Life Lessons From Cockpit

We often hear pilots making references to “the good old days.” One tend to reminisce about what had happened in the past, reliving the fond memories of flying in the good old days where things were less complicated and then making comparisons with what is happening in the present. Of course we can see a lot of differences and changes. If one were to ask which is the better era, can we form judgments and make our own conclusions? Would it be fair then? What I will do is not to make my own judgments, but to highlight the differences in the work culture that I observe over the years. My views could be controversial and I welcome any comments from anyone who views it differently.

I believe that the differences between the older generation and the younger generation of pilots are as a result of the social changes that we go through, the technological advancement in the aviation industry as well as the once rapid expansion in the airline business.

I see some changes in the attitude and values and therefore behaviour of some of the young pilots. These observations are validated by a vast majority of instructor as well as line pilots. Some pilots have become very calculative in their dealings and are more concerned with their own benefits rather than for the good of the majority. I would like to think that in the old days we were more of a collectivist group of pilots rather than individualists.

Some young pilots give the impression that they are not very serious about their work. This is evidenced from their preparation before the flight, even during training flights, where some just put in minimal efforts. This undesired behaviour shown very early in his career will not benefit him in the long run and could be detrimental to his progress.

I subscribe to the saying that “knowledge is power.” Not only that, knowledge gives you flexibility and flexibility gives you more options. This is very necessary in aviation when it comes to problem solving. The feedback I received from instructor pilots state that quite a number of young pilots under training lack not only systems knowledge but also knowledge about aviation in general. Whilst it might not be that obvious when flying domestically, this lack of knowledge is glaringly noticeable when he starts to fly long haul, where it involves strategic thinking on his part and good flight management skills. This perception of requiring only a superficial knowledge of the aircraft systems is perhaps exacerbated by the manufacturer’s emphasis of only the need to know information during the conversion phase of their training.

The rapid expansion in the airline business resulted in rapid movement of pilots from one fleet to another. Depending on the expansion phase and the requirements, the younger pilots do not stay on one fleet for a long time. Although this is perfectly safe and within the criteria set by the airlines, rapid movement could result in lesser experience based of pilots on the fleet and thus lesser opportunity for the younger pilots to learn from his more experienced colleagues.

I am not saying that the above observation amongst some of the younger pilots is in any way jeopardizing flight safety. They are perfectly safe as they meet the requirements set by the regulators and the airlines. Training will also ensure that they have achieved the required standard of performance.

However, if one were to strive to improve oneself and rise to be above the mediocre, then one has to do more to improve one’s skills, knowledge and a change of attitude. The motivation to do better have to be intrinsic and a “great” pilot does not depend on others or his airline for this.

Tags: flight, flight management, flying, great pilot, Pilots

In life one should strive for continuous improvement in whatever that one does. This concept is also applicable in flying and it is even more important for a pilot to continuously improve himself; his skills, knowledge and to learn from his own and other pilot’s experiences.

How many of us consciously and habitually review what we went through at the end of each day? The objective here is to learn from the day’s experiences. If it was something good, we would want to know what was it that we did well and why. On the other hand, we too would want to know and learn from our mistakes; lessons learned so that we will not repeat the same mistakes when faced with a similar situation.

You will notice that modern aircrafts are so safe and the systems are so reliable that most pilots will hardly encounter any serious problems throughout their career. Only a handful will face such problems. Does it mean that pilots who encounter more problems throughout his career are better pilots compared to someone who encounters little or no problems at all? Not necessarily so if he does not learn anything from his experiences and therefore will repeat the same mistakes again and again when faced with similar problems.

How can we improve ourselves and be better pilots if we do not encounter any problems throughout our career? Well the answer is simple, we can learn from other people’s experience. This can be achieved by talking with them during flight or over a cup of coffee. What we do is to collect all their experiences, problems and solutions and deposit them in our “experience” file that can be used when we are faced with a similar situation in future.

From my own experience, I notice that pilots who do not mix around socially and keep to themselves all the time are the ones who have problems with flying as well as problems interacting with other team members. Because they are “loners,” they do not get any feedback about their performance and therefore cannot make any comparisons with other pilots. Since they do not exchange views and ideas, their experience bank is rather limited and therefore cannot easily adapt to the various situations that he encounters during flight and in life. It will be very difficult for him to learn and thus improve himself.

In order for anyone to continuously improve himself he has to learn from his and other people’s experiences and I find the following model to be useful to achieve this:

Step 1 – The Experience

At the end of each flight I make it a point to mentally replay the flight, from take-off to landing, taking note of areas or sections of the flight that I did well and those that I was not happy with. After that I will pick and choose a particular area that I feel I could have done better and this will be the experience that I will use for the learning process. This step is merely to identify and prioritise which of the many experiences that I will use.

As an example on a particular flight from Kuala Lumpur to London Heathrow, I am not happy with the “descent” phase of the flight, resulting in being high on my descent profile, resulting in a rushed approach and I feel that I could have done it better. I will then use this phase of the flight and proceed to the next step.

Step 2 – Review

This step involves data collection. What I will do is to replay that particular phase of the flight in greater detail and collect as much information as possible such as the descent speed, the weather, the distance from the airport when the descent was initiated, the workload during this period, the number of aircrafts in the vicinity, any distraction from the cabin crew, the air traffic control and any relevant information that I could use for the next step. Remember this phase is purely to collect as much information as you possibly can remember. Do not form any conclusions yet at this stage.

Step 3 – Concluding

Based on the information gathered from step 2 and my previous experience, I could then conclude why I ended up high on the descent profile – the cause or causes. During this phase, the more experience you are the better you will be at coming up with conclusions. If you think that you lack experience, you can always refer to or consult someone who is more experienced. If you are operating in a multi crew environment, talk to the captain. He is ever willing to volunteer information. In this way you are also learning from him.

Step 4 – Planning for next step

This last step is merely to come up with action plans, that is, the steps that I would use to ensure I will better manage my flight if I were to end up in a similar situation in future. What I am doing is to find solutions and remedial actions needed for that particular problem.

I have been using the above process and have been encouraged with the result. I am also using it during my training flights to help my trainees learn from their flying experience to further improve themselves. Just imagine what it will do to ourselves if we are to discipline ourselves to continuously learn from our experiences daily and as pilots after every flight.

After a rather long absence, I am back writing my blog again about life lessons from cockpit, thanks to Muhammad Nazri who is currently undergoing his flying training. Nazri posed the following questions and rather than answering directly to him, I thought of posting the answers in the blog so that the others could read them as well. The following are his questions:

a) What does it take to be a great pilot and what attitude should a pilot possess?

b) What kind of habit that a pilot has to instill in ourselves so that it will become a

routine and discipline that can make us to be a better pilot?

c) Compared to yourself in the old days and young pilot nowadays, do you notice if

there is any gap or lack in skill, knowledge and discipline in fresh pilots and if

there is any ,can you describe why and how to encounter it?

Q a) What does it take to be a great pilot and what attitude should a pilot possess?

The above are powerful questions and very subjective. If I were to ask different pilots I would probably get different answers. One can solicit views from different people, and the answer would again be different. A passenger’s view of a good or great pilot would be different from the ground staff’s view, another different view from someone who works closely with pilots compared to someone who is not directly involved with pilots. I guess that it is in everyone’s mind that a good pilot is someone who is cool, calm, collected and confident under pressure and they are absolutely right with the above views.

I too agree with the above view plus a few more of my own perceptions that are based on my own experience after being in the profession for over 30 years as a management pilot, instructor, trainer and line pilot. The following are my views:

1) State of mind. If one were to ask me the difference between a great pilot and an average one, I would dare to say that it is in his “state of mind.” The first thing a great pilot must have is a good, positive mental attitude. He must be disciplined, confident, relax and focus in what he is doing. There is no substitute for a strong discipline. When he is flying, he is on his own and if he is in command of the airplane, there is no one to tell him what to do or what not to do. He therefore has to be disciplined and follow a set of rules, which is the “standard operating procedures.” Discipline will also make him knowledgeable, meticulous in his work and has the attitude to continuously learn from his experiences.

2) Beliefs. Next is in his beliefs. It is basically a guiding principle, what pilots think to be true; his feeling about what is certainty in life. It is assumptions he has about himself, other people, his work, and the world. His beliefs could be limiting or they could be empowering to him. In flying we are faced with challenges all the time, perhaps much more compared to someone working on the ground. If we believe that we cannot do something, chances that we will behave in such a way that will cause us to fail, by not trying hard enough (give up), or by doing things to sabotage himself in some way. It is therefore necessary to have beliefs that will empower him to carry out his tasks well, and for him to be able to overcome all obstacles that he is faced with.

3) Skills. A great pilot has to be skillful. This is his bread and butter. He should be able to fly the aircraft well. By flying the aircraft well I mean with great accuracy and precision. He should not settle for a mediocre performance. He should strive for perfection and this takes a lot of hard work, practice and discipline.

The above to me are qualities of a great pilot. The following diagram will illustrate these qualities.

From the above diagram which one is more important of the three? Well to me all are important and necessary. However before one could acquire the skills, one has to have the right mental state and empowering beliefs. With these two qualities acquiring the necessary skills becomes easier. By having the above qualities he will also become more confident of himself. However he has to always remind himself and be careful of the tendency of becoming over-confidence. I have seen people who become so over confident of himself to the point of being obnoxious in his behaviour. To prevent this from happening, another quality that a great pilot must have is “humility.” This comes from knowing oneself, your strengths and weaknesses and respect for others, be they your working colleagues or any man on the street.

If you are a great pilot and you know about it and you are humble about it, you can walk tall and gain respect from your working colleagues and whoever that you are dealing with. You will truly enjoy this profession and will be forever remembered.

Tags: Cockpit, Life Lessons from Cockpit, Pilots