Dave English | Inner Art of Airmanship Blog

Frog, Toad and black swan checklists

Excellent article on checklist use – and when not to follow them. Quotes from Frog, Toad, and the black swan pilots of Qantas Flight 32. Written by a systems ergonomist/work psychologist with a real understanding of aviation issues. http://humanisticsystems.com/2015/10/01/toads-checklist/

Master your craft

By Dave English

I fly an airbus – but the sentiment is the same:

Tired Cathay Pacific pilots

By Dave English

One of the hardest things to do as a pilot is to not go flying. To tell your boss, your passengers, or your brother-in-law that no, I’m not flying today. Because I’m tired. It’s macho to say “need a straw?” (So you can suck it up.) It pays more to fly more. And unless you are absolute worn-out, it’s a tricky second-guessing judgement call. So good luck to the Cathay Pacific pilots who are taking a stand on tiring schedules. Are you mentally tough enough to say no?

Image

Do something beyond

Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

~ Ronald E. Osborn, and not, as is often seen, Ralph Waldo Emerson

Am I a good pilot?

By Dave English

I think I’m a good pilot. Above average, anyway. For sure. Over 17,000 hours, 5 type ratings, published scientific research into pilot behavior, on and on. I work at it, every flight. Well, most every flight. But a paper recently published in Psychological Science: Journal of the Association for Psychological Science (I’m not a nerd, but I am a subscriber) has me worried. It’s titled When knowledge knows no bounds: Self-perceived expertise predicts claims of impossible knowledge. The authors found that “people overclaim [knowledge] to the extent that they perceive their personal expertise favorably.” People that think they are experts, … Continue reading Am I a good pilot?