Page 24 - Index

Attitude: The Theory of Everything
by Scott Kraemer
After having flown with hundreds of pilots over the years, I’ve noticed huge variations among the group as it pertains to each individual’s innate ability, dedication to preci- sion and attitude toward their continued education and thorough training.
While some pilots are truly naturals when it comes to stick and rudder, others are masters of the technical aspects and easily spout chapter and verse regulations or procedures. Some are a jack of all trades, but maybe masters of none. But the pilots who lack good judgement are the hardest to teach and often require unfortunate hard knocks (with possible drastic consequences). Undoubtedly, training and learning is an individual sport. But in the intellectual arena of pilot training, there are many variables regarding teaching and learning effectiveness that often boils down to having not just the right stuff, but the right attitude.
From my first introductory flight, my naive fascination grew rapidly from a romantic allure to the realization that flying professionally was a huge physical and intellectual gauntlet. In the be- ginning, I might have been attracted to flying as someone once told me that girls dig pilots? At the time, a motivating factor but not as true as I’d thought. With my ego bruised, I realized my degree of ignorance and naiveté regarding the art of flying was nothing less of inept. There was just so much to know and learn!
But undaunted, I jumped all in. I truly had a thirst for aeronautical knowledge. With student loans mounting, notably a small price to pay toward an investment in self-preservation, I had my eye on a potential future career. Idealistically, I was hooked on the romance of flying with a cocky, “I can do this.” But those notions dissolved with time as I began to realize “cocky kills” and your only armor is doing the work, checking the boxes and practicing to perfect your skills.
When I passed my first check ride, I remember my examiner quoting the old prophetic cliché, “Congratulations, you now have a license to learn.” So, it was official. I was a neophyte with a license to fly a loaded gun. In my novice view, the “license to learn” mantra hit home as a true revelation. It was a reality check that this vocation absolutely demands an exceedingly high degree of enduring
22 • TWIN & TURBINE
October 2018