Reply-To: "Dudley Henriques" From: "Dudley Henriques" Newsgroups: rec.aviation.piloting Subject: Re: I saw two people die.... Organization: International Fighter Pilots Fellowship X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 Message-ID: <%bUX6.21719$Kq4.2007267@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 02:50:35 GMT "Ryan Ferguson" wrote in message news:3B2F628A.800F2DD8@fergworld.com... > Trent Moorehead wrote: > > > Also, as you get more hours as a pilot you'll be amazed at how much > > you don't know right now. Frankly, I'm surprised that I made it > > through my training alive. > > Amen. At 500 hours, I'm amazed at how little I know about flying. And I have multi, instrument, fly tailwheel, etc. I'm > much more humble now than I was at 100 hours, and considerably more conservative. I'm sure that flying will continue to > humble me as a pilot and a person -- but with experience and humility comes enlightenment. > > > In short, ignorance is blissful now, embarrassing later. > > Less embarassing if one learns not to openly display his or her ignorance. > > -Ryan There's a kind of a metamorphous that really good pilots go through as they progress through the levels of their careers. In the beginning, you approach everything tentatively and with a natural caution. We all remember those first baby steps, when we looked at everything without really knowing what it was or what it did. Then gradually you begin using things and seeing results. You reach a point where you can make things happen without really having a complete understanding of why they happen. You have studied hard and have learned some of what you really need to know, but you're still tentative and cautious. Sometimes, you are even surprised when it comes out right! Remember?? The next step is critical, because it's the crossroad. It occurs when things come out right in the airplane, but you're still not absolutely sure why. You can fly, even fly well, and it's here that you either make or don't make an unconscious decision to go on learning on your own. This goes much deeper than any formal program or schooling. It's something you do entirely on your own . It's something that makes you question everything; seeking a complete understanding; constantly looking for something to make it better...to make yourself better. There's a point when most of us, if we're normal, will want to partake of the "trappings" of accomplishment. We've spent a great deal of money and invested huge amounts of time and effort into satisfying our desire to fly. It's so easy, when you reach that crossroad I am speaking about, to fall into a trap where you begin to get lax. You buy the big watch and the fancy jacket and you begin to really enjoy the fellowship at the airport. There's nothing wrong with these things. You have worked damn hard to accomplish what you have thus far, and after all, the main idea of the whole thing is enjoyment...right? The trick is to be able to allow yourself to enjoy the "trappings" while not getting sidetracked away from that little gremlin that lives inside you who keeps telling you to keep learning.....keep practicing.....and most importantly...don't get complacent. The really good pilots I have known in my career, all share the same common denoninators. They have a kind of quiet competence that is based deeply in a serious approach to what they do. They are never quite satisfied with their performance. They have the ability to be open with themselves about how good they really are, and they are always seeking ways to improve. -- Dudley A. Henriques International Fighter Pilots Fellowship Commercial Pilot/CFI/Retired