airmanship

Standard checklists

By Dave English

Despite the emergency checklists provided for abnormalities, it’s the standard checklists that you use before you begin your flight that often determine whether you live or come crashing down in a pile of mistakes. Erika Armstrong from her new book ‘A Chick in the Cockpit.’ The book has some good flying stuff in it, but is more about her personal life journey. One of the most engaging books I’ve read this year.

Flight controls free and correct?

By Dave English

You have a religion that says if I want to live, I’m going to run the checklist. Robert Hulse Last week the NTSB released lots of details on a fatal accident that will keep lawyers and human factors academics busy for years. It involves rich high-profile (newspaper publisher) passengers, an iconic Gulfstream IV jet, the failure of a basic airplane safety system and the repeated failure of basic airmanship. Maybe the best account of this two-factor crash is the online piece Deadly Failure On The Runway by McCoy and Purcell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Fascinating reading. (The NTSB press release … Continue reading Flight controls free and correct?

It’s Not About Split-Second Skills

By Dave English

You never know when it will happen. It could be your first solo. It could be after 42 years of flying. As Captain Gann titled a book: Fate is the Hunter. Best be ready. BA Captain Chris Henkey was. The press has praised his ‘split-second’ skills in aborting the takeoff on the runway. But I think the more praiseworthy airmanship is measured in long seconds not fractional millisomethings. All airline pilots practice rejecting takeoffs, and there is little decision making ‘process’ when an engine quits. Good stick and (lots of) rudder skills to decelerate straight ahead. But what was telling … Continue reading It’s Not About Split-Second Skills

Incredible reply to pride in airmanship question

By Dave English

On the Facebook page of Inner Art Airmanship, a reply to my last post about pride in airmanship was posted that deserves a wider audience. The original AOPA Flight Training magazine article ‘The Art of Airmanship’ closed with this thought: In the end, airmanship really is about pride-pride in learning as much as you can about the history and pioneers of aviation, developing your knowledge and skills to the best of your ability, honing your command qualities, and fully accepting the duties and responsibilities that come with exercising the privileges of your certificate. There’s a lot of reasonable stuff there, … Continue reading Incredible reply to pride in airmanship question