What makes a "good pilot"?
Well, the brief spell of high pressure and good weather seems to have passed us - the skies are overcast, and it's raining hard (here in London, anyway). Doesn't look like there'll be too much flying this weekend, with rain forecast to continue across most of the country for the foreseeable future.
So, since everyone's sat at home, I thought I'd give you a chance to discuss flying, even if we can't actually go and do it!
For those of you who don't know, my other interest, aside from aviation, is classic cars - Triumphs, particularly. I subscribe to an e-mail list where participants can discuss Triumphs, in the same was as we discuss flying here on PPRuNe.
I was flicking through my log-book recently, when I came across a flight I made a couple of months ago. I took a friend of mine, another subscriber to my Triumph e-mail list, as a passenger. It wasn't his first flight - he has another friend who has a PPL, and has been a passenger in a light plane a couple of times before - but his knowledge of aviation largely consists of boarding airliners at large airports to go and visit family and friends, and this was his first flight with me.
My friend had a great time, and, shortly aferwards, posted to the Triumph e-mail list to say how much he'd enjoyed himself while flying with me. He described me as an "excellent pilot."
This was interesting. Although it had, overall, been a reasonably good flight, my performance certainly wasn't "excellent". During the climb out, I had my head in the cockpit too much (trying to ensure I didn't bust any controlled airspace). I managed to become "temporarilly uncertain of my position" by mis-identifying a lake. And I failed recognise a couple of major streets while trying to find my friend's house as we flew overhead.
So, here are the questions:
[list=1][*]What makes a good pilot, from a pilot's point of view?[*]What makes a good pilot, from a passenger's point of view?[/list=1]
There is clearly a difference between the two, as shown by my example...
I'd like to start the ball rolling by suggesting that being regarded as a good pilot by your passengers is an essential part of being a good pilot - although I don't think it's the most important thing.
Any views from anyone else???
FFF
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