Worried about talking on the radio

[Colonel]

If you are starting out, and you know the above, you are 'way ahead of me when I was your age.

When I was young, I thought it was really important to be:

1) a really good pilot
2) know the regulations really well

What an idiot I was. I worked hard at the above, which is a certain recipe for envy and hatred.

No one likes a guardhouse lawyer that flies better than they do. No one.

[Squaretail]

If you want to be a superb 20th Century pilot,

Personally I think that's too high of a bar to be expecting of a pilot population, I'll settle for if everyone wants to be a better pilot than they are because right now there's not even acceptable pilots, more of the group are falling into the category of terrible pilots. The simple answer to improve, is everyone needs to fly more often. No one gets better at flying by not flying. That's all there is to it. They don't even have to work harder at being better, they just have to work at it more often.

Just going to shoot for small victories here.

I just keep seeing too many guys, especially the slightly experienced (say 200 - 1000 hour guys) who between jobs or training just don't fly. I don't think its a stretch for this crowd to make that small effort to get in a plane if they want to be serious about doing this, career or otherwise. This even applies to the next group, and some in the group after. Its not like riding a bike for everyone. At least from what I've seen. Unless people fall off bikes more than I think they do.

[Colonel]

I think that's (superb) too high of a bar

You're probably right. But if we get some guys aiming for "superb" and ending up "good" that's a win in my books.

Why? Not only has their skill and knowledge improved, but they might serve as role models and inspirations for
mediocre pilots around them. Maybe some of their skill and knowledge and work ethic just might transfer to the
other, shitty pilots that surround them. But you know me, I'm an optimist. hahahahahahaahahahahahahaahahah.

I agree that people need to fly more. That's the first step to redemption. But they can get a whole lot more bang
for their buck if they have a challenging flight. I used to teach Mooney guys to fly formation for that stupid OSH
caravan thing. Every one of them that flew with me, puked in the heat and turbulence. Built character.

And I think it was on the fourth form training flight, we flew three Mooneys in a vic to CYOW and landed in a vic
on 32. Taxiied back, and took off again in a vic from runway 32 and flew back to CYSH.

Their fourth flight, dude. Now, I had what I think was the advantage of having my father in one of the airplanes
and my son in the other. Both of them superb formation pilots, even if we are deeply hated in Canada.

[Squaretail]

Why? Not only has their skill and knowledge improved, but they might serve as role models and inspirations for
mediocre pilots around them. Maybe some of their skill and knowledge and work ethic just might transfer to the
other, shitty pilots that surround them.

The problem is that there are lots of pilots working very hard in the other direction who are also really influential, so a few superb pilots will be like trying to hold back the sea with your hands. That's why I don't think there's a shortage of work ethic, I feel there is a lot of it directed in the wrong direction. For example, you see a lot of neophyte CPLs, with extensive sim course work on their resume. Now studying a ground school course for a large multi turbine aircraft is a lot of work..... but not what they need to do. If we could direct all of that energy into some more fuel turned into noise, well hopefully the whole would be better.

Like If I could do one thing to improve flight training worldwide, it would be to invent a virus that would destroy every home flight sim, and sim that is being used in any CPL or lower flying program.

The thing with this issue is when you realize how the forces that are aligned in the wrong direction are as hard working, but way more numerous and well funded, well its hard not to despair.

At this point improving the pilot populace is pie in the sky thinking. One can only work in small corners of it.

[Big Pistons Forever]

The most abused concept in flight training is “primacy”, that is teach it right the first time. The most important training you will get in your whole flying career is the first 10 hours of the PPL. The foundation exercises 5 to 9 are the basis of piloting.

Unfortunately this is also the least well taught of all of flight training. This is mostly because instructors are usually not very good at flying the ex 5 to 9 themselves so it is hardly surprising that they don’t understand the value of accurate control of the flight path of the aircraft and therefore suck at instructing it

If pilots can’t control the flight path of the aircraft with any degree of accuracy and precision than it doesn’t matter how much they fly because they are just practicing being a crappy pilot

[Colonel]

And here is why

From a recent mass mailing



I wanted to cry when I saw that. That dashboard is so high, it's above his eye level, and it doesn't matter, because no one needs to

LOOK OUTSIDE

any more. See, to today’s Princesses, that’s a pilot!

He’s not looking outside. He’s twiddling buttons on a fucking display- just like an airline pilot (jumping and clapping hands merrily)

I will try not to vomit.

Thank goodness Elon gets it



Stick in your right hand, throttle in your left. Head on swivel, looking around and outside like you're riding a motorcycle in Cupertino traffic. Who gives a shit what the stuff on the dashboard says? Look at the engine data after you land.

Everyone's first 10 hours to solo, needs to be in a no-electric tube&fabric taildragger on grass. Learn to hand prop. Learn to look outside at the

BIG ATTITUDE INDICATOR

and learn that

ATTITUDE + POWER = PERFORMANCE

unlike the AF447 pilots.

Want to be a better pilot? Fly your first 100 hours in a taildragger. Any taildragger.

[Squaretail]

Want to be a better pilot? Fly your first 100 hours in a taildragger. Any taildragger.

I'd just settle for just no sim time in a pilot's first 20 hours. Personally I think it would be more important if there was no radio for the first 20 hours. I mean I think if a pilot's first hundred hours were in a citabria, but it was comprised of 3.0 hour flt times, with 2.0 air times and a lot of GPS nav to a practice area and lots of "scenario based training" you'd be better served in a 172 off a grass strip away from any control zone. With just an intercom so you didn't go deaf and hoarse.

[Slick Goodlin]

I'd just settle for just no sim time in a pilot's first 20 hours.

I flew with a 13 year old kid in the Moth last weekend who was up for his first ride in a small airplane. He wanted to get his PPL so I figured it was as good a day as any to start. It all started after we were already airborne so I didn’t get a chance to PGI it to death but just the same I don’t know where any of my transparencies are anymore… or if overhead projectors still exist. I digress. We did just the littlest bit of easing into attitudes and movements and the kid was crushing it. I asked him if it really was his first time or if he was having me on and it came up he has a bunch of home sim time. I bet you just cringed because I sure did when I heard it. The thing is, in spite of that he was good.

I think what happened was he approached it with openness and humility and was willing to listen to my guidance on it. That’s not to toot my own horn, I haven’t instructed formally in years so I spend as much time backtracking and correcting details I get wrong as I do teaching. Maybe that’s why the old codgers all say to start ‘em with taildraggers and other hardships; because those machines put you in your place quickly but they’re very easy if you listen.

[Colonel]

Sims are like herpes. They are everywhere and i am unconvinced that they help the people struggling with them.

Look outside. Fly a taildragger. Learn to control yaw with your feet, then with your right hand using differential power.



Is that really unreasonable?

Now if 10 people died from guns, everyone would say we should ban all guns.

Addison TX teaches us that we should ban all nosewheel aircraft because the dipshits that fly them can’t control yaw, and yaw kills.

[Squaretail]

bunch of home sim time.

There's a difference between fiddling with MS flight sim (I played Dambusters a lot when I was a kid, if that dates me) and for your first formal training to be in a Redbird or equivalent. the former is an expression of interest in aviation, the latter is a huge violation of primacy.