Pearls of wisdom

[daver_777]

Hi all

Im a low time huey driver, and was wondering if all you guys (and girls) out there have once piece of advice/wisdom given to you by a instructor/captain/checking officer that has stuck with you through all of your flying carreer?

I remember back when i was a lowly student on wings course (which was not too long ago), and found myself strugling to make the grade and on a chop ride, my primary instructor at the time came up with this gem after i told him i was having problems..."you know how to fix that dont you?, just dont do it again":ooh: Riiiiight?!?? worked though.

hey i didnt say it had to be serious:}

[John Eacott]

What Straight and Level in Flight magazine used to call 'ARIA's'?

Always Remembered Instructor's Advice :cool:



Malarky Jim once suggested:

"Point the way you're going, and go the way you're pointing" :p



He actually suggested it more than once, ISTR....... ;)

[TwinHueyMan]

My favorite: "A preflight consists of searching for reasons not to fly"

Others: "The low fuel flasher means you've got time to make up for being an idiot and land, not continue being an idiot" and "tracer fire is a kind reminder that you've missed a turn and should make expedient efforts to get back on the right course" -- though if you're smart, you'll never run into either of these situations.

Mike

[RVDT]

"Don't fly anything that is in the "restricted" category."

It means what it says on the tin.

Be very wary of flying anything older than you are!

[A.Agincourt]

"Never underestimate the stupidity of others".



Best Wishes

[OverTq]

1. Don't assume - check!

2. Don't press-on, land-on!

[moosp]

Don't assume, check.

I always remember the Airclues cartoon of that statement that hung in crew rooms of the RAF years ago. There was a caricature of a Winco giving a lecture to a group of pilot officers on flight safety and his flies were undone. Silly but effective, and it has saved me a couple of times over the last many years.

Meaning at my age I still come out of the lav with my flies undone, but at least I do a careful preflight.

[alouette3]

Never pass up an opportunity to use the loo, eat or catch a nap. You don't know when you will be able to do all or any of the above again.:uhoh:

At 200 hours I thought I knew everything. At 1000 hours I was sure I knew everything. At 5000 hours I realized I was only just beginnig to learn.:hmm:
And as a corollary to that:

The day you think you know everything about flying is the day you should turn in your wings.
Cheers,
Alt3.

[MOSTAFA]

Military Pilots Course many moons ago, sage old, ex matelot, big bearded instructor.

"Lets talk about the PFL in a helicopter" Right Bloggs "What is the first rule"

aaaaagh Lookout = No,
eeerrrrr airmanship = No,
ehhhhhhhh pick a field = No
mmmmmmmmm Turn into wind = No

Listen Bloggs this is going to take a long time isnt it? errrrrrr!!!! Yep

The first rule is simple and never ever forget it ........ I SURVIVE..... Now you fit all the other crap in after it.

Never did forget it and it still serves me well.

[4ftHover]

I was always told to remember the following ...............

"its better to be on the ground wishing you were up flying than up flying wishing you were are on the ground."

How very true !

[CopterD]

Favorites:

CRM related: "Brief what you're going to do and do what you briefed"

Go/no-go decision: "Take off is optional, landing is mandatory"

Fuel: "The only time that you have too much fuel is when you are on fire"

CopterD

[Heli-Ice]

One of those funny FW instructors I had once told me: "Keep your hands on the controls, there aren't any girls watching you up here!"

Another FW instructor said when discussing weather and go-no-go decisions making: "When in doubt, there is no doubt". That is a good one me thinks.

I cannot remember anything my rotary instructor told me but hey, I'm still flying so it must have been good. :ok:

[Camp Freddie]

training captain in aberdeen said to us keen newbies:-

"top 10 rules of the north sea

1)dont run out of fuel
2)land in the right place (preferably with the wheels down)
3).....err thats it really!"

[rotaryman]

And Remember!

METAL HAS A MEMORY..

IE it will remember that overspeed long after you have forgotten it..

[Evil Twin]

Try to keep the number of landings equal to the number of take off's!:uhoh:

[SASless]

Always go with a girl with small hands.....it makes yer Willy look bigger!

[EAGLE31]

Take Offs are optional.

Landings are mandatory!

[Floppy Link]

On the "Don't assume, check" theme....

There was a flight safety poster of a Gazelle flying down a firebreak between trees just about to hit a wire with the caption "Don't check, assume"

'cos the pesky sigs will have an aerial up and wires all over the place in an instant.

Likewise these days in the UK, those thin whippy almost invisible wind monitoring aerials for windfarm siting research pop up overnight with no warning. Don't check, assume. :ok:

[ExSeaLynx]

When I did the early stages of my flight training I had to to memorise the seven "P"s:

Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Later I was told "Only bats and twats fly at night" Well I still fly at night but the 7 Ps are definitely correct.

[Colonal Mustard]

The best one was ever told was

" If there is any doubt, then there is no doubt"

always worked for me:8

[Brian Abraham]

In God we trust, every thing else we check.

PS the good old T-53 will run for about 2 minutes at cruise power with no oil before it goes on holiday, and the main gear box will still run OK after fifteen minutes with no oil.

[Shawn Coyle]

The aim of every flight is to walk back into the office - some days you can accomplish this aim by not going to the helicopter...

[parabellum]

Never be tempted to commence a difficult approach or task just because you are told, "Well, so and so got in/ did it before you", so bloody what!

Was once being pressed by a Tool Pusher to lift a slung load he claimed had been lifted before, the truth was rather different, it had never been weighed and was outside the limits of the helicopter, he just wanted it moved!

[OBX Lifeguard]

When I had about 5,000 hrs a fellow with about 20,000 hrs commented to me that he and I were really good pilots, to which I agreed. But then he said that being so good we might one day take a mission tougher than could be flown, so that he had decided that he would use as a rule of thumb "what would I tell my son to do, if he were a pilot in the same situation?"

In the last 5,000 hrs I've thought of that bit of advice often, and it has been one tool to help me get over my ego and let sound judgement prevail.

[Leftpedal]

Some great advice here!

My favourite; "Rule number 1 - Do Not Fcuk Up"

PS - Brian, I saw a sign in a bar once that read, "In God we trust - everyone else pays cash"

[jellycopter]

Experience is something you have about five minutes after you needed it.

J

[Rwy in Sight]

I think I read it in PPRuNe some year ago: "I am going to kill you because you will allow me to do so".

Rwy in Sight

[SASless]

Another way of looking at this....."Would I rather be up there or down here with a cup of Tea in my grubbly little mitts?"

Flying is like creeping along the edge of a very deep vertical precipice that has snow and ice where you are walking. One mis-calculation and you go from being a bit uneasy to being in some very serious trouble.

[southerncanuck]

my personal favorites

- never let a machine know your in a rush

- "ahh houston, we have a problem"

- "that wont look good on a resume"

[IHL]

When doing something you shouldn't be doing try an imagine how the accident report will read-“It is undetermined why the pilot …”

[Backward Blade]

A couple common ones working in very remote areas in Canada...

Salutation/Send-off: "keep your nose into wind and your tail out of the
bushes"

Philosophy of flight : 1) "Prepare for each flight like something is going to go terribly wrong. Then when you land you've had a good day!"

2) " You never want to come off a flight and kiss the ground....it usually means you were kissing your ass goodbye...FLY THE AIRCRAFT!"

Customer Relations: " If you answer the customers statement of requirements with a question it probably means you shouldn't be doing it!" ie You want me to lift THAT? or Excuse me?

On PDM and WX (VFR) : "If you 'think' you can see, I 'think' you could die. If you can't see, you should have known better and what I think doesn't matter. " A Chief Pilot.

BWB

[Backward Blade]

Almost forgot this one from my Boss. " A boring flight is a good flight"

[SASless]

In the words of a famous pilot in Nigeria....."Always be on time for your takeoff....and never argue with the Chief Pilot!"

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. But there are no old, bold pilots. :ok: