not the same as getting things done right. I’m going to try and be consciously, mindfully, fully present for each of my flying checklists this week.   BONUS – There’s a whole book on checklists, … Continue reading Morning Checklist

You can’t tame the wave

By Dave English

You can’t tame the wave. All you can do is become part of it. Sebastian Steudtner, big-wave surfer. Article in The Red Bulletin, June 2018. We don’t ‘conquer the sky’. We fly in the air. Beginners think of beating gravity; but the best blend with the weather, groove with gravity, one with the wing.   (Original sailplane photo CC0 Public Domain by pxhere.)