Debriefing
Or: The art of gaining experience through the strategic review and debrief of past events
Every flight student has those painfully vivid memories of certain points in time during their training. They cringe when retelling the story of their first “wheelbarrow” landing, or smile proudly at the recollection of a rather well-executed full instrument approach. To […]
The cockpit came to a standstill for a few moments. As the sound of the engine spooling down subsided, only the faint scratching of my pen racing along the empty lines of the daily flight documents could be heard. Another successful flight! Well, not quite…
Breaking the short silence, my captain’s voice almost startles me more […]
The reality of it is, however, that in an airline or team-driven environment, certain people will be required to wear both hats. But how do you decide which hat to wear? When does your team look up to you as a leader or a manager? Here is my conclusion to the dilemna: A cockpit needs a Manager. An airplane needs a Leader.
Another flash. The night seemed like day for a fraction of a second, as once light streaked through the sky. As we raced between clouds and rain, it was hard to tell how far – or how close – it had been. Looking back on the night, it really hadn’t started badly. But it still […]
“Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied”
– Alexander the Great’s Chief Physician
The untimely tragedy of the Air France Flight 447(1) has left the aviation community baffled, and later scandalized over the shocking revelations shared by the investigation. What went wrong? […]
Every journey begins with the discovery of self. Situational awareness is important. Not to be confused with sympathy – possessing the ability to listen effectively and accurately enough to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This is not necessarily to agree with them, but to truly understand the situation from their point-of-view in order […]
Was I daring? - or simply doing my job?... I pondered as I waited for the hangar door to open. I accepted the trip based on our company's SOPs and my own comfort level, knowing full well that although the ride would be rough, it would none-the-less be safe.
"One in four persons you meet will not get along well with you" my coworker told me one day. Really? I get along well with everybody! Mostly.. "But", he added "I don't know why. I just heard it and thought it was an interesting statistics". Wait, you mean one out of four pilots I work with will cause me grief in the cockpit?
It's been an interesting couple of last weeks here (at work) for me. I'm really enjoying my job and I love the flying, and I love the airplane. The fact is, I think, I'm getting pretty good at what I do. And that brings on another problem where I really find myself confined in my role of First Officer where I'm stuck doing the same thing more or less every day with no real challenge.
