SkyHog
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 18,433
- Location
- Castle Rock, CO
- Display Name
Display name:
Everything Offends Me
Pilots are a smart bunch. We have to be. The tests we take are strenuous, the knowledge we must possess is difficult to interpret and comprehend. For some reason, we constantly do things that make us look absolutely retarded, and here's my list.
1) I knew a guy named Gage once. He was a funny guy. Your airplane has gauges, and while sometimes they may act funny, they're no Gage. Interestingly enough, this mistake is not only made by pilots, but I've even seen the word in POHs and AFMs. Not good, guys.
2) I also knew a guy named Mike. He was really loud sometimes. Your headset has a mic, and while it can be loud sometimes, its no Mike. See, Mike had a mic too, and Mike was always talking on his mic. Mike was a musician, and his mic was an integral part of his performance. Much like the pilot's performance talking to ATC, except ATC doesn't appreciate hearing "Thank you, Cleveland!" after you are handed off.
3) Fuel Exhaustion accidents. There are only 2 cases where fuel exhaustion is acceptable: When you sprung a gigantic leak in flight and dumped all of your fuel overboard; and....well, ok, I can only think of one. Why do we keep having accidents related to running out of fuel? I am sure most of these accidents didn't come from giant holes being punched in the airplane's wings. They stem from laziness, a trait that pilots should have dropped during the marathon that was the practical test.
4) Busting Airspace. I hate the reality that the United States is covered with Temporary Flight Restrictions and controlled airspaces and Air Defense Identification Zones, and Restricted Areas, and Prohibited Areas, and so on and so on. Unfortunately, as much as I hate that reality, its something we as pilots have to deal with every time we fly. Every time a pilot busts airspace, he puts the entire aviation community on trial by the public. "Why was he even allowed to fly that plane over that major metropolitan city?", "Where is the government in blocking those little menaces?", etc. Avoiding airspace is easy, with some preflight planning, and even if you're the dreaded "Kick them tires and light them fires" kind of pilot, even a basic GPS will keep you out of most of these areas.
5) Blind Faith. Not the religious kind, of course, I'm talking about following anyone's advice without double or triple checking the facts. I don't care if the person who told you that the FAA allows pilots to enter Prohibited Areas if you squawk a certain code was a CFI or some dude off the street, check the facts. I've had just as many CFIs try to guide me to the wrong conclusion as I have non-CFIs, and the only thing that has saved my life on at least 2 occasions was my questioning attitude when a CFI tried to tell me something 100% wrong. A great deal of accidents happen everyday with a CFI in the right seat. That doesn't make the presence of a CFI more dangerous, but it certainly means they're not infallible or perfect. ALWAYS double check your facts.
And that's my rant du jour. What do you all think? Do you have your own 5 things?
1) I knew a guy named Gage once. He was a funny guy. Your airplane has gauges, and while sometimes they may act funny, they're no Gage. Interestingly enough, this mistake is not only made by pilots, but I've even seen the word in POHs and AFMs. Not good, guys.
2) I also knew a guy named Mike. He was really loud sometimes. Your headset has a mic, and while it can be loud sometimes, its no Mike. See, Mike had a mic too, and Mike was always talking on his mic. Mike was a musician, and his mic was an integral part of his performance. Much like the pilot's performance talking to ATC, except ATC doesn't appreciate hearing "Thank you, Cleveland!" after you are handed off.
3) Fuel Exhaustion accidents. There are only 2 cases where fuel exhaustion is acceptable: When you sprung a gigantic leak in flight and dumped all of your fuel overboard; and....well, ok, I can only think of one. Why do we keep having accidents related to running out of fuel? I am sure most of these accidents didn't come from giant holes being punched in the airplane's wings. They stem from laziness, a trait that pilots should have dropped during the marathon that was the practical test.
4) Busting Airspace. I hate the reality that the United States is covered with Temporary Flight Restrictions and controlled airspaces and Air Defense Identification Zones, and Restricted Areas, and Prohibited Areas, and so on and so on. Unfortunately, as much as I hate that reality, its something we as pilots have to deal with every time we fly. Every time a pilot busts airspace, he puts the entire aviation community on trial by the public. "Why was he even allowed to fly that plane over that major metropolitan city?", "Where is the government in blocking those little menaces?", etc. Avoiding airspace is easy, with some preflight planning, and even if you're the dreaded "Kick them tires and light them fires" kind of pilot, even a basic GPS will keep you out of most of these areas.
5) Blind Faith. Not the religious kind, of course, I'm talking about following anyone's advice without double or triple checking the facts. I don't care if the person who told you that the FAA allows pilots to enter Prohibited Areas if you squawk a certain code was a CFI or some dude off the street, check the facts. I've had just as many CFIs try to guide me to the wrong conclusion as I have non-CFIs, and the only thing that has saved my life on at least 2 occasions was my questioning attitude when a CFI tried to tell me something 100% wrong. A great deal of accidents happen everyday with a CFI in the right seat. That doesn't make the presence of a CFI more dangerous, but it certainly means they're not infallible or perfect. ALWAYS double check your facts.
And that's my rant du jour. What do you all think? Do you have your own 5 things?
