N355DW
Well Known Member
The post on spins in an RV stirred some thoughts about the value of training, and flying with the best attitude.
Fear is a good thing. Flying in an airplane high up in the sky is not a natural environment for human beings. Fear is normal and healthy. Fearless people kill themselves all the time. I have lost many friends because they thought they were better than they were. I am always afraid I will someday think I am better than I am, or just get too complacent. I try to always be on guard against that attitude.
Back when I was getting my CFI, I decided it would be smart to take an aerobatic course, in case a student "did something stupid". I wasn't particularly interested in aerobatics, but it seemed like it would be a good idea to be prepared for anything they might throw at me. At the time, I was afraid of power on stalls, I did not like that feeling of the wing suddenly dropping, it felt out of control.
I signed up for Duane Cole's 10 hour aerobatic course, and I don't mind saying for the first couple of hours I was terrified! I did not like spinning, and that was the first thing he had you do. But gradually I started to notice the feel of the airplane, what it was telling me, how it was responding to control inputs, and before I knew it I was no longer afraid, I no longer felt that the plane was "out of control", even when it dropped a wing and went into a spin.
The loops and rolls, and especially the hammerheads, were fun. I was hooked.
After ten hours I went home unafraid of power on stalls, as a matter of fact I would practice the "falling leaf" where I would use the rudder to bring a wing up every time it dropped, left, then right, then left...etc - while holding the stick full back in the Cessna 152. Fun, fun, fun. If you are comfortable with stalls and spins - do them sometime, power off at first, then power on. It's a great exercise for rudder control and spin prevention. Instead of trying to use the aileron to bring up the low wing, you will automatically use the correct control - your rudder.
It's so easy to learn this stuff, but it can be scary for some of us - I'm saying that is normal.
Fear is a good thing, it can keep us out of trouble but too much can also overwhelm us - we panic and freeze up like the proverbial deer.
Training, and familiarity with strange situations, is the best way to prevent that from happening.
Training has kept me from panicking in emergencies, or even "situations". I have had a couple. Well, maybe part of me was panicking, but the rest was flying the plane and analyzing the problem. Without my training I might have given up, just felt helpless, and let things happen. I used to see that attitude in a small way all the time in new students in that, sometimes in light turbulence they would begin to let the plane fly them, instead of vice versa.
Training and attitude will keep you as safe as you can be. Training allows you to control your fears, both in knowing more about your aircraft, and in familiarity with the unknown.
Attitude is important in knowing your limitations and staying within them, but in my view if you can expand your limitations through more training, that's a good thing. Attitude is also very important in not getting complacent. Every time I fly, I try to have the attitude that while I love my plane, I don't entirely trust it, or any of the gadgets on board, and it might just do it's best to kill me.
I liken it to dancing with a most beautiful, sexy woman (or man, if that is your preference), who also happens to be a bloodthirsty vampire. While I love this dance, if I don't keep my eye on her every second, she will bite me in the neck as soon as she gets the chance!
Please be the best, safest pilot you can be. I will be presumptuous here and ask it in the name of your family and friends who love you, or even depend on you. I can say from far too many personal experiences of losing friends and acquaintances, it hurts a lot.
Fear is a good thing. Flying in an airplane high up in the sky is not a natural environment for human beings. Fear is normal and healthy. Fearless people kill themselves all the time. I have lost many friends because they thought they were better than they were. I am always afraid I will someday think I am better than I am, or just get too complacent. I try to always be on guard against that attitude.
Back when I was getting my CFI, I decided it would be smart to take an aerobatic course, in case a student "did something stupid". I wasn't particularly interested in aerobatics, but it seemed like it would be a good idea to be prepared for anything they might throw at me. At the time, I was afraid of power on stalls, I did not like that feeling of the wing suddenly dropping, it felt out of control.
I signed up for Duane Cole's 10 hour aerobatic course, and I don't mind saying for the first couple of hours I was terrified! I did not like spinning, and that was the first thing he had you do. But gradually I started to notice the feel of the airplane, what it was telling me, how it was responding to control inputs, and before I knew it I was no longer afraid, I no longer felt that the plane was "out of control", even when it dropped a wing and went into a spin.
The loops and rolls, and especially the hammerheads, were fun. I was hooked.
After ten hours I went home unafraid of power on stalls, as a matter of fact I would practice the "falling leaf" where I would use the rudder to bring a wing up every time it dropped, left, then right, then left...etc - while holding the stick full back in the Cessna 152. Fun, fun, fun. If you are comfortable with stalls and spins - do them sometime, power off at first, then power on. It's a great exercise for rudder control and spin prevention. Instead of trying to use the aileron to bring up the low wing, you will automatically use the correct control - your rudder.
It's so easy to learn this stuff, but it can be scary for some of us - I'm saying that is normal.
Fear is a good thing, it can keep us out of trouble but too much can also overwhelm us - we panic and freeze up like the proverbial deer.
Training, and familiarity with strange situations, is the best way to prevent that from happening.
Training has kept me from panicking in emergencies, or even "situations". I have had a couple. Well, maybe part of me was panicking, but the rest was flying the plane and analyzing the problem. Without my training I might have given up, just felt helpless, and let things happen. I used to see that attitude in a small way all the time in new students in that, sometimes in light turbulence they would begin to let the plane fly them, instead of vice versa.
Training and attitude will keep you as safe as you can be. Training allows you to control your fears, both in knowing more about your aircraft, and in familiarity with the unknown.
Attitude is important in knowing your limitations and staying within them, but in my view if you can expand your limitations through more training, that's a good thing. Attitude is also very important in not getting complacent. Every time I fly, I try to have the attitude that while I love my plane, I don't entirely trust it, or any of the gadgets on board, and it might just do it's best to kill me.
I liken it to dancing with a most beautiful, sexy woman (or man, if that is your preference), who also happens to be a bloodthirsty vampire. While I love this dance, if I don't keep my eye on her every second, she will bite me in the neck as soon as she gets the chance!
Please be the best, safest pilot you can be. I will be presumptuous here and ask it in the name of your family and friends who love you, or even depend on you. I can say from far too many personal experiences of losing friends and acquaintances, it hurts a lot.
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