Obsessive compulsive disorder among pilots
 

Anyone with a slight ocd? i have a small tendency to go through the checklists more than once

Would a Normal Guy become a pilot?
Don't think so..

elvis you haven't even managed to go solo yet and yet you are already slagging off pilots.
mate you do not have a bright future ahead of you in aviation with that attitude.

finding it a bit hard to learn the stuff are we????

@Tower dog : Fair point. Howard Hughes comes to mind every time. Trying to find a way to not get fixated on things. I guess it'll come with experience.

@dubbleye: with what attitude? judgmental much? trying to relate to others who are going through the same thing that i am, is not a bad thing.

elvis I'll give you a clue here.

the reason why you are repeatedly checking things is because you aren't sure of what you are doing.
it happens to lots of pilots who aren't really up to speed with what needs to be done to get an aircraft configured for flight.

the checklist doesn't get you into the air. it is the actions that you are being prompted to do in the sequence that you are being prompted for that do the work of getting an aircraft airworthy.

look at your solo problem this way. at your current level of preparedness if anything at all occurred during the flight that was unexpected you would die in a state of panic trying to work out what to do.

aviation is an incredibly unforgiving environment for those who aren't competent.

I agree with what you just said about aviation being unforgiving to those who are not 'competent'. I think you should do some research about OCD, it's not a permanent condition and there are ways to deal with it. And i was only looking for someone else who i can relate to. But of course you must have an 'association fallacy' in your replies. Not uncommon among people your age. No more replies to your comments from here on. Good luck to you.

One of the advantages of only teaching part time as a hobby is I don't have to deal with students like you. :ugh:

You need to stop whining on this forum, realize you know nothing yet and concentrate on learning the foundation skills and knowledge you need to be a safe beginner pilot.

There is however one thing we do agree on quote "No more replies to your comments from here on. Good luck to you". unquote :rolleyes:

Obsessive compulsive disorder among pilots
 

My God! The guy asked a question and you've all come down on him like a ton of bricks! - it's no wonder so many people are reluctant to post on this forum.

@dubbleyew eight, I don't see how asking if anyone else suffers with OCD is slagging others off... Maybe you're just on this forum to spit venom as that's how your posts read.

@Big Pistons Forever, do you thing you might be in the wrong job if you think that a student asking questions is "whining?" Not something I'd've expected to hear from my instructor..!

I have to deal with OCD everyday. I too follow the checklist to the letter. On my walk around, I check EVERYTHING - when I was training my instructor used to joke that I checked the aircraft more thoroughly than the engineers.

Away from flying, as an example, when I wash up everything gets put in order on the draining board rack, cups are aligned perfectly and when making a cup of tea for a number of people, all the cups have to be inline and the handles all facing to the front... I can't help it, it's the way I am.

I would rather fly with somebody who will actually check things properly, compared to some pilots I've seen that just look at the aircraft, see nothing has fallen off, then go flying!

Does it need to be a syndrome (OCD)? Does it have to be a sign of someone who's unsure or unprepared (or unsafe)? Maybe it's a sign of someone who's diligent and thorough. I know one thing, I am not prepared to pass such judgement based on a question in an internet forum. That's something that should come from an experienced instructor who's observing the whole result.

Each of us has certain habits and behaviours that are our own and we're not all the same. That's what separates humans from robots and for me, makes us far more interesting. If you recognize that you have a habit that may be as bad as a safety issue, or simply off-putting to others, then recognizing it is the first step to solving it. The next step is to recognize what triggers them and to make an effort to improve.

I'm not saying this is your issue, but FWIW, I was somewhat unsure and lacked self confidence in my early days of flying. I was helped by an excellent instructor who took the time to provide constructive critique that always included suggestions for improvement. Through repetition and experience I gained self confidence and learned to turn self doubt into self critique. Everyone has challenges during their early days of flight training. Good instructors use their experience and instructional techniques to help their students overcome those challenges.

Feed the OCD, one day you'll make a great Check and Trainer...

With all due respect Scott C when I read this it leaves me with a question.

If you are so fixated on incidental issues how much does that take away from seeing the big picture ahead of the airplane?

Big Pistons Forever, good luck to your students.
Are you driving bulldozers in your other job?

@Chuck, it takes nothing away from seeing the big picture. Before even starting the engine, I know I will have checked the aircraft thoroughly and my paperwork/plogs for the flight will be accurate, therefore ensuring a safe flight... I would hope anyway!

@scott: Hey bud, how far have you reached in your training?

Hi, elvispilot!

I'm currently studying for my ATPL exams, then hopefully on to my CPL within the next 6 months or so.

Excellent..

I like to think that thinking ahead of the airplane had a lot to do with my flying over thirty thousand accident free hours.

That and " NEVER " never being satisfied with good enough. :ok:

I don't think there is anything wrong with always keeping your head in it, thinking if there is something missing or something you should be doing. If you aren't sure if you ran a checklist or a flow right, run it again. That's being diligent and I don't see how it is an indicator of being unprepared.

Distractions come up all the time and can interrupt the normal flow of getting an aircraft ready or ensuring safe operations... fueler, ramp, gate agent, purser, maintenance, weather, load, dispatch...

I often run a quick second check in my head after I think I got it all or am all set up and ready to go. For whatever reason, **** gets missed sometimes, better catch it before you push the levers up and get the horn or worse...

A good pilot, almost by definition , will have not have significant personality disorders.

Most airline psych tests are designed, among other things, to weed out those who may be obsessive,
borderline paranoid, psychotic, delusional, eccentric, immoral, untruthful, too imaginative, psychopathic,
too highly sexed, chinless or too much the clown or the laughing boy. Hopeless at mental arithmetic
gets a low score too.

They are all designed . . the tests . . .. to firstly make pots of dough for the outfits running them . Money
misspent because nothing in this line of assessment has ever produced a better result than the time worn
chat with the applicant by the old hands.

The world is full of misfits. Dangerous people often enough. What a flier needs first and foremost is vigilance,
awareness and a well honed respect for the world aloft he is so fortunate to visit and explore. It pays to be humble.
Lest you be humbled...... or prematurely laid to rest.

A pilot I know said he flew with a captain at an airline that had what is actually an OCD disorder. Smelling things. Apparently he would sniff every page of the flight plan. I guess the captain felt it might look odd as he mentioned it early on at some point. It was long haul so there could be several pages.