“Only a cautious person, man or woman, should fly. I never mount my machine until every wire and screw has been tested.” Harriet Quimby. First woman to gain a pilot’s license in the United States and first woman to fly across the English Channel. Good Housekeeping Magazine, September 1912. SaveSave SaveSaveSaveSave SaveSaveSaveSave SaveSave
How do we monitor autopilots better? How do we stop just sitting and sorta watching the magic show? A major US airline training slide says ‘Active Monitoring’ works by: Visualizing the outcome. Acting to achieve the desired result. & Comparing expectations to reality. Look FOR something, not just AT something. I think they’re on to something. Monitoring has to be active, not passive enjoying the clever automation. What do you think of this? SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave
How you do the little things everyday is important. Why is explained by former RAF Tornado F3 fighter pilot and Red Arrows display pilot Justin Hughes in his 2016 book The Business of Excellence. The full quote is: How you do the little things is how you do everything. You don’t choose a different behaviour just because it’s a big important job and you’re under a lot of stress. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; when you’re really under a lot of pressure, you revert to default wired-in behaviours because you have too many other things to worry about than … Continue reading How you do the little things
Ripped from the aviation press headlines: One in five business jet pilots don’t do a full flight-control check before takeoff. Actually one in five is a bit of an exaggeration. The would be 20%. The more precise number is 17.66%. And that’s actually a per-flight percentage, so maybe the percentage of pilots is a little less. But WTF Batman! 17.66%? You may have read about the fatal 2014 Gulfstream G-IV crash caused by the crew not doing a flight-control check and then trying to takeoff with the gust lock engaged. Well, now the airmanship onion has been peeled back a … Continue reading 1 in 5 biz jet pilots are stupid?
Excellence is super cool amazing. But you don’t get there by wishing or hoping or staying safe and comfortable. Your call. (For more from Josh about excellence, see JoshWaitzkin.com)
