globalflair

Humility.....it's essential but indecent if it shows..

Timbo

Lesson one:

YOU cannot "Beat" whatever is thrown your way, that's why you try to AVOID it! Most guys who have gotten themselves into a bad situation, and lived to tell, will say.... "Never again!"

But it takes bad experiences like that to build good judgement, good judgement keeps you out of bad situations. In Aviation, you should NEVER go looking for trouble, it will find you, don't worry about that, that's why you always need to have thought about a Plan B, before you even get in the plane.

You may be too young to remember an old TV add campaign, but the punch line was, "It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature".

You cannot beat mother nature. She is a cruel bioch, she don't care if you are low on fuel, that's when she'll cover the ground with fog for 100 miles. Now whatcha gonna do in your nifty 150?

When I was a kid, my mom (a private pilot) used to say, "There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold, pilots."

My dad, who was a CFI when I was 8 (now a retired NWA Capt.) used to say to some of his studs, when they wanted to go up when the weather was turning bad, "You go right ahead and take off into that crap, I'll be sitting right here, and I'll be here tomorrow too, I doubt if you will be though."

Read up on the accident reports, it's usually some guy who got in over his head, going into weather he had no business being in. Remember Jon-Jon Kennedy? And that was a lovely night, weather wise, a little haze, but he got in over his head.

Still want to go play up there? You think it's some kind of a game? You think if you are "Good Enough" you can beat Mother Nature? Ha! Many have tried.

Just remember, when you are dead, you are dead for a very long time.

galaxy flyer

As I was taught, lo many years ago,

"Better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here".

Looking for trouble in planes is no way to the future.

GF

Timbo

Even the "Best" guys make mistakes:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BycHBgQKnQ0

Red Forman

A small Johnson and a big watch makes for the best pilots.

saturn

You really received good information for the long term if you could find it. -Work hard, -dont let anything stop you from reaching your goals, -the road to your destination probably wont be the one you expect so be flexible, -be humble means be your own best, not about comparing your skills to others, seek to meet or exceed the minimum standards set just like everyone else -don't be so desperate to get to the next step that you sell short your true value as a professional, -be aware of the negatives of the industry so as not to create unrealistic expectations when you get there.
Might I also add to not have "get-there-itis", enjoy each stage of the career, and dont wait for the next stage to occur before you feel satisfied. Also, as a new guy, your equally experienced peers are not your competition for a job, root for each other because you never know who will help who later on.

I can tell your right now your enthusiasm and excitement are sky high (no pun intended), so why don't you put it to good use getting and get a head start on the knowledge you will need anyway. Get some good text books and start soaking up everything in there and learning. It will make training that much more a quick and easy and give you a practical outlet for your ambition. Good Luck.

dustrpilot

First airline captain I flew with told me something that has stuck with me ever since.
Have a seat now and listen.
"If you think you can do something in a airplane, then your really not sure. If you know you can do it, then there is no doubt that you can".
Or something like that.
Happy New Year.

DrangonStar45

First of all, you will care about you who fly for. From experience, I dealt with management that have no regard for my life. Also, I am afraid most of your posts shows two aviation hazard attitudes.
Resignation- There are pilots fighting low wages and poor treatment. Your careless attitude simply implies you have given up before even starting.
Macho attitude: Missed approaches does not mean you are less of a pilot. Aviation will give you the challenges, whether you are prepared or not. Chase after it, and you will find your self in a box.


+1

Sliceback

You're 30? Initial post seems to be much, much younger.


You want to be the best? A majority of the guys you work with had the same goal. Many are very good. A few are known to be amongst the best.

Is anyone the 'best'? Probably not. How do you define it? Classmate, now Bg. General, probably finished in the middle, or perhaps bottom half, of our pilot class. Impressive guy but would you call him the best? Pilot? No. Officer? His record says yes. Was he considered the best officer in UPT? No.


There's too many facets to say 'he's the best'. Some excellent Captains didn't have the best hands. Some of the best hands aren't the best systems guys or the best Captains. And noone is perfect 100% of the time.


And trying to stay amongst the best is a constant effort at learning and developing your skills/knowledge. So if you're one of the best and you learn more were you that good before you reached your new knowledge level??? The 'best' guys realize they're still learning and that there's ALWAYS someone out there that knows more about them in specific areas. The best realize that and try to tap into that guy's knowledge base to improve their skill/knowledge.


So who's the best if the best has to learn from someone else?? Or needs someone else's knowledge or experience? Collectively, working as a team, they're very good. That's the concept of a crew. No one has ALL the answers but collectively the crew is smarter than any one individual. Leadership is realizing who's right and tapping into that ability for the betterment of the crew/flight.


And you think you want it more than the next guy? It's not like every guy ahead of you just got here by dumb luck with no skills and without personal drive. If anything you'll be amazed at how accomplished your coworkers are both in flying and in life.


Friend had the best scores on a winning Gunsmoke team. Did he think he was the best? Absolutely not. Sometimes it's timing. He, and probably the entire squadron, thought the #2 and #3 scorers on the team were better and #4 was debatable. The other guys did back breaking work and had more experience which really improved the team. He was very good but admittedly got 'hot' when it mattered. Was he the best that week? Yes. Does he believe that he's 'better' than the other guys? Never. He could have won but he accepted coming in second overall in a successful effort to have the TEAM win. So even an opportunity to be 'the best' has to be balanced against what's best for the team, the crew, or the flight.


Good luck trying to be the best. It's ability, dedication, experience, continuing education, and sometimes luck and timing to be able to develope or prove yourself. And in the end the good guys realize they're not the best but hopefully amongst that group and are striving to be better AND sharing the knowledge they gain with their peers.


And then, when you're near the peak, full of wisdom but facing the decline of age, you realize there's some young, sharp, driven kid, that is up and coming and wants your place. Do you resent it or do you reach down and offer your hand??? Or would you say "I'm here to be the best, I don't care if the team loses" and put yourself ahead of your teammates, even if it cost everyone a Gunsmoke victory?

chrisreedrules

Great post sliceback...

I will now answer the OPs question with one of my own...

What kind of bear is best?

FALSE! Black Bear.