Page 28 - July18T

26 • TWIN & TURBINE
July 2018
From the Flight Deck
by Kevin R. Dingman
Aviation Adjectives,
Adverbs and Accolades
With Plenty of Petroleum and Properly Positioned in Perfectly Peaceful Air, Pilots Pine to Promote the Purposeful Pleasures of Piloting
The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between
the lightning-bug and the lightning.
– Mark Twain
Ihave become sensitive to the use of “wrong” words. “We’d like to welcome you aboard.” But then they don’t. “Your fuel is going to be $750.” Ok, but when? “We’re done with the tire change.”
Not finished?
Modern dialog is often inaccurate if not ineloquent. As a prelude to this, during my first article with our new Editor-in-Command, I re-read a couple of the classics for writers: “On Writing Well” and “The Elements of Style.” These and my stack of aviation periodicals got me thinking about how important it is for us to use effective words when talking about flying. This summer we will be traveling on vacation and business, to fly-ins, airshows, owner-conventions and Oshkosh. You may meet folks seeking advice about becoming a pilot and they will want to hear it from the horse’s mouth: A pilot. And better from us than GA’s detractors buzzing around the horse’s other end. When talking to newbies, passengers, politicians and the press, it’s important that we use premium words to describe and promote flying.
Are You a Pilot?
We’ve all heard it: Are you the pilot? Enthusiasts will watch you taxi up to the ramp and may look to you for stories, opinions, advice and your feelings about flying. They presume you to be electronically savvy, articulate, at least semi-approachable and
above all, truthful. Whether you enjoy being a spokesman for GA or you would rather not, they will ask about your “airplane feelings” including your airplane fears. With kids, the first questions will often be: Is it hard to fly an airplane? How do you work all those buttons? Do I need to know a lot of math? Then the adults: How did you get into it? When did you first start flying? Where do you fly? How much does it cost?
Put on your Mr. Rogers sweater, engage some Mr. Spock logic, emulate Henry Kissinger’s tact then accurately, but simply, explain aviation using plenty of passionately picked adjectives and adverbs.
Can You Say, There I Was? (I knew you could)
When we are with other pilots, it’s customary to discuss close calls, brilliant saves, stupid mistakes and to use hand gestures as we lay it on thick: “There I was, fuel leaking from the left main, inverted on the glide slope (palm-up gesture), the right prop feathered and an inch of ice on the wings (index finger and thumb showing two inches). My coffee spilled as I rolled upright while hand-cranking