My 5-yr-old son will ask why? Then ask why again. Why? Why? Why? As pilots we should ask ourselves what if that doesn’t work? And then what if that doesn’t work. What if? What if? Don’t box yourself in. Always have an out. Preferably a flexible changeable out. Quote by Derek Sivers in the 2016 book Tools of Titans.
Anne McClain has faced down many fears, and is now going to be rewarded with sights that are literally out of this world. She’s been an Army combat helicopter pilot who deployed to Iraq, an instructor pilot and a test pilot. She is currently a NASA astronaut, in the pipeline to fly to Mars. Quote is from an interview in Glamour magazine, Jan 2016, talking about walking out on the launchpad to ride a rocket. And the picture is from her super-cool NASA video bio.
Scott Crossfield — fighter pilot, aeronautical engineer, first person to fly twice the speed of sound and X-15 chief engineering test pilot — quoted in the classic book X-15 Diary released this week. He is also quoted as saying: In all of this business there’s a requirement of intense concentration—if you can train yourself to be self-disciplined. If you close the car door on your finger, your impulse is to put it in your mouth and curse. But you train yourself too wait. It’s part of the profession—to avoid an emotion or a reflex reaction. Clearly a safety warrior at work.
Automation complacency, and the need to stay proficient in manual flying are not new ideas. Fifty years ago the chief test pilot of the UK airworthiness authority warned us, in his (clearly) still relevant book Handling the Big Jets. The full quote, from page 316, is: “Do not become lazy in your professional lives. The autopilot is a great comfort, so are the flight director and approach coupler. But do not get into the position where you need these devices to complete a flight. Keep in practice in raw I.L.S., particularly in crosswinds. Keep in practice in hand-flying the airplane … Continue reading Do not become lazy
American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing 767, during takeoff roll from ORD suffered an uncontained catastrophic failure of their starboard engine yesterday. Just like the sim. Except in the sim you don’t have 161 passengers, the wing doesn’t melt, and people don’t make meme’s from your super cool pilot picture:
