FlyingSafely.Com

Using Good Judgment       "To go or not to go.."

        Aviation training is complex and difficult. There is so much to learn.  Airspace, weather, weight and balance, performance, communications, navigation, federal regulations, and the list goes on and on. Pilots prepare for the knowledge test, the practical test, they train in the airplane to make cross wind landings, fly a radial, fly the traffic pattern, do power off stalls, slow flight, climbs, descents, run-ups, short field/soft field operations, and the list goes on.  All of this within 40-70 hours of flight training plus ground school or home study.  WHEN is there time in all that to learn the most important thing of all? GOOD JUDGMENT!

        It hasn't been taught specifically and the result is that many of us have gone off on our flying careers knowing everything to do but not always when and where to do it. The single most important thing that a pilot can learn is when to fly and when not to fly, when to land and when not to land, when to proceed and when not to proceed, what to do in a deteriorating situation before it becomes an irretractable situation.   General aviation accidents are usually the result of poor pilot judgment.  These accidents involve wind, visibility, ceilings, precipitation, snow, ice, thunderstorms, terrain, forgetfulness, fatigue, alcohol, drugs, oversights, omissions, get there no matter what, carelessness, macho attitudes, anti authority attitudes, impulsiveness and on and on. Where in the list of things to learn do these things appear?

        At flyingsafely.com we must do more than use the words "flying safely", there must be some "meat" put on these "bones." We are committed to teaching good judgment as well as good piloting skills. This judgment can be learned without vast years of personal experience. The means by which it can be accomplished is by using a program called "Pilot Judgment Training".  We will teach hazardous thought patterns that lead to poor judgment. This will be done both in group settings and in individual flight training. Basically, it is a conditioning program to change the way you think about operating your aircraft.  

        One of the huge problems in pilot judgment is the failure to recognize hazardous situations. After you have your license, there will be no one out there to tell you what to do and what not to do.   You will be making decisions that affect your safety and the safety of your passengers. We believe you should have been trained in making effective and safe decisions, and we will be very deliberate about providing you with that aspect of aviation training.  The time it takes to learn good judgment will pay rewards and benefits in your flying career for years to come.  

        This is just one of the benefits of getting your flight training with FlyingSafely.Com.  Ask us about it.

                      Larry Collins, CFI, Editor