Page 46 - Volume 16 Number 10

44 • TWIN & TURBINE OCTOBER 2012From the Flight Deck by Kevin R. DingmanDichotomy - die-cot-ah-me, Greek dikhotomia, from dikhotomos: divided in two.Division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions, especially when they are sharply dSistinguished or opposed.econd only to Christmas in dollars spent, the festival of All Hallows Eve, the eveof All Saints’ Day, is the most enthusiastically celebrated of Catholic holidays commemorating Christian saints and martyrs. Even so, October 31st is not usually recognized as a religious event, now celebrated by the carving of pumpkins and masquerading as something you are not. Participants don costumes ranging from the angelic to the macabre; tricks, pranks, and devilish deeds are not only anticipated, but encouraged; behavior normally considered moderately risqué is tolerated. Despite this dichotomy, with its associated decadence and ghoulishness, fears and dread, and rather it having been usurped or not —Christian in origin it is, and like a ghoul sneaking up behind the movie hero, we await the holiday as it stealthily approaches.Such is the dichotomy of piloting airplanes; it’s infused with monsters, ghouls, and demons – “manifestations” in Ghost Buster lingo. The list of fiendish threats is extensive: the weather, the rocks, our health, our money, our machine, even the night. And our judicator is the boogeyman himself. And don’t forget the “bride-of-boogeyman”: the FAA. This is but a short list of the real and imagined menaces we overcome to fly. Despite these difficulties, the times we scared ourselves, made bad decisions and survived, ran a bit too low on fuel,stretched the weight and balance envelope, or thought we had no brain cells left to learn some new equipment, rule, or procedure, we keep at it.We face all of these threats and still love to fly. Pilots are passionate about all aspects of aviation: the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the challenges, even with monsters and demons congesting our airspace.Only at NightNow, as grown-ups (or mostly so), what makes us lose sleep at night? Our profession, relationships, and, the big one, finances. The metaphorical boogeyman lurks everywhere in our lives, and sometimes he gets us and takes a bite. I’m sure you’ve heard that there are certain aircraft sounds that can only be heard at night, and some only when you are alone. Let’s confess, since Halloween approaches, among ourselves in the private brotherhood of these pages: We get apprehensive before a flight.The intensity of apprehension is directly related to the level of knowledge, training, and, most markedly, recent experience. Students are usually apprehensive about every flight. The competent private pilot is next in line and seems to be apprehensive mostlywhen venturing into new territory. Experience, knowledge, and training levels take a quantum leap as we move to the instrument and ATP pilots, especially the ones flying 70 to 90 hours each month across multiple continents. It’s difficult to raise the hairs on the necks of these folks, but it happens.A fascinating thing occurs as the flight gets underway for all of these aviators, however. Once we strap into the seat, get going on the checklist, and start throwing switches, we begin to relax and feel an emotional satisfaction. The apprehension is, almost unknowingly, replaced by a sense of confidence, pride, and accomplishment.Manifestation of ApprehensionHere’s an example of apprehension involving a very competent pilot: A reader wrote to me and related the point in his teens at which he had his flying epiphany, the point at which all doubt was removed – he would become a fighter pilot.It occurred after watching two F-84s taxi past his Cessna 150 onto the runway and execute a formation takeoff. The part of the story that highlights the apprehension is this: Just before the takeoff began, the wingman opened his canopy and barfed down the side of his jet onto the runway. He then took a drink of something and spit it out the same direction. He closed the canopy and signaled the flight lead he was ready. The two jets blasted downDichotomies