What makes a good pilot?

[bogdantheturnipboy]

I'm interested in hearing from experienced pilots what they think makes a good pilot?

What qualities do they possess?

What do they do / don't do, that average and crap pilots do and don't do?


:cool:

[AIRWAY]

It´s a shame you just require "experienced pilots" opinions.

Hope you find what you are looking for...

[swh]

A lot of ops managers and owners would say that a good pilot breaks flight and duty times, flies over loaded, puts up with unserviceability, will work for nothing, use a VFR GPS as a DME etc etc.

Experienced pilots are those who can recognise that what the owner/ops manager wants for their financial gain can cost you your licence and/or life, and refrains from it to live to fly another day.

Self dicpiline, on-going self learning always trying to improve yourself will make you a better pilot. And most of all keep asking questions like you have here, learn from other peoples mistakes, experience.

:ok:

[112.3]

a good pilot is always thinking

S is for.............

Safety.....safety for yourself, safety for your pax, and safety of your aircraft.

A is for.............

Accuracy, Navigation calculations, fuel calculations are they right???fly by the numbers, aim to be the smoothest pilot using the controls.

E is for...........

Efficiency on joining circuits, warm ups, and checks.
remember that just because you did your checks in two minutes did you do it right???
imagine the savings by being efficient on each flight saving 2 minutes each leg, when a air charter company run 10 - 20 aircraft.

A good pilot is one that shows basic airmanship and respect to other airman.:ok:

[Poto]

lots of ops managers and owners will expect you to bust some rules and safety standards to get a job a done and this is wrong and not the mark of a good driver.
:yuk:
However I would like to include into that mix a flip side to that argument for consideration.
The practice of good airmanship, thorough systems and aircraft knowledge plus good situational awareness are just some of the qualities you will find in a "good" pilot.

I have always found some great drivers are the ones who don't tell you why the job can't be done, but explain the problem and offer possible solutions that are safe, legal, and suitable to the company and the customer (if indeed their are any). These people use the grey matter to do the job not relying on the ops manager or owner to come up with possibly "rule breaking" solutions.:cool:

[112.3]

opps I forgot to include that one too.......

knowledge is power, and a good understanding of your aircraft systems is going to make you a good pilot.

good summing up Poto.

[tenke]

There's OLD pilots and BOLD pilots but there's no OLD BOLD pilots.

[currawong]

Good pilots do not crash as much.

Generally.

Know one that had four in first 1000 hrs.

I would call him a bad pilot.

[Deaf]

currawong

Some people used to think that a good pilot wore a white headband with kanji writing on it (apologies to the PC brigade)

[currawong]

I said generally.:}

Quote from operator queried about experience requirements during job search -

"200 hours, 20,000 hours, they all crash"



:ooh:

[5 Left & Right]

Be able to Think..

Know the machine.

Know the rules and use them for guidance.

Be a proffesional. (or aim to be)

Efficiency isnt everything, I would place it low in order of priority, it would be difficult to shave 2mins off each sector without sacrificing safety and professionalism.

[112.3]

5 left and right,

getting a better ground speed by flying in 10 knots of headwind compared to 20 knots of headwind is more beneficial dont you think?????....

and this is by changing alttudes from 9500 feet to 7500 feet and this was over a 420 nm sector. me thinks that I saved more than 2 mins....

and did safety suffer????

not at all!!!!!!!!

I think it showed my professnalism. efficency is thinking two steps ahead, a bit like a chess game.

remember SAE??? the order they went in is very important.

[5 Left & Right]

Sure, in that case you would be plain ignorant if you didnt take advantage of the wind, and if safety and ride are not issues then why not be efficient.

In the BIG PICTURE however, efficiency is not high on the priority list.

Operators (& pilots) should concentrate more on how to make money rather than how to save it.

My opinion only.

Isnt that what this thing is all about?

[GoNorth]

A person willing to listen and learn from their mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes but it is how we deal with them that makes the difference. A who cares attitude or denial is a big negative.
:)

[112.3]

but you are making money by saving on flight time, as well as not pushing aircraft to the limit. I was told by one operator they had a problem wearing out wing flap bearings on the cessna aircraft they were operating up to 14 flights a day. they needed replacing quite a lot.

The solution was to have pilots operate the flaps 10 - 15 knots less than top of the white line.

what was the outcome???

they had to replace the wing flap bearings less times each year per plane.
the boss said that by changing pilots driving habits he found that he was able to put this saved money back into other areas of the company.:ok:

I guess that made his pilots good for other companys in the future.

[boofta]

The ultimate test of a good pilot is not to break anything, not to
offend anybody, and retire rather than leave the industry for
either of the previously mentioned.....

[Aerodynamisist]

In addition to the above.

Motivation, not just a desire to succeed but to do the whole job paper work and all. I have seen to many pilots that were good operators in the air but to bloody lazy to brief students properly, clean the aircraft and keep records and time and duty's up to date. Flying skill is a fine thing but if your lazy you wont get far.

[404 Titan]

I'm sure there are many others but these are just a few that come to mind:

· Conscientious,
· Professional,
· Strong person,
· Positive attitude,
· Performs well under stress and pressure,
· Team-orientated,
· Good communicator,
· Manages his time well,
· Relates well to those around him.



:)

[apache]

112.3

I think you will find that quite a few operators specify company speeds for flaps and landing gear: Two reasons I suppose... firstly is to save wear and tear, secondly as a buffer for the pilot.

It is al very well to be efficient, but if the charter / pax don't want to fly with you... you can be as efficient as you want, cos no one will be complaining. Two mins per sector will work well IF your MR is in hours and minutes, not hours and decimals of hours.

Safety is always the first priority.

[bush mechanics]

A good pilot?
normally a genuine sort of person
Someone with life experiences
someone whos willing to learn something new.
someone who knows how to treat machinery

[Ash767]

bush mechanics

I like your statement about "normally a genuine sort of person"

If someone is a genuine person and they treat others with respect then, that usually filters through to other facets of life and things follow on from there.

Attitude plays a big part in the success of a pilot!

Ash:)

[QSK?]

A good pilot is one who loves aviation so much, they will never do anything to damage its public image.

That means (to name just a few):

1. Recognising what you don't know about aviation;
2. Flying within the regs;
3. Operating your aircraft safely;
4. Respecting the needs and views of other pilots;
5. Respecting life and property on the ground; and
6. Caring about the "system" and contributing towards its improvement in terms of safety and efficiency.

[the wizard of auz]

Some one who got the job done on time and within budget, didnt piss any one off, didn't break anything (including rules) and completed all the required paperwork afterwards.
If the customer is happy to use you again, then the pilot was a good one. (on the day at least) :ok:

[chicken6]

A refinement of the Wizard's comment "is happy to use you again", the best pilots I have trained, checked and been flown around by are generally the ones who people ask for again. If you want to be a 'good' pilot then, you should want and try to be the one people ask for.

For examples, I flew with one of my ex-students earlier this year and once we got going, went back to put oil in, got going again, he decided that he "didn't want to use the radio", so took us across, no THROUGH the Manawatu gorge at ~1200', BELOW where I remember the Ansett plane going in (and we couldn't see the wind farm coz we were so low), with 2000' wind around 30-35kt. On the lee side, had trouble maintaining altitude due to downdraughts etc. I'd rather not fly with him again (and I taught him :ugh:) although he met the minimum standard on test day, so has the same licence as me.

Contrast with one of the more experienced joyride pilots at the same place, energy, enthusiasm galore, care for the aeroplane, always clean windows, always a good takeoff (not too slow, not too showy) good obviously-under-control flight, good landing, good post-flight and obviously enjoying it (even when she wasn't, she pretended for their sake). EVERYONE wanted to fly with her, she got lots of flying.

Be the one they want to fly with. "They" are the people who buy your lunches, or call checklists for you, or approve you to fly their aeroplanes, or etc. etc. etc. i.e. everyone you meet needs to see that you like what you're doing and you're good at it.

[Sheep Guts]

How about changing the thread name to the following:

WHAT MAKES A PILOT GOOD?

ANSWER:

MONEY LOTS OF IT,
PAID ACCOMODATION,
PAID TRAMSPORTATION,
ID90,
TAX FREE GREEN BACKS OR EUROS,
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.

Pay peanuts youy get monkeys I say

Regards
Sheep:E

[tenke]

Loves and respects aeroplanes (at least the one they are flying). (Flying is PFM). And knows their limitations.

PS. Here! Here! Sheep.

[druglord]

I'm getting teary-eyed listening to all this

[Continental-520]

Aside from the #1 aspect of safety and good airmanship, I tend to think that a pilot's superiors (i.e. more senior pilots, chief pilot and/or company owner) and their attitudes have a lot to do with it.

If the boss is a good one, it's going to be hard for a pilot not to follow the example being set. Unless the morale is low or some other hindrance is playing a role.

520.

[Transition Layer]

What makes a good pilot?

Have a look at - http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103983

:D
TL

[poteroo]

A 'good' pilot is one who flies smoothly and in balance - so much so that you wonder whether you ever can induce them to do something roughly.

Things which stand out are using elevator as they smoothly and slowly feed in power on gravel. Or, when slowing in the circuit, the nose rises as the power reduces, the altimeter stays glued, and as the IAS drops below white arc, they feed in flap so that there's no need for trim change, and so, no frightening pitch change, and less grunting and twirling bloody trim wheels.

When given a go-round from low level - they feed in the power without the donk coughing and shaking, at the same time getting the nose up and flap bled off to climb setting - all without screaming stall warning horns or frightening attitude changes.

Good pilots are situationally aware. They know where to look for traffic, where to look for windsocks, pick up the cues for windshear etc. And they don't do it with much fanfare and consulting of check lists! It just fits in with the flight sequence.

Good pilots have thought about the order of things, and get themselves planned for each phase of flight that's coming up.

I don't think it matters whether it's a 150, or a 310, or bigger - some will always be 'better' pilots than their peers, because they give confidence to instructor and pax alike.

There are some PPL's about who I'd rather be flying with than some of the CPL's and Instr 3's who pass through - hours, theory passes ,and procedural excellence have damn all to do with what makes a 'good' pilot.

cheers,

[druglord]

i'm not so sure a skilled makes a good pilot. I'd rather fly with the guy who bangs on the landings but is safe than the guy who greased 'em and eventually got the sack because he was dangerous. There's no room for top guns 'maverick' types in commercial aviation, well actually in aviation period.

[Raingauge]

G'day Druglord,
what about nude pilots?....what are your views on them?;)

[bogdantheturnipboy]

Funny that you bring up nude pilots Raingauge

That was orginally going to be part of my question.:p


Cheers to everyone for their opinions:ok:

[druglord]

aS long as they're surfing, otherwise you'd have to burn the seats.... well you'd better burn 'hotels' seat cushion if you haven't yet.
Hey I was talking to a friend of a friend who may be coming out for a Dr internship out there from over here. I'll keep ya posted. I told her about you. Still doing the clinic runs?

[Sperm Bank]

Some of you young blokes have posted some fine criteria in here. There is a couple of vital, life long attributes that are missing however.
1. Have a sense of humour. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. If you make a meal of it, forget it and get on with the next mistake. There's plenty to be made.
2. Don't take this job or yourselves too seriously. An anal retentive highly strung "professional" is the last thing we want in a multi crew flight deck. You can be laid back and very professional at the same time. NEVER let anyone tell you that you can not.
3. Modern training regimes are far removed from some of the regressive thinking of days gone by. E.G if you were a tie to sim are you more professional than they guy that does not? Of course not. If you have a tattoo or an earing are you less professional? Of course not again. I do not have either but don't begrudge anyone who does as they make NO difference to someones flying ability or dispatch of their duty.
4. It's a great industry, don't ruin it by walking around with a pole up your rectum!

Good luck with your careers.

[Poto]

Sperm dude,
some valid points in your post. I'm not sure about the ear rings and tats though. I've seen some pretty F@cked up **** inked into some peoples backs that quite possibly were the result of a fairly F@cked up mind set. :}
The Ear rings ,okay, if your skipper (assuming a male) got in to LHS with a pair like that sheila off the SBS Movie Show wears you'd be wondering what the hell is going on?:\

[tenke]

Will you please explain what you mean by Fuc...up sh ..etc..eg a few exa,[;es.

[MAXX]

A good pilot is one who plans for every possibility and always knows his options,stays current and up to date.

never leaves anything to chance.

"im not sure" isnt in a proffessional pilots vocab.

ahhhhh yes forgot the most important aspect of it all

make sure youve got a sense of humour,ive been flying 2 crew ops for a few years now and there is nothing worse than sitting next to some pilot with a carrot up their backside for 15 hrs.

happy flying:ok: