Gents, I am an instructor now but let me share with you my most embarrasing moment outside the bedroom.
A couple of weeks after my PPL I did an aerobatics course on a Robin 2160. Pre-JAA, aerobatics were a requirement to obtain a CPL in my country to make you used to unusual attitudes I guess. The R2160 has no doors, you slide the
front part of the window forward to open the cockpit, the back part of the window is fixed to the fuselage.
Picture this: the day of the exam my examiner, my instructor and my fellow students are sitting on a sunny terrace of the flying club. The Robin 2160 is parked just in front of the terrace. I am strapping myself in and am ready to close the sliding window.... In my nervousity, I reach
behind me in an attempt to slide the window forward to close the cockpit... nothing happens, it seemed to be stuck somewhere, I thought... after several attempts I decided to unstrap the 5-point safety harness and get up in order to have more grip to slide the cockpit shut... everybody on the terrace is looking very strange at me but I decide to remain COOL
... After three hard pulls on the part of the window which is fixed to the fuselage, it started to dawn on me that I had to pull the front part backwards to close the cockpit
My friends and instructor where rolling on the floor cracking themselves up. The examiner was respectfully looking in an other direction.
BUT, I managed to grab myself together and did my display overhead the runway and got my aerobatics certificate!!!
My instructor, when he teaches "Human factors", is still using this story in the classroom, without using my name I hope
, to demonstrate how people / pilots can make incredible stupid mistakes when they are under stress.
If you want to know my most embarrasing moment inside the bedroom, I suggest you PM me
