PDA

View Full Version : Am I unprofessional? Instructor/Airline pilot opinions


Ydenneksirhc
3rd Sep 2013, 15:38
Hello Everyone, this will be my first post on PPRuNe.

I'm just finishing up my single engine land CPL, and my flight instructor has been kind of slacking lately and giving me assignments merely 1-2 hours before a flight rather than a day or two's notice, which i feel is more professional and quite frankly less stressful. Here is my latest situation as of last night, I need to know from a professional pilots stand point if I am right or wrong:

My instructor texted me at 12 midnight telling me to have a flight plan ready by the time we meet at 12pm. I woke up at 8am, went for a two hour workout, and got back home around 10am, then i saw the text. I was expecting a local flight lesson today which i can prepare for within a 2 hour time frame (10am-12pm), this includes having the plane pre flighted and ready to go, weight and balance complete, all the weather charts laid out and ready, also my shower, breakfast, getting dressed in my pilots uniform and driving to the academy I study at, which is a 15 minute drive aswell. My instructor then texted me back at 10.15 asking if i could have all the above done AND a vfr flight plan for a 2 hour flight and back. So in the middle of my usual routine he asks if i can have extra work done in my usual preparation time frame, and i run a tight schedule from the moment i get in the shower to handing the planes keys to my instructor saying "im ready to go" on time.

He then proceeds to text me back apologizing for the late text (finally...) and then asks why I, as an upcoming commercial pilot, can't have a 2 hour VFR cross country flight planned in under an hour, and have the plane ready to go with all the other work on my plate done as well. He asked why I couldn't have 6 checkpoints on a piece of paper in less than an hour, and that right there looked rushed in my eyes, which we all know has a potential to be very unsafe. I have been rushed into cross country flights at the last minute in my private training, and when i got in the air if i missed one frequency i was immediately to blame. When i plan my cross countries, I'm very detailed. I don't just write down 6 checkpoints and tower and ATIS frequencies on a piece of paper. I write down frequencies for every airport along my route for emergency situations, I print and read every NOTAM for every airport along my route again for emergencies. I get FBO phone numbers/frequencies, fuel prices for every FBO, I call ahead of time to ask if there is space on the ramp for me to park at such and such time. I'm specific and detailed, and now im being blamed for being unprepared and that will most likely be marked down in my canceled flight today, which can someday be read at an airline interview if they are looking for my flaws.

The worst part is, my parents who fund my training, immediately took my flight instructors side saying i should have seen the text at 12 midnight and been up planning the cross country then went to sleep, yet in all my ground schools i'm lectured about the importance of at least 8 hours of sleep and the effects it has on safety, and I have flown with less and I underperformed, and it felt horrible.

So, with all of that being said:

Am I an unprofessional student pilot?

Or

Is my flight instructor not giving me enough time of notice for my lessons?

Sincerely, Chris Kennedy

BigGrecian
3rd Sep 2013, 16:50
Your instructor is being reasonable in the time frame.

If you look at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/srg_lts_stds%20doc%203_V8_Sept2012.pdf it states :

3.2.5
....he will be given time to complete the necessary planning and pre-flight preperation, normally 45-60 minutes depending on the circumstances.

I think the amount of time he is giving you is more than adequate.

Communication not the best but your CPL examiner may be communicating in exactly the same way and your employer is likely to communicate electronically.

Welcome to your future career. ;)

172_driver
3rd Sep 2013, 17:16
To me it sounds like a sloppy instructor. How many of us has not missed a text? Had you not seen the text and showed up with nothing you'd been blamed as well, most likely. Possibly charged for the session too.

Time frame wise I don't know.. what does he expect? 6 points on a chart certainly goes quick, but is that his idea of a VFR flight plan?

That said, in the future you will not always have the benefit of time. Being able to prioritize what's important and preparing what's required will be the norm.

Blantoon
3rd Sep 2013, 17:23
I'm just finishing up my single engine land CPL, and my flight instructor has been kind of slacking lately and giving me assignments merely 1-2 hours before a flight rather than a day or two's notice, which i feel is more professional and quite frankly less stressful.

1-2 hours before a flight is a reasonable time frame, and a lot more than I remember having sometimes. Being texted the route the night before is more than you should be expecting (and more than you'll get on your test).

It does seem like a rush sometimes, especially at the beginning. My recommendation is to prepare and plan absolutely everything else you possibly can well in advance. If you're off blocks at 12, by 10am I would recommend being showered, dressed, at the airport, aircraft checked out (if on the ground) local notams checked, weather brief prepared etc etc. That way once you get your route your workload is minimized.

Getting used to that sort of time management will help you a lot, particularly with your IR (both on the ground and in the air).

BigGrecian
3rd Sep 2013, 19:22
Being texted the route the night before is more than you should be expecting (and more than you'll get on your test).

I actually suspect the instructor is probably feeling generous providing this earlier than the 2 hours and a little part of me sides with him/her.

To be honest I would have expected you to be able to cope with that pressure/time frame although not communicated via text.

It does seem like a rush sometimes, especially at the beginning. My recommendation is to prepare and plan absolutely everything else you possibly can well in advance. If you're off blocks at 12, by 10am I would recommend being showered, dressed, at the airport, aircraft checked out (if on the ground) local notams checked, weather brief prepared etc etc. That way once you get your route your workload is minimized.

Totally agree. I think an 8am wake up on the day of CPL training then a 2 hour run is taking the biscuit a little... I would have been in at 9 taking care of those - ready to receive route at 11am - because I know I never got more than 45 mins towards the end of my training.

I personally provide the Navigation briefing - give the first route over night to be planned then meet an hour before the flight to go over the planning.

I then progressively reduce the amount of notice given for Nav route from 3 hours to then 2 hours and then reduce by 30 mins intervals till I hit 45 minutes notice for the last couple of flights.

RTN11
3rd Sep 2013, 19:31
As above really, the instructor is being more than reasonable texting you the night before, more than I ever got on CPL or IR training.

In the real world, you are often given a change of plan with maybe 40-50 mins to prepare, you need to get used to being flexible.

Save the workout for after the flight, it will tire you out and ensure a good night sleep ready for the next day of planning/flying.

bucket_and_spade
3rd Sep 2013, 21:16
I would also suggest that maybe your planning is a little too involved - scrutinising the NOTAMs etc. for absolutely every airport on your route might not be necessary (though I'm not sure where you're flying) - will the weather vary massively for each airfield? In emergency or abnormal situations ATC can be used as a resource to gain frequencies, check weather, pre-warn airfields etc. I'm not saying be slap-dash and don't plan but I would say an overview of the weather on the route - obviously focussing on departure, destination and nominated alternate - is suffice. The NOTAMS for the above airfields are obviously important too but not every notice for every airport along the route.

I agree with those that suggest the time is adequate - maybe you need to adjust your planning to fit around a more realistic timeframe, one that you probably will have to work around for tests and in the real world of flying, where flexibility and changes are the norm?

One of the key skills of flying professionally is picking out the pertinent info and prioritising tasks - there will always be too much paperwork to look at and you'll need to get used to actively looking for the important stuff.

I fly commercially - if myself and the captain read every word of the briefing pack we'd never leave on time (and on-time performance is part of being a commercial pilot!) - maybe you could practice by giving yourself routes and then planning them in restricted timescales. Practice makes perfect! I completely understand the desire to be well- (even, over-) prepared because I was the same and planned to the nth degree but over time you will learn what is important to commit to memory, what to write down and what you can gain from other sources (e.g. ATC, the charts, etc.) in a reasonable timeframe if you need it.

Just some thoughts...

Good luck!

FlyingStone
4th Sep 2013, 07:49
He then proceeds to text me back apologizing for the late text (finally...) and then asks why I, as an upcoming commercial pilot, can't have a 2 hour VFR cross country flight planned in under an hour, and have the plane ready to go with all the other work on my plate done as well. He asked why I couldn't have 6 checkpoints on a piece of paper in less than an hour, and that right there looked rushed in my eyes, which we all know has a potential to be very unsafe.

Sorry to say, but if you need more than 2 hours to plan a 2 hour flight and you're already a CPL student, I really wonder whether you are really as time efficient as you should be. How much time would you need then for a 5-hour flight?

I think it's time that somebody tells you, but being a commercial pilot also includes time management. Will you need 2 hours of planning as well for when somebody hires you to fly a 1 hour long sightseeing flight? Sometimes you just need to sort out your priorities. I believe you could have survived the day without the 8-hour sleep followed by 2-hour workout - I know the books says you should sleep 8 hours, drink no alcohol, not smoke at all, get good excercise, eat only the healthiest food, etc. I don't know if anybody has told you yet, but - books sometimes don't accurately describe actual real life.

When i plan my cross countries, I'm very detailed.

It's good to be thorough. No need to make a simple VFR flight into PhD disertation though. With your experience as a CPL student you should be able to plan a 2-3 hour IFR

He then proceeds to text me back apologizing for the late text (finally...)

Bad instructor, very bad. He sent you the route 12 hours in advance and only apologised at the first moment he saw you the next day before the flight. I mean really - how can he be like this?

mad_jock
4th Sep 2013, 10:46
In real life you will have the time it takes the fuel bowser to get to the plane and fuel it as your time allotted for planning before getting sacked.

Seems strange all I got for my CPL planning equipment was a bit of paper pencil and some wx. And a finger was stabbed at a chart a few times and we were out the door in 20mins.

ctrl
4th Sep 2013, 11:52
Your instructor is doing you a favour by putting pressure on you and sorry to say but it sounds like you need to be pushed harder!

RTN11
4th Sep 2013, 17:05
When he apologised for the late text, he clearly meant late at night rather than not long enough before the flight, if my employer started texting me at midnight I'd be a bit peeved unless it was very necessary for a last minute change.

No reason why he shouldn't have given you the route at 11am, and expected to be airborne at 12.

For commercial ops we report 50 mins before a six sector day, so 50 mins to plan 6 flights. How will you cope with that if you're over analysing a simple VFR plan?

When you go on to do your IR you will usually have a slot time booked for a training approach. If you miss the slot, you just turn around and go home without the practice, so you really need to practice being able to plan quickly and efficiently to ensure a timely departure.

10Watt
5th Sep 2013, 02:16
Chris,
sounds to me as though the Boss needed to sell aircraft time and

your "instructor" was the means to do it.

A text at midnight ?

Shame on that instructor. Bite your lip and get on with it. No option.

Keep us informed.

Ps. 50 min before a 6 sector day ? You can only fly one sector at a time

so you must have at least 6hrs before deciding fuel for the last. :)

Common sense prevails l hope.

Even 5 day standbys at CDG on a 15 min report to the AF crewbus

outside were manageable if that was kept in mind.

( that 15min included rounding up the other crew members )

Suck it in, you can do it.


PS. you must make time to get out on the razz as well,

otherwise there`s no point in any of it.

rivalino
5th Sep 2013, 09:25
I agree the instructor is doing you a favour. In my company we have 10
Minutes to check in, check weather,notams aircraft serviceability brief the crew
And calculate the fuel before leaving the crew room for the aircraft.
I am currently flying with many low houred pilots and the people who roll
Up their sleeves and get on with it do well but the ones that don't live in the real world that have had mummy and daddy pay for it always find it hard. You should thank your instructor or decide to do something else.

Big Pistons Forever
5th Sep 2013, 09:26
Your instructor is doing you a favour by putting pressure on you and sorry to say but it sounds like you need to be pushed harder!

I agree. When you get out of the fantasy land that is flight training you will see that your instructor has done you a favor. BTW I routinely give my CPL students a flight to plan the night before and then an hour before departure say " oh the customer just said he has 200lbs of extra bags, or needs to make an extra stop, or will be 4 hrs late :E

dubbleyew eight
5th Sep 2013, 09:49
I think that the point really is that the original poster is the slowest fu**er in history.
I've done a 2 day flight across the country with 15 - 20 minutes of flight planning.

if you can't totally redo a flight plan in under 10 minutes when the destination is changed you need to take up professional stamp collecting.

172_driver
5th Sep 2013, 10:12
dubbleyew eight,

Is that British sarcasm or just an insult to a humble student asking for feedback?

I could do a week tour around the country with no flight planning.

I simply think the OP want's to do an immaculate job and show himself from his best side. Unfortunately in this case it backfired, and the lesson learnt for Chris for the future will be to prioritize..

Everyone who compares it to commercial operations.. guys, you already have the flight plan, fuel required, weight & balance and so on. Check the weather, fuel policy and off you go. Takes 5 min on a good day.

Some flight schools insist on having all that done yourself for 1 hour session in the local practice area. That's improper time management, imho...

bucket_and_spade
5th Sep 2013, 10:40
Easy guys - you'll see from my post that I agree with pretty much all of the sentiment here...but that's no reason to tear a guy you've never met a new one. Chris - please take some of the advice here as constructive, a lot of it comes with experience too.

bucket_and_spade
5th Sep 2013, 10:46
172_driver makes a good point about commercial ops (at least on bigger equipment) but I think the thrust of what people are saying is accurate. Plus, in some commercial ops (think biz jet flying, light aircraft etc.) you will be responsible for all that (flight plan, W&B, fuel, etc.) in short timescales so the points are still valid. As I say, I was pretty similar to Chris when I first started flying because (a) I wanted to do a good, thorough job and (b) I wanted to impress - nothing wrong with that but my approach is very different now as I hint at in my first post above. Chris is at an early stage of commercial flying and has asked for advice from us - fair play!

dubbleyew eight
5th Sep 2013, 11:07
hmmm british sarcasm???

well what is the purpose of a flight plan....

1 to make sure you know where you are going and how to get there.
2 to make sure you have enough fuel for the trip.

if you have enough fuel on board you can work out the rest as you go if necessary.

dont get me wrong. I know of competent private pilots who take a week to flight plan a long flight but most of that time is spent in relearning half forgotten methods.

he ought to be a lot more certain and a lot faster.

mad_jock
5th Sep 2013, 12:12
Also the OP is in the US its more than likely a different way of doing things over there.

Yes most on here know you just use your bit of paper and work out the whole trip length. Then work out your max drift and min ground speed. Then work out your fuel for min ground speed and add on your final reserve.

Then using the edge of you paper move you track between points to a VOR and get the bearing off that. Then use the clock code to account for wind and get a adjusted heading and time for leg. And repeat for other legs.

Check the notams make sure you have more in the tanks than you have planned for. Do your M&B. And then go flying.

Tinstaafl
6th Sep 2013, 01:49
At PPL level I'd give days or a week's notice of the destination + suggestions for the route, whether instructing or examining.

At CPL level I'd give 60 minutes. At the end of 60 minutes I'd expect the guy to be ready to jump in the aircraft & go. That means flight plan, W&B, runway performance, contacting the ALA/farm strip for information & querying the 'pax' for Dangerous Goods/HazMat given the 'customer' description. Oh, and consider Flt & duty limitation.

My CPL test (in Oz) with the Department Examiner had 60 mins from him walking in the door with a route for me to plan, to being ready for a grilling on my decisions & planning + the other ground questioning items.

My 30 year career as a pilot in GA in 3 countries has required numerous flights with minimal time to plan. You have to be able to be able to adapt & plan quickly for those short notice flights.

ninethreekilo
12th Sep 2013, 06:20
Well it shouldnt take you that long to plan a x-country, also why are you writing every freq for every airport down when they are on the chart that should be on your lap?

Now as for the text a midnight, that is slop on your CFIs part, I'd have a little come to jesus with him on that one, if he cant give you your assignments during normal business hours (as you are a paying customer) then perhaps you should talk to the manager about the other more professional schools you could be spending your parents money at.

You need to step it up a little on how you plan a x-country, whats important and what not, all the FBO stuff, cool but not needed, copying freqs from charts you will carry not needed, good check points (not just a arbitrary number of them ether) are needed, accurate times and fuel burns, being able to make a quick recalc for headwind and fuel for updated headwind ETA, etc

I'd also say your instructor needs to work on being more professional.

Trolle
12th Sep 2013, 08:25
I'll throw in my 2 cents, as an instructor and airline pilot in the US.

I think Chris needs to realize what information is a "must" and what is "gee, that would be nice".

Granted, I would give my students several days notice to plan a flight because we all have calendars and lives outside of the flight line. Plus, I teach at a small FBO not a large-scale school. However, I would expect a CPL student to be able to plan a flight on the wizz-wheel in under 60 minutes.

When I read this:

When i plan my cross countries, I'm very detailed. I don't just write down 6 checkpoints and tower and ATIS frequencies on a piece of paper. I write down frequencies for every airport along my route for emergency situations, I print and read every NOTAM for every airport along my route again for emergencies. I get FBO phone numbers/frequencies, fuel prices for every FBO, I call ahead of time to ask if there is space on the ramp for me to park at such and such time. I'm specific and detailed, and now im being blamed for being unprepared and that will most likely be marked down in my canceled flight today, which can someday be read at an airline interview if they are looking for my flaws.

The worst part is, my parents who fund my training, immediately took my flight instructors side saying i should have seen the text at 12 midnight and been up planning the cross country then went to sleep, yet in all my ground schools i'm lectured about the importance of at least 8 hours of sleep and the effects it has on safety, and I have flown with less and I underperformed, and it felt horrible.

So, with all of that being said:

Am I an unprofessional student pilot?

I am wondering why are you doing all that? Writing down frequencies for ALL airports along the route? You have a chart where somebody did that for you. Calling FBOs for fuel? Yeah, you may need to do that when working for a real outfit, but as a student what role will that play in your flight? Is your instructor asking you for this information? If so, show your instructor you can do it once and then you have demonstrated the capacity...I certainly would not require that my student do that every time. I have never flown on the East Coast but calling ahead for ramp space? I assume you are in a SEP and not an A380? If so, they can always squeeze you in somewhere on the ramp. Have you ever been told there wasn't space?

Is your instructor aware that you are doing all this? I would expect you to be able to plan a flight in a shorter time frame, however if you could not do that it is my job to figure out why. I am the INSTRUCTOR and therefore must INSTRUCT you. If my student said they were calling the FBO for the fuel price and ramp space and writing down all the frequencies. I would explain that is overkill and SELDOM a necessity for our flight. We are going to go on our training flight regardless. Reading every NOTAM from every airport along the route. Even the briefer doesn't do that for you. You should be able to scan the information in a few seconds and determine what is relevant and irrelevant. What do you need to know? The route, the weather, the fuel required, and any pertinent and relevant NOTAMS.

Finally, you are not an unprofessional student pilot. You are a student and asking if you are doing something wrong. Seems professional to me. Also, it seems to me that several are in agreement that you are too meticulous. And no airline is going to ask about this one cancelled flight...and if they do just tell them what happened and what you learned from it.

And yes...you will experience out in the real world that your boss is going to text you at 0100 with an update for a flight at 0800 and you better be ready to do what is asked of you to keep the customer happy...as long as you are legal and safe.

S-Works
12th Sep 2013, 09:53
Blimey..... My planning lasts as long as it takes to drink my cup of tea and a normal cross country for me is generally 4 countries.....

Hats off for asking the questions, it shows you are keen to learn and showing professionalism. But seriously, lighten up!!

Genghis the Engineer
12th Sep 2013, 10:18
I agree with most people above. NOTAMS for airspace en-route, planned destination and alternate yes, anything else, probably not. The OP appears to be in the USA - all of that, and met, is available in 5 minutes on 1-800-WXBRIEF. 2 hours is enough. Frequencies are on charts. Fuel prices are irrelevant to most purposes. Take an airfield guide in the cockpit, and learn what you really need. There's always space to park a light aeroplane at any airport for a few hours if you need to go there, it's a pointless question.

I did a ferry trip last week, new type, new and complex airspace, necessity of filed flight plans - and my planning time was about the same as my flight time. For CPL training, you probably get 2 hours to plan a 90 minute sortie, which is plenty, and you're on known territory.

Plus, routes, airfields, plans change constantly - flexibility in the air is vital, so have data there, and the ability to access it - but not have copied it all out, that's just wasting time and paper.

Also all my experience from when I did my CPL is do NOTHING the morning before a lesson except go to the flying school after breakfast. Otherwise your mind is on the wrong things and you won't get the best value out of the lesson.

G

Arm out the window
12th Sep 2013, 10:41
I'll put my two bob's worth in ...

Sometimes you have lots of time to plan, and if so, do it diligently. Other times, you don't, and have to do the best with what's available. If you're really too rushed, make the safety call and don't fly.

But are you really too rushed? What about when you're airborne and have to cope with an unexpected diversion? Apply some of that quick thinking to your preflight planning - the more you practice, the easier it gets.

Lastly, keep in mind the more time you have, the more you tend to waste, so while you may feel rushed at times, consider how quickly you can really do the job while still covering all bases - sometimes we work better under (reasonable) pressure.

Heston
12th Sep 2013, 10:52
Lastly, keep in mind the more time you have, the more you tend to waste, so
while you may feel rushed at times, consider how quickly you can really do the
job while still covering all bases - sometimes we work better under (reasonable)
pressure.


Parkinson's Law IIRC

Try this - give yourself a time limit to plan the flight (say an hour). Then spend the first 5 minutes prioritizing the planning tasks and then do them in that order. Stop after the hour. Go fly.

Or at least try a time limit for yourself and see how you get on, even if for a practice. The time management discipline that is required to do your planning in a reasonable time is one of the skills that you need to develop. Your instructor should help you with this - but you can work on it too anyway.

Tinstaafl
12th Sep 2013, 14:33
Manually copying information that is available in the required publications is mostly a waste of time, unless you're scribbling a quick note about something unusual. The information is already written down for you - that's why we have those documents in the 1st place. You just have to be able to know where to look.

Like others have written, you need to be able to discriminate between essential planning & preflight information & activities, and non-essential stuff. Also, how efficient is your flight planning & preparation process? Do you waste time going back & forth trying to complete tasks? Can you shave time during planning eg plot all the tracks, then measure all track bearings, then measure all the distances etc instead of dealing with each leg individually. Is your equipment organised in a way that lets find the bits & pieces easily. I find it helps if I keep each item in its own place every time. I don't have to rummage here & there to find things.

Once you have a planning routine that captures all the essentials quickly & efficiently your flight planning will be much quicker.

10Watt
16th Sep 2013, 01:28
That 15min report to the crew bus was direct to the aircraft - odd that

with French security in CDG - the fuel guy waiting and destination to be

revealed.

How did you get on ?

Parson
17th Sep 2013, 10:53
Persoanlly, I believe that at training stage, students should be given as much time as possible. This gives them additional time to prepare and self brief and make the most of the lesson, which they are paying for after all.

I don't just mean time for the formal planning, eg W&B, flight plans, nav calcs etc., but time to prepare mentally for the flight and consider what was done wrong last time and how can that be improved next time etc.

Yes, in the real world time is tight but at that stage experience helps and we all know we are quicker when we do the same thing several times a day/week.

When I go for light aircraft flight these days, even local currency for an hour or so, I always brief myself on what I want to achieve and improve on and set myself goals. Then afterwards I critically review how I have done and set further goals for next time.

Deputy Van Halen
17th Sep 2013, 18:52
well, here is my opinion. I think him texting you at midnight was kinda unprofessional. you could have been sleeping and he could have woke you up. but..... I do think he could have called you in the morning. but 2 hours to plan a 2 hour trip should be more than plenty of time, especially if that doesnt include the prelight inspection of the plane.

my biggest question is...... a 2 hour workout? :eek: what you doing? training for the worlds strongest man competition on ESPN???:p seriously though, if your doing a flight career path, I would cut the workouts to 30 to 60 minutes. that is plenty enough time to be in optimal shape for a pilot (or anything else).

Big Pistons Forever
17th Sep 2013, 22:38
I had another look at the OP's post and he kind of reminds me of a student I had awhile ago. This person was very uncomfortable with uncertainty. He was very bright and worked very hard but if everything did not go exactly according to plan his performance suffered.

Things reached a head during navigation. His planning was over the top meticulous, but he putting a ridiculous amount of time into planning every flight. I eventually forced him out of his comfort zone with drastic measures. Just as he was starting his first leg I took his PLOG and threw it out the window. I then took his meticulously marked map and threw it in the baggage bay. I then gave him my rather tattered and unmarked map and told him to map read his way around our Navex and back to the home airport.

By the end of the flight he realized that navigation is not rocket science and the basics of time-speed-distance will get you where you want to go.

clunk1001
18th Sep 2013, 09:48
More than enough time...and a text at 12 midnight with the flight details is a good representation of your future career - except in real life it'll probably be for a 9am departure.

Agree completely with Big Pistons Forever.

Like Big Piston's student I too used to go into the nth degree with planning, and I got bogged down with detail. My salvation was a small book called "Diversion Planning" by Martyn Smith, it is about flying with a map, a pencil and a stopwatch. And it works so well. And when you see how well it works, you have the confidence in pre-flight planning to put down the CRP-5 for a wind calculation which is going to be wrong anyway - and concentrate on what matters.

For CPL test, you dont need to prepare for everything on the ground, you just need to know you can handle anything in the air, you'll be flung off on a diversion at some point anyway so you may be spending an hour planning for part of a route you'll never reach.

Go back to basics for a while - map, pencil, stopwatch.

:ok: Good luck