Page 24 - Volume 20 Number 7

Aviation, certainly more so objective fact-based and accurate the question or indicate that the
finding. Every experience, perfor- mance and failure is layered in with various personality traits, defense mechanisms, excuses or mispercep- tions, when we look at it ourselves. People tend to assume information that comes to them through their own perceptions directly reflects what is true in “reality”, while be- lieving that others’ perceptions are biased and influenced by outside factors (1). We rate ourselves higher in almost every positive trait than our peers (2), and we take into ac- count our internal desires and in- tentions when judging ourselves, but only rely on outward behavior when judging others (3).
Sometimes, in the context of flight training (whether for proficiency or to gain a new certificate or rating), we end up employing defense mecha- nisms to protect our ego from what might be a harsh truth. Have you ever met a person who displays one of the defense mechanisms below? Do you think you may have ever been subject to one or more of them yourself, in the context of aviation?
 Compensation: disguising a weak or undesirable quality by emphasizing a more posi- tive one. For example, maybe you were asked to perform slow flight on your last Biennial Flight Review and performed poorly, but you placed special emphasis on your ability to do great steep turns.
 Denial of Reality: While coming in for a landing, you flare too high and stall from two feet above the runway; the resultant landing is abnormally hard. When the pas- senger asks if that landing was normal, you do not acknowledge
than many other professions, relies on the “Honor System”. Let’s think about it: how many times have you been ramp checked by the FAA, or had to present your pilot or medical certificate to anyone else in an official capacity? How many times have you met an FAA inspector, in any capacity? Does it seem strange that you could, theoretically, go flying 23 months after your last flight, with nothing legally holding you back, common sense notwithstanding?
Yes, you, the Pilot in Command, are entrusted with the authority to self-evaluate in medical, pro- ficiency and legality standpoints. The overseeing authority in avia- tion, the FAA, is not usually looking over your shoulder to make sure you’re following the rules; probably the last time you interacted with someone associated with the FAA was on your last checkride, and that person was likely a designee! Primarily, the FAA has to rely on pilots to self-police when it comes to various safety and legal issues, since we outnumber them by a wide margin, and they just aren’t able to have representatives out in the field all the time. Luckily for all in- volved, it’s in our own best interest to maintain a safe operation; most of us are concerned with coming home safely from each flight and can see the value in rules, regula- tions, and procedures.
There’s just one problem with placing the burden of self-evaluation on the shoulders of pilots: humans are notoriously bad at self-evalua- tion. For better or worse, it’s tough for any of us to look at our own per- formance and end up with a truly
22 • TWIN & TURBINE
landing “wasn’t that bad”.
 Rationalization:Thisiswhenyou sincerely believe the excuse you make for a poor or undesirable outcome: “Tower made me fly a right-hand traffic pattern, and my landings are always worse when I have to fly right traffic!”
As you see, there are a multitude of reasons why trying to look at one’s own performance objectively is very difficult or even impossible, so how do we make sure we’re not overlook- ing a potentially dangerous flaw in our flying technique or knowledge? How can we know that we’re the type of pilot who is aware of the level of our own skills, and who continually works to improve them in a guided and focused way?
Recurrent training is the key
Professional pilots (Airline, Corpo- rate or Charter pilots, for example) undergo recurrent training and/or checking, often in intervals as short as six months. That’s a far cry from the 24-month Flight Review required for the average private pilot, and it’s done that way for a reason. There is no better way to receive an objective and unbiased opinion of your flying performance than to be evaluated against a set of standards, to see how your skills measure up. While you can improve some current skills by practicing on your own, practicing incorrect procedures will be detri- mental to your skill set, as well as the safety of your flight operations. Additionally, not many people enjoy working on their weaknesses, since there is more immediate satisfaction gained by repeating a skill in which one is already proficient. Getting another set of eyes on your flying,
JULY 2016
Objectivity and R
by Gavin Leake
e