There’s some excellent airmanship advice in an article about the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska (The Red Bulletin, Sept 2016). It’s from helicopter pilot Lt. John Hess (in the picture), who has been awarded the Captain Frank Ericsson Award, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and saved a bunch of lives by flying many extreme rescues.
He was asked, how does your crew prepare for tricky missions? He said:
By critiquing each other. Even after simple maneuvers, like recovering empty rescue baskets. Anyone who can’t take criticism puts others at risk.
Criticism is tough to take. I know. I’ve gotten plenty! But maybe if you listen, really listen, like John must have, you too will become a master pilot.
