Originally Posted by
Pilot DAR
Well, though I know that gpn01's remark is to some degree tongue in cheek, I would hope that we could agree that a student or lesser experienced, or out of currency, or incipiently senile pilot is not really trying to kill you, any more than the weather, maintainer, or the aircraft itself is trying to kill you.
It is of course wise to be constantly alert to the hazards presented by all of the above. But, remembering that the pilot you're flying with (by your choice, we'll presume) is there to receive your wisdom, and presumably paying you for the privilage. We more experienced pilots owe it to the newer pilots to afford them respect, and a welcome to our industry which kept us flying when we were new.
It's your job to not only manage safety, but to present what we do as being safe and fun. If students reading this think that they are perceived as a part of the problem, they would rightfully feel insulted. They are a part of the solution to the growth of our industry.....
I agree with much of the sentiment. In fact my initial briefing with a new student was along the lines of "the two most important things about gliding are safety and fun. My job is to make sure there's plenty of both for you as you're learning and to ensure it's done it that order...safety comes first, then fun". That seemed to work really well as an icebreaker and instilled some basic principles right from the outset.
Where Pilot DAR and I may differ is that I didn't present flying as safe...I explained that flying is, in principal actually potentially dangerous. What makes it safe is that we recognise the dangers and mitigate accordingly through processes, procedures, techniques, etc. For those who remained uncertain I'd give a simple example of how crossing a busy road is inherently dangerous because of the risk of being knocked down. Because we recognise the risk, we mitigate by looking both ways and keeping our eyes and ears peeled for traffic. Personally I've always believed that activities are often dangerous because we fail to recgnise the risks. By identifying, acknowledging and mitigating against what could go wrong we make something that's intrinsically unsafe, "safer".