mindset

Wiley Post on flying

By Dave English

Wiley Post was the first pilot to fly solo around the world, test pilot for the pressure suit, discovered the jet stream, worked on early autopilots. And apparently was deeply in touch with the inner art of airmanship. (Quote in his 1931 book Around the World in Eight Days written with H. Gatty.) His friend J. H. Conger once said, “He didn’t just fly an airplane, he put it on.”

We are the grease in the cogs

By Dave English

Powerful four minute video by professor and pilot Sidney Dekker introduces what we find when we stop looking at accidents, and instead study highly reliable organizations. It’s resilience: the ability to accommodate change and absorb disturbances without catastrophic failure. And it’s not about reducing negatives, but rather promoting positives. The four behaviors that resilient teams practice are: Don’t take past success as a guarantee of future safety. Keep a discussion of risk alive even when everything looks safe. Bring in different and fresh perspectives. Invite doubt, stay curious and openminded. Invest in safety when others say no. We are not error … Continue reading We are the grease in the cogs

What is a pilot’s job?

By Dave English

[Mark Vanhoenacker] says his job is not “flying planes”, but “flying planes safely.” Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot is a new book on the magic of flight by a British Airways 747 pilot. It’s out now in the UK, coming to the US in June. Quote from story in New Statesman.