Re: How to get new experiences

> I think recreational GA pilots, if they are anything like me, get into
> trouble because we take too much and/or underestimate the real risks.

And I think almost the opposite is true - that most recreational GA
pilots don't take enough risks. They are overly conservative, and as a
result don't fly enough in a sufficient variety of conditions, don't
acquire enough new experiences, and never really develop the skills,
knowledge, and confidence to handle the unexpected. Then, when the
unexpected happens they bend airplanes - or worse.

It's a matter of short term vs long term safety. In the short term,
it's always safer to cancel or turn back on a particular flight the
moment you're the least bit uncertain. But if you keep flying, the
risk you reduce on that one flight makes all your later flights riskier
- so if you're going to keep flying, you really need to take some
risks. It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes taking a risk now
enhances your likelihood of surviving your flying career.

> I don`t know what too much caution really means.

Or you refuse to accept that there is such a thing. I've spelled it
out quite clearly. Too much caution is when you back away from the
risks you need to take to develop as a pilot - thus increasing rather
than decreasing your overall risk. This is why I've gone through the
process of explaining the J-curve of risk - because it is not
intuitively obvious that there is a minimum. Most people think in
terms of a monotonic risk curve - meaning more caution equals less risk
- but that's not really true. At some point more caution equals more
risk. That's too much caution.

Like I said before - it's the only reasonable explanation both for the
statistics (why are recreational pilots, who are the most cautious,
also the most dangerous?) and my observations (why are safety
counselors the most dangerous pilots?).

> I don`t know, but I
> think your guidance and pointers meant more to this pilot`s successful
> mission than you give yourself credit for.

Well, I'd like to think I did SOME good there. But the reality is that
all I really did was give the pilots confidence, and maybe a little
ground instruction on how weather systems develop.

> So, if I am unsure of myself, I
> should go see my instructor, review things over with him, get his input and
> advice like you gave to your "student"? Sounds good to me...

Well, that's certainly a damn sight better than being unwilling to go
unless he goes with you! Actually, that's a very appropriate thing to
do - provided you do it with a purpose. And that means you don't come
to him asking what you should do - you come to him telling him what
your plan is, and why it is. And then he provides feedback. That's a
big chunk of what mentoring is about.

But it would be better if instead of doing it before the specific
flight, the discussions went on routinely. "How do I know how much
turbulence is too much? When can I reasonably fly a non-deiced plane
even if there is an Airmet Zulu? How do I avoid T-storms and still get
there?" In your private pilot training, you get only the very basics.
Mentoring fills the gaps. The mentor need not be an instructor, and in
fact most intructors make poor mentors because they lack the real-world
experience in these areas.

Michael

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ancient hominids may have been seafarers
    ... Would "people were prone to more risk taking" be a better ... If I look at pilots, just 5 decades ago, they were ... In the area where human behaviour, especially in pre-historical times, ... Because human females have evolved them. ...
    (sci.military.naval)
  • Re: Bombing questions
    ... apart from any other routine training flying. ... There is risk in any flying. ... the air show pilots should be regular pilots demo'ing ...
    (rec.aviation.military)
  • Re: Insuring a Columbia 400 & weekend only insurance
    ... Looking for a weekend-only policy would be similar to asking for 1/3 ... off because you don't fly it while you sleep, ... Even the most extreme pilots who are in the air the most are not PIC ... group, the risk per unit time would increase, saving the insured ...
    (rec.aviation.piloting)
  • Re: Bombing questions
    ... apart from any other routine training flying. ... There is risk in any flying. ... the air show pilots should be regular pilots demo'ing ...
    (rec.aviation.military)
  • Re: Agression and landouts (was - Re: LAK-12 Question)
    ... the direction of risk (in this case, landing out, not damage/injury). ... We definitely have a few kinds of glider pilots. ... have rarely landed away from their home field. ...
    (rec.aviation.soaring)