Originally Posted by
ChristiaanJ
In a way, it's a corollary to "Flying is 99% boredom and 1% terror".... (Ernest Gann? No I think it's older than that.)
THIS time may be the occasion that your number is up and all your skills will be called upon.
Staying aware that THIS time may be ANY time, is what I call true professionalism.
A borg may be aware any time but humans are not... a fallacy in the basic design of the Mk1 Human which is flexible but prone to error.
The truth is, IMHO, this is just another aircrew.. nothing deficient, nothing extraordinary. This is not to demean the crew by any measure. But with a photoshop, we could probably put our faces on these guys.. they are US.
And for the next x weeks, the savvy aviators will have a heightened awareness. It is not too different from the gazelles on the savannah. After the 'lion' takes one, everyone is acutely aware but after a period of time, the edge wears off and things settle down.. until the next gazelle falls prey to the hunter. (a paraphrase to Gann again)