I tend to go over flights in my mind afterwards, sometimes for days if it has been a bad one. I think I can honestly say that, in 250hrs flying I have never carried out a flight without at least one mistake in it. Usually I am the only one who knows about it but I can certainly share the more public ones of approaching the wrong runway. Once, when I was totally overloaded by sharing the circuit with a BAC111, I was 90 degrees out.
The big question is. Why does our brain shut down as soon as we strap an aeroplane to our bums. I was discussing this last night with one of my boys who is in the very early stages of training as a military pilot and I understand that one of the first filters they apply is to assess how they cope with mental overload.
If anyone has any performance enhancing tips I would be grateful. In my case I am aware that, as soon as you start the engine, you are under some sort of time pressure. On the ground this is usually because that's when you start paying. In the air it's because you are constantly moving and trying to keep ahead of the aeroplane. Is it any easier in helicopters where you can at least stop and think about it (like having a pause button)?