Page 25 - TNTApril2018

After we returned from that trip, Mike had some further improvements made to the airplane, I got busy doing other things and we lost track of each other for a while. But as time passed I kept seeing his nice shiny airplane, now with new RAM engines and Garmin avi- onics languishing on the ramp and not being flown much. Finally, we ran into each other and I asked him how the air- plane was working out.
His answer struck a nerve with me. He said that even though he had thou- sands of hours and professional pilot credentials, he found flying the 414 with his family on board in anything but pris- tine weather to be unpleasantly stress- ful, and for this reason he had not been using the airplane that much. In fact, the airplane we flew up from California just a year ago, was now for sale.
Now it might seem odd that a pilot with a wallet full of ratings, 10,000+ hours and experience ranging from bush operations in Alaska to heavy iron international airline flying would find flying a personal airplane at all stress- ful. But truth is, I often feel the same way myself. That is, those of us that fly professionally often find purely per- sonal flying to be much more stressful than the flying we get paid to do. This is particularly true if we are flying single pilot with family members on board. The stress is not only unpleasant, but can alter how we make decisions as pilots, and it shows up in a number of different ways.
For example, if scheduled for a Lear trip I rarely feel compelled to check the weather until the morning of departure. If the weather at that time is at or above published IFR minimums, with no dan- gerous convective activity in the area, no problem, I am quite relaxed and good to go. On the other hand, if scheduled to fly somewhere in my own Cessna 340 with wife or grandkids on board, I start monitoring (perhaps better described as “worrying” about) the expected weather a week in advance.
For the personal trip I am very hesi- tant to fly in any weather that I cannot easily top, or if on top I cannot safely descend through into VFR conditions should some mishap occur while in flight. Whereas when flying profession- ally these are not concerns I would have a week before the trip, if at all.
It is almost embarrassing to admit that as a well-trained and current profes- sional pilot, if the trip is a personal one with family members on board, I simply don’t “want” to go (and rarely do) if the weather particularly at the arrival end is anything close to low IFR. Whereas if flying professionally, anything above bare minimums is no problem at all. And as time has passed I found this conservatism has increased rather than decreased. In fact, I am much, much more conservative with personal flying than now I used to be even 10 years ago. My minimums for a personal flight are now pretty much clouds that are easily topped, no or minimal forecast of ice, plus VFR conditions at the arrival end. If all that doesn’t exist, I usually find a reason to delay the trip or simply not go.
“Many high-time professional pilots note this attitudinal difference between personal and professional flying. Why is that?“
Many high-time professional pilots note this attitudinal difference between personal and professional flying. Why is that? It may be at least in part due to just the natural conservatism that comes with increasing age, but I think there are quite a few more issues at hand than that.
The phenomena remind me a bit of when I was doing obstetrics as a physi- cian and my own wife was pregnant. Even though exceedingly competent at that activity, would I deliver my own wife even in a very good hospital? Not
a chance. Instead we made sure she was cared for by very competent and well- trained doctors (more than one) who could be very objective in their profes- sional decision-making process, and in a hospital with the very best equipment. Delivering babies is (like flying) a most- ly safe and routine activity. But when things go awry, you have to quickly make some difficult professional calls, all of which are much more competently arrived at by an objective mind than one impaired by personal and emotional in- volvement with the outcome.
Then there is the question of the ef- fect differences in the equipment has on our personal flying minimums. Gener- ally, the airplanes we fly profession- ally are turbine-powered and capable of staying aloft in the high flight levels even if one engine fails. They are also capable of handling any ice that might be encountered with much greater safety than airplanes we are likely to fly personally. And when you fly profes- sionally, this difference becomes very apparent. There is a huge difference between the capabilities of say a FL450- capable Cessna CJ3, and a FL250 capable Cessna 340. The CJ (or B737) will almost always put you 2 miles above weather you don’t want to have anything to do with. Whereas unless you are very care- ful, the C340 and a lot of turboprops are pretty good at putting you right in the middle of it.
Personal flights are also usually flown as single-pilot, and the lack of a two-pilot crew is also highly influential on stress level. Flying, particularly in ad- verse conditions, can be a very intense activity. The ability to share some of the work load and decision-making with an- other properly trained and qualified pi- lot is immensely relieving.
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