IcePack,
You missed my point. This is not a military vs civilian pissing contest. I know lots of civilian pilots that I consider to be aces. And I know lots of military pilots who suck. The main difference is that in the military we will provide pilots who suck with the required training in a controlled environment, until they become safe pilots. If we cannot achieve and maintain that with training they will be washed out! We simply don’t have room for them in the cockpits.
I have also seen military top notch pilots change into unsafe pilots once over in the civilian world due to lack of sustained training. Skills will degrade over time if you don’t actively seek to maintain them. You get good at what you practice!
portmanteau,
There is no such thing as a planned Go Around. The planned version is called a low approach and a Touch and Go respectively before and after contact with the runway. You don’t need to brief what to do if you end up bouncing 85 ft. I assume that you already know what to do. If not, stay out of the cockpit. You don’t brief an unplanned gear up landing either, but if you end up in one, try to keep it on the centerline and pull the power back. And if you want to make it a textbook unplanned gear up landing, remember to set the gear handle to the down position before evacuating the cockpit. That way you will follow normal behavior for an unplanned belly flop….
gazumped,
Good post. Pitch and Power (or Control and Performance) will save the day. I know by heart a rough Pitch and Power Settings for any phase of the flight. And I use it on a daily basis. Every time I need to enter a new phase of flight (Climb, cruise, descent etc.) I start by setting the rough Pitch and Power that will match what I need. Then when everything settles down I make minor corrections to nail the parameters I am looking for. Establish, Trim Cross-Check, Adjust……