"Good" Pilots?

[chu]

Hello, all you helicopter pilots!

First, I have to admit that I'm no helicopter pilot (yet), but one of your worst enemies, a helicopter engineer.

I have met quite a few pilots, who told me that they were "good" pilots.
So, here's my question to you: What is a good helicopter pilot? What makes the difference between a bad, a medium, and a good pilot?
Hours logged? Experience? Technical knowlegde? Please, let me know your secrets and tell me what you think! I'm just a poor engineer!

Best regards,
Chris

;)

[rotordk]

A good helicopter pilot knows how to spot a poor engineer !
Good enough for yaa :-) ?

[chu]

If it's that, what makes a good pilot, he has definitely more things to worry about than his engineer! :D

By the way, a question:

What is the difference between God and a pilot?

God doesn't think He's a pilot ...

Chris

[rotordk]

A good pilot ?
One who doesn't think He's God !!

[Jcooper]

I think its the decision making skills. Anyone can fly one of the things, the people that go up, come down, have no dents in the aircraft are the good pilots. Its the people that think they are god's gift to aviation that I think are bad pilots.

Decision making skills should become better with experience, so I would say that is what makes a good pilot. People that come on these forums and actually learn from others experience.

I'm just a newbie in the working field so thats just my humble opinion.

[NickLappos]

Jcooper has it exactly, I think. Many more pilots dig their graves (literally) through bad headwork than thru some particular stick wiggling skill. There is a threshold, for sure, of manipulation skill, but after that, its in knowing when to say "Hold on" as things get uncertain.

[ShyTorque]

A superior pilot is one that uses his superior knowledge to avoid him having to use his superior skill.

The last bit's easy. I stay on the ground whenever I can..... :\

[Rich Lee]

The Way of the Helicopter Pilot is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead.

[NickLappos]

Heavy stuff Rich! Didn't know you were a poet! I'd rather walk, honestly. ;)

But Rich's point is a great one. The cost of a forgotten check can be awesome, and the price of failing to do a 180 degree turn when it is necessary is also quite steep.

[donut king]

Rich and Nick!

You guys doing your recurrent training up in the Himalayas with the Kung Fu masters or what????????

D.K

[Lu Zuckerman]

Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily.

If you are a Robbie pilot just read section 10 of the POH.

:E

[diethelm]

Jeez Rich, with great precision you have described my regular job.

I fly to avoid that stuff..............

[RW-1]

Good pilots will not tell you they are good, their fellow pilots will :O

[moosp]

As you go out the door each day to fly, just check whether your affairs are in order. It gives you a little chill, and makes you a better pilot.

And Mr Chu, if you have pilots who tell you they are good, you better check twice everything on that machine they could screw up. A really good pilot will never tell you that.

[Lowlevldevl]

A 'GOOD' pilot?
A good pilot knows his aircraft backwards. Knows his regs backwards. Knows his/ her own limitations......backwards.('Backwords' being a word used in leiu of the phrase 'really effing well!' and such.) A nice 'hand' and cool under pressure will be there as well.

He/ she, keeps a happy client, a happy boss and an engineer who loves them. (All to do with the really important 'rapport' that helicopter pilots and engineers have to have)

Alas there are so few out there who do all those well at the same time. Therefore, really 'good' pilots are probably fairly scarce. The 'Bell shaped curve' we're all familiar with would tend to suggest what the rough breakdown would be.

A 'LIVE' pilot is one who works out early which 1 or 2 things which, if ignored, are statistically most likely to kill them and then makes sure he/ she avoids those 1 or 2 things like the plague.

Sort of an adaptation of the 'Irish' wisdom that "I wish I knew where I was going to die, I would make sure I never went there."

Personally, my 1 or 2 things (probably only 1 thing as I have a really BAD memory) is/ are powerlines/ wires! At least in my country. If you spend your time mustering, spraying, fire-fighting etc; ie: down low, your number one enemy is wires. I know I am going to cop it for my next statement , BUT, occasionally forget to do a fuel drain, never ammend your documents, not really understand how to work out a weight and balance, any number of 'Good Airmanship' things. Well at some point you will probably bend something, end up with a badly broken pride, maybe even bleed a little, most likely though someone who matters will notice and you just won't make it that far up the totem-pole.

HOWEVER, you take a slap-happy approach to whether there are/ aren't wires on/ in your flightpath, its only a matter of time and you WILL end up dead.

Now I'm not suggesting that we ignore all else as long as we religously avoid powerlines. Obviously we're all professionals here(or would like to be) and would never do that. And I know that there are lots of other ways to die in helicopters besides wires. My point is that, statistically at least, some things should be prioritised 'way up there' and for me at least, thats WIRES.

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

I don't mind telling people that I'm a good pilot. At this stage of the game, I better be a good pilot. In fact, I'd better be better than good! But I can't bring myself to call myself "excellent," although there are times when I certainly think so. In FLYING Magazine, Len Morgan once wrote, "...Any pilot who does not privately consider himself to be the best in the business is in the wrong business." The key word being "privately." Sometimes pilots have a problem with that bit.

Although we try to keep our egos out of our work, it is not possible. In the air, we have to have the self-confidence to know that we can handle any of the myriad unpredictable situations that get tossed our way (like flying into a waterspout). Lives depend on us (including our own!). Such self-confidence comes from the awareness and realistic assessment of our abilities. This often leads to an "I can handle it" swagger that some people misinterpret and find offensive. As apparently does this...ahh..."chu." (Sorry, forgot his name for a moment.)

I don't find Chu's little "joke" the least bit funny- coming from that source. First, Chu posted an "innocent" little question to start the thread, then lobs an insult at us. Nice! He betrays his real feelings toward pilots. Which is strange, because most pilots revere and admire the heck out of a good mechanic...one who truly knows his "stuff" and has the ability to perform that magic on our aircraft to keep them in the air. I love real mechanics (the ones who have the skills I simply don't) and I stand in awe of them. It makes me wonder whether the feedback that, uhh, "Chu" has gotten has not all been positive. Perception can be a two-way skreet.

We've all met pilots who truly thought of themselves as God's gift to aviation. On a certain level, I don't mind that, as annoying as it is, as long as he/she can back it up with skill and knowlege. I'd prefer to see a pilot with confidence than one who lacked it, or one who did not totally believe in himself.

I've been at this line of work for a long, long time. If you enquire of my abilities, I will tell you quite frankly. I will not go out of my way to tell you how great I am, but neither do I believe in false modesty. If that comes across as arrogant or egotistical, that's your problem. So sue me. No, I'm not perfect and I recognize that I do make mistakes. I just try to catch them before they start the dominos a-tumbling. That is what makes me good.

[Sayagain...?]

A good engineer cleans up after the farewell party of a good helicopter pilot after dying at 85 in bed from old age ...

[chu]

PPRUNE FAN#1


I'm sorry if I offended anyone, that was not my intention. I do agree that the keyword of your quote is "privately". I was talking about pilots who, when you work with them, always want to hear that they are the best and no one else is better, no matter what you think.
For me, a good pilot is someone who knows his aircraft, does his pre-flight checks (I know enough pilots who don't do their checks!), and talks to the engineer if there's a problem (also from my own experience, that sometimes they won't tell you). But those same pilots walk around and tell everybody "how good they are". I don't think they are good.
I have met other pilots, who know their stuff, do all their checks and more. If they say they are good, I completely agree with them.
I just wanted to know what pilots think is important to be safe.
Regarding the joke, that was a reply to rotordk's comment. Sorry again for any offence. It defenitely was not meant for the majority of pilots (as the replies show).

Baseline: In my opinion, if you know your stuff and what you have to do to bring the bird back in one piece, I respect you as a professional pilot and I have no problem in telling everybody that. But when a pilot does not how his aircraft systems work or the limitations of his aircraft he better study some more and keep quiet.

[Happy Landing !]

Talking of relationships with engineers. Here's a funny story:


A long, long time ago, back in the days of iron men and wooden rotor blades, a ritual began. It takes place when a helicopter pilot approaches a engineer to report some difficulty with his aircraft. All mechanics seem to be aware of it, which leads to the conclusion that it's included somewhere in their training, and most are diligent in practicing it.

New pilots are largely ignorant of the ritual because it's neither included in their training, nor handed down to them by older drivers. Older drivers feel that the pain of learning everything the hard way was so exquisite, that they shouldn't deny anyone the pleasure.

There are pilots who refuse to recognise it as a serious professional amenity, no matter how many times they perform it, and are driven to distraction by it. Some take it personally. They get red in the face, fume and boil, and do foolish dances. Some try to take it as a joke, but it's always dead serious. Most pilots find they can't change it, and so accept it and try to practice it with some grace.

The ritual is accomplished before any work is actually done on the aircraft. It has four parts, and goes something like this:

1. The pilot reports the problem. The engineer says, There's nothing wrong with it."
2. The pilot repeats the complaint. The engineer replies, "It's the gauge mate."
3. The pilot persists, plaintively. The engineer Maintains, "They're all like that."
4.The pilot, heatedly now, explains the problem carefully, enunciating carefully. The engineer states, "I can't fix it."

After the ritual has been played through in it's entirety, serious discussion begins, and the problem is usually solved forthwith.
Like most rituals, this one has it's roots in antiquity and a basis in experience and common sense. It started back when mechanics first learned to operate pilots, and still serves a number of purposes. It's most important function is that it is a good basic diagnostic technique. Causing the pilot to explain the symptoms of the problem several times in increasing detail not only saves troubleshooting time, but gives the engineer insight into the pilot's knowledge of how the machine works, and his state of mind.
Every mechanic knows that if the last flight was performed at night or in bad weather, some of the problems reported are imagined, some exaggerated, and some are real. Likewise, a personal problem, especially romantic or financial, but including simple fatigue, affects a pilot's perception of every little rattle and thump. There are also chronic whiners complainers to be weeded out and dealt with. While performing the ritual, an unscrupulous mechanic can find out if the pilot can be easily intimidated. If the driver has an obvious personality disorder like prejudices, pet peeves, tender spots, or other manias, they will stick out like handles, with which he can be steered around.
There is a proper way to operate a mechanic as well. Don't confuse "operating" a mechanic with "putting one in his place." The worst and most often repeated mistake is to try to establish an "I'm the pilot and you're just the mechanic" hierarchy. Although a lot of mechanics can and do fly recreationally, they give a damn about doing it for a living. Their satisfaction comes from working on complex and expensive machinery. As a pilot, you are neither feared nor envied, but merely tolerated, for until they actually train monkeys to fly those things, he needs a pilot to put the parts in motion so he can tell if everything is working properly. The driver who tries to put a engineer in his "place" is headed for a fall. Sooner or later, he'll try to crank with the blade tied down. After he has snatched the tailboom around to the cabin door and completely burnt out the engine, he'll see the engineer there sporting a funny little smirk. Helicopter engineers are indifferent to attempts at discipline or regimentation other than the discipline of their craft. It's accepted that a good engineer’s personality should contain unpredictable mixtures of irascibility and nonchalance, and should exhibit at least some bizarre behavior.

The basic operation of a engineer involves four steps:
1. Clean an aircraft. Get out a hose or bucket, a broom, and some rags, and at some strange time of day, like early morning, or when you would normally take your afternoon nap, start cleaning the machine from top to bottom, inside and out. This is guaranteed to knock even the sourest old wrench off balance. He'll be suspicious, but he'll be attracted to this strange behavior like a passing motorist to a roadside accident. He may even join in to make sure you don't break anything. Before you know it , you'll be talking to each other about the aircraft while you're getting a more intimate knowledge of it. Maybe while you're mucking out the pilot's station, you'll see how rude it is to leave coffee cups, sweet wrappers, cigarette butts, and other crap behind to be cleaned up.
2. Do a thorough pre-flight. Most engineers are willing to admit to themselves that they might make a mistake, and since a lot of his work must be done at night or in a hurry, a good one likes to have his work checked. Of course he'd rather have another engineer do the checking, but a driver is better than nothing. Although they cultivate a “couldn’t give a ****e” attitude, engineers have nightmares about forgetting to torque a nut or leaving tools in inlets and drive shaft tunnels. A engineer will let little conspicuous problems alone on a machine that is never pre-flighted, not because they won't be noticed, but because he figures the driver will overlook something big someday, and the whole thing will end up in a smoking pile of rubble anyway.
3. Don't abuse the machinery. Engineers see drivers come and go, so you won't impress one in a thousand with what you can make the aircraft do. They all know she'll lift more than max gross, and will do a hammerhead with half roll. While the driver is confident that the blades and engine and massive frame members will take it, the engineer knows that it's the seals and bearings and rivets deep in the guts of the machine that fail from abuse. In a driver engineers aren't looking for fancy expensive clothes, flashy girlfriends, tricky manoeuvres, and lots of juicy stories about The Gulf war. They're looking for one who'll fly the thing so that all the components make their full service life. They also know that high maintenance costs are a good excuse to keep salaries low.
4. Do a post-flight inspection. Nothing feels more deliciously dashing than to end the day by stepping down from the machine and walking off into the sunset while the blade slowly turns down. It's the stuff that beer commercials are made of. The trouble is, it leaves the pilot ignorant of how the aircraft has fared after a hard days work, and leaves the wrench doing a slow burn. The guy who looks after the machine is an engineer, not a groom, and needs some fresh, first hand information on the aircraft's performance if he is to have it ready to go the next day. A little end-of-the-day conference also gives you one more chance to get him in the short ribs. Tell him the thing flew good. It's been known to make them faint dead away.
As you can see, operating a helicopter engineer is simple, but it is not easy. What it boils down to is that if a pilot performs his pilot rituals religiously in no time at all he will find the engineer operating smoothly. ( I have not attempted to explain how to make friends with a engineer, for that is not known.) Helicopter pilots and engineers have a strange relationship. It's a symbiotic partnership because one's job depends on the other, but it's an adversary situation too, since one's job is to provide the helicopter with loving care, and the other's is to provide wear and tear. Pilots will probably always regard engineers as lazy, lecherous, intemperate swine who couldn't make it through flight school, and engineers will always be convinced that pilots are petulant children with pathological ego problems, a big watch, and a little whatchamacallit. Both points of view are viciously slanderous, of course, and only partly true.

So, the moral of the story must be, to treat your engineer with the recognition it deserves. Occasionally pat it on the back and tell it what a good job it’s done. Consult, brief, and liase with it to establish a working relationship, which further on down the line, it may even try and save you some expense. You never know, you may learn to understand each other one day!
:ok:

[Vfrpilotpb]

A good pilot is one who always stays friends with his engineer, and wife, which one is more friendly I'd not guess, for both of them can screw things up!;)