Experienced Pilots

I ensured my instructors were older and very experienced. I really enjoy sitting around listening to the "Old Hands" talking about flying. I don't think it is necessary to re-invent the wheel. By listening to the people who have experience, I have learned a lot about flying without having to make every mistake in the book. I make plenty, as it is. What do you think is important to tell a new pilot ( just a couple hundred hours) that you wish someone had told you? Thanks, in advance, for your knowledge and willingness to share!

Read the book "Stick and Rudder".
I reread the book about once a year to stay current with the facts of flight and the things that can kill you.
Bill

Yes sir, Mr Berson. My instructor had me read that early on. It should be required for all pilots.

Learn to feel the airplane and fly with your head outside the cockpit. Seems like the modern way of flight instruction is just prep for an instrument rating and stare at the glass panel. Don

I agree with Bill on "Stick and Rudder" I read it every spring! I wish I had known of it before I started my Flight Instruction, it really clears up "How an airplane flies"!

Joe
:cool:

"You don't have to take off, but you do have to land!"

Well, first up, there's my signature line. Expanded, it means, that if you're uneasy about something, your subconscious is desperately trying to get your attention. Listen to it and either satisfy it that there's nothing wrong or change the conditions that are making it try to talk to you. A good example might be if you're starting to think "I wonder if I should get gas at that airport." At that point, you've made a decision; act on it.

This is one I like to tell my students, and I think it's important - it goes something like this:

"You can't fly. I can't fly. Bob Hoover, Patty Wagstaff, name-your-hero can't fly. If you think you can fly, I'll happily sell tickets to have people come out and watch you run down the runway flapping your arms.

"The aircraft flies. Most do a very good job of it. However, the aircraft is as dumb as a rock. It will happily fly into a mountain if you let it. You, on the other hand, are pretty smart. You think and have judgement. That's your job. That's what you're being trained for. Together, you and the aircraft make a great team."

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Originally Posted by rosiejerryrosie

"You don't have to take off, but you do have to land!"

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As I told one inexperienced pilot that wanted to take off in the face of some pretty challenging weather (stuff that gave me pause): "Show me the emergency take off procedure for that airplane."

He laughed and said that I had a pretty good point. I then thought about it and said "Y'know, being this close to Offutt, I realize that SAC had emergency take off procedures, but if they were using them, it would've been a pretty bad day for everyone..."

This is exactly what I hoped for. I appreciate the knowledge you're sharing. I hope this continues. Thanks!

Try to practice something every time you fly, be it stalls, slow flight, crosswind landings, or something that you wouldn't normally do. If you get in the habit of seeking out the edges of the performance envelope you will recognize instinctively when you are getting close. You will be a better and more confident pilot and a lot less likely to become a statistic someday!

Tony Johnstone, MCFI-A

Read anything by Bill Kershner, Rod Machado, and Barry Schiff that you can get your hands on. Paul Craig's The Killing Zone is also a must-read. Interestingly that last recommendation goes hand-in-hand with something Rod Machado once told me: statistics are not determinative; they are indicative. As long as we know about the conditions, we can change the data.

If their is a doubt about the weather or conditions on your route or destination ask yourself if it is worth dying to make the trip.

I was a former SAC B52 driver....Your right!!!! Emergency takeoff was a bad day for everyone. An old Alaska Bush Pilot told me. "always have an out" weather it is a Go Around on the approach or bad weather. always have a plan B and then plan C. Don't ever let "get home itis" kill you. And as Scarlet O'Hara said " tomarrow is another day" It is far better to be on the ground wishing to fly than to be flying and wishing to be on the ground.

All good posts, but I also recommend Duane Cole's book "Happy Flying Safely". I have 26,000 hours and I still remember a lot of his comments in this book. Best of luck to you.

All of this has been great advice for us newbies. I appreciate it! Mr. Warner, now I have another book to find. :)

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Originally Posted by Chick

I ensured my instructors were older and very experienced. I really enjoy sitting around listening to the "Old Hands" talking about flying. I don't think it is necessary to re-invent the wheel. By listening to the people who have experience, I have learned a lot about flying without having to make every mistake in the book. I make plenty, as it is. What do you think is important to tell a new pilot ( just a couple hundred hours) that you wish someone had told you? Thanks, in advance, for your knowledge and willingness to share!

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There are several ways to approach this issue. It goes without saying that the voice of experience can be very helpful to a new pilot. With this in mind, it is also quite helpful to use a great deal of discretion when exposed to this experience. If "listening to pilots with experience" is part of your learning curve, just take the time to do a bit of vetting to make sure your "mentor" hasn't been spending their aviation career making some serious mistakes.
It isn't always immediately obvious to fairly new pilots whether experience in a specific case is positive. Just listen carefully, then do your own research on things you hear that interest you.
In the 50 odd years I've been involved with professional aviation I've learned a great deal from the pilots I've known. On the flip side, some of the worst pilots I've ever seen were "experienced" coming to me for check flights.
So the bottom line is to of course listen and take part in discussion. There's a world of knowledge available from competent sources. Just don't EVER assume that experience equals competence!
Dudley Henriques

I own and have read both Stick and Rudder and The Killing Zone. Both are well worth the read.

I would tell a new pilot to read as many accident reports that he/she can find. NTSB,FAA, magazines, doesn't matter the source. However, if you read a newspaper accident account and it contains words like "swoop" or "zoom" turn the page.

When you start the process of conducting a flight, overlay your actions as you do them on an imaginary accident report. One that has not yet been written and hopefuly will not.

Get a mental image of the imaqginary report that says somthing like this: "The pilot departed VFR. The current ASOS was reporting 2 and one half in haze." Next paragraph: The only chart aboard the A/C was three years out of date and did not depict the windmill farm four miles off the departure end of the RW." One for real report years ago: "The pilot stated that he conducted a thorough preflight. The elevator could not be found in the wreckage, but was later located in the shop on a bench."

I always dreaded reading something like that with my name on it and you will too. Good luck. BTW Ive given away my last copy od Stick and Rudder to my Grandson. I've gone thru about a dozen copies over the years like that.
Bob

I believe the information in here is very important for us newbies. This is just what I was hoping for in starting this thread. I really appreciate the sharing of your hard won knowledge!