"What makes a good aviator?" This is a question we've all heard and pondered. Each of us has our own idea about what makes a good pilot. The term "airmanship" has taken on lots of different meanings. Pilots can't seem to agree on a common definition, and many have differing ideas about the profile of a superior pilot. We each have our own experiences, our own values, that lead us to conclusions about what it takes to be the best up there, and we're all entitled. After ten years of flying, I've finally figured out my definition of superior airmanship. I'd like to share my thoughts on that here.
If I had to pick one trait to describe what makes a good pilot, it would be discipline. It's taken me ten years to finally land on this, and I'm completely convinced. For me, the elusive search for that one magical trait has ended. It's all about discipline. Everything we do in airplanes comes back to discipline. History's most successful airmen have all embodied this characteristic -- Charles Lindbergh, Captain Al Haynes, Captain "Sully," even Orville and Wilbur Wright. Flying safely and efficiently requires great precision and strict adherence to operating procedure. Deviating from these principles is usually the result of undisciplined behavior, and history demonstrates some of aviation's most tragic accidents have been caused by this. Almost all major air carrier accidents have been mostly or entirely attributed to human error. The world's most unsuccessful pilots have been those of weak discipline on the flight deck -- the crews of the aircraft involved in the collision at Tenerife, the recent crash of Colgan Air 3407, the crash of an L10-11 after a windshear encounter at Dallas, and even the recent Northwest A320 overflight at Minneapolis. All of these accidents could be attributed to a lack of flight crew discipline.
Human error is aviation's last major area of concern in the risk management battle. After only about a hundred years in the air, that's pretty darn amazing. Humans have successfully eliminated (or at least come close) all major areas of risk in aircraft operations except human error. That's why human factors research is such a big deal right now. It's the only remaining area where we're losing the fight. The ingredient of discipline in pilot action is the savior. The phrase "straighten up and fly right" is valid here. That's exactly what we need to do. We must hold ourselves accountable for the mistakes and failures we make as human pilots and devise methods for correcting those mistakes. When an airplane malfunctions during flight testing, it must be fixed before it's certified to fly. The same standard needs to apply to humans. After all, an airplane is only as safe as the human flying it. Even in the age of aircraft automation, pilots can still override computers and crash airplanes (i.e. the crash of Colgan Air 3407). No matter how smart airplanes continue to be built, pilots of lesser intelligence or discipline will continue to send them to bad places in the sky, places where airplanes shouldn't be. I've written about this before (see post: Drawing Lines in the Sky).
Advancements in avionics technology are wonderful, and they're doing much to reduce accident rates. A flight computer is supremely disciplined. Set a minimum altitude, and it will never descend below it. Not even one foot. Set that same altitude in a human brain, and the outcome won't be so certain. That's the result of lack of discipline. I've written about the imperative requirement to never descend below instrument approach minimums unless the runway is in sight because many aircraft have crashed this way. Again, those accidents were caused by undisciplined behavior.
All pilot action, whether it be in a cockpit, during a preflight inspection, or in a flight planning room, is a test of discipline. I've realized that's why I love flying so much. It evolves me, challenges me, makes me a better person. The more care and precision you put into your flying, the more it will reward you. Discipline is involved during all phases of flight, including pre- and post-flight tasks. Is your flight planning sloppy and hurried? Slow down, force your mind to relax, and get it done correctly and precisely. Safety starts on the ground. Are you breezing through the preflight inspection? Stop. Go back and start over, and do it right this time. Instrument flying calls for the highest degree of discipline. Not only in the form of strict adherence to headings, altitudes, power settings, and course guidance, but also in the decision making department. Let's say you're in cruise and you calculate your fuel remaining on landing to be fifty-seven minutes and your personal fuel reserve minimum is one hour. That should be a simple decision... Divert and re-fuel, then continue on to the destination. Your fuel reserve minimum is one hour, not fifty-seven minutes, right? Keep it simple, and keep it highly disciplined. Take as much discretion out of your aeronautical decisions as you can. That's how the airlines do it, by following policies and standard operating procedures. It works very well for them.
Apply this same level of discipline to every aspect of your operation. Pilots should never use the phrases "close enough," or "that's about right." How about your airspeed on final? You know your landing reference speed is eighty knots, so if the needle is sitting on eighty-one, you'd better be correcting. Your landing reference speed is eighty knots, not eighty-one, right? That's simple. I'll quote Richard Collins again here, "The needle has to be somewhere, so why not have it be in exactly the right place?"
There are endless examples of how discipline interacts with our flying. The best pilots I've ever flown with have been highly disciplined people. They've also had an outstanding ability to keep things very simple in the cockpit, and in a way I think that's a byproduct of discipline. It's disciplined thinking. It's as though pilots could always come back to one question during any part of a flight operation to keep them on the straight and narrow: "Here's the result I need. Here's the result I currently have. Do they match?" If they don't, make them. And think precisely. The example I gave of adherence to landing reference speed demonstrates this. Eighty-one knots is not the same as eighty knots. Remember, don't let your mind fall into the "close enough" mode. That results in sloppy thinking, and sloppy thinking yields sloppy (and often dangerous) flying. Challenge yourself to stay sharp, stay precise, and maintain discipline. You'll be speaking the aircraft's language and it will appreciate your partnership.
There are many important traits and characteristics of superior airmanship, but after ten years of questing to be the best pilot I can be, I've come to the conclusion that discipline trumps them all. "The right stuff" used to be about stick and rudder skills, and now it's become about pilot character. That stick and rudder stuff is just a small fraction of what makes a good pilot. More importantly, it's about becoming a professional from within. Flying transforms our lives in amazing ways, and in turn, we transform flying. The more we improve ourselves as pilots, the better the system works.
