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Psychological Characteristics Ideal to Military Aviators

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Psychological Characteristics Ideal to Military Aviators

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Old 21st Jul 2011, 05:54
  #21 (permalink)  
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The ability to be consistently plausible when making excuses as to why the aircraft was wholly and always at fault with regard to any defect also helps....
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 13:47
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Jane, to explain a few things
3. Ability to compartmentalize
Can you explain exactly what you mean there?
Do you mean like rationalization?
No. Compartmentalization is a skill of mental capacity to focus on what is at hand, and set aside that which is not.

You leave the office at the office, the wife at home, and focus on cockpit and mission tasks.

Those who can't do that frequently make mistakes, some of them fatal, in the cockpit.

If you can find it on the web, try to view a copy of the lecture "Sex and the Naval Aviator." This film was hugely popular as a training tool regarding the psychology of American Navy pilots. It was presented by an experienced flight surgeon who'd been dealing with pilots for most of his career.
Each of these manifests itself differently in behaviors in a given individual
You mean to the exact degree?
No, I mean what I said, not what you said.
Why did you try to change the meaning of what I said? Perhaps what I am getting at is that of those factors, each may have a slightly different weight in a given individual.

ASTB means Aviation Selection Test Battery
ASTB Overview

ASTB Study Guide
I find that the internet, and gouge, render the original intent of the ASTB style tests (used to be AQT/FAR) less effective than when one could not use the gouge or "know what was on the test before you took it."

Fox3: good point. "Don't ever give up" is a good mental predisposition.
"I can do this!" has a name, I am sure, among the shrinks, but I can't recall it at the moment.

Another point, Jane: successful military pilots, in terms of those who are successful over the long term, also have the capacity for honest self-criticism. I don't know what the shrinks call that: humility?

In a given ready room, finding humility is sometimes tougher than finding a virgin in a brothel ... who isn't a customer!
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 14:49
  #23 (permalink)  
 
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"A Pilot"

Lonewolf 50's last line reminds me of the "service provider's" supposed description of a typical pilot:
"Clean collar, dirty shirt, small **** and no money".
Granted, it was made a long time ago: collars aren't usually detachable these days ...
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 16:45
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"All the RAF pilots I've met are brain-dead from the bollocks upwards"

- quote from the 1970's from a school friend who was the teenage daughter of a company test pilot
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 16:54
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Thought "compartmentalisation" was generally a "male" attribute - so how do women pilots deal with the issue?
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 16:59
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"- so how do women pilots deal with the issue?"
it's well known women can only concentrate on one thing at a time
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 17:15
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James,

Yeah, 'cause if a woman could multi task, she could have a headache and sex at the same time!
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Old 21st Jul 2011, 21:38
  #28 (permalink)  
 
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Bugis Street, Singapore.1966. "You aircrew all same, big ticker, small pricker and pay by cheque"
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Old 22nd Jul 2011, 01:58
  #29 (permalink)  
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Fox3WheresMyBanana

Stated psychological type required was stable extrovert. 20/30 years ago (Cold War), RAF Doc of my acquaintance said most FJ types were (in his opinion) introverts when sober, extroverts when drunk, and borderline unstable always.
I'm ambiverted (mildly extraverted) when sober; able to tolerate a huge amount of alcohol (genetics?), but sluggish and heavy when intoxicated (I don't enjoy it at all), I think a lot and have OCD when I'm by myself, but in emergencies I seem to be the most level-headed and strangely calm person in the group -- (I was a lifeguard for several years and saved 11 people, of which one had a cardiac arrest).


galaxy flyer

A Dr. Jerry Berlin has done a lot of work on the subject, as has a number of shrinks on F1 level race drivers, there is some similarities.
That makes sense. Eddie Rickenbacker was a race-car driver prior to becoming a pilot.


Krystal n chips

The ability to be consistently plausible when making excuses as to why the aircraft was wholly and always at fault with regard to any defect also helps....
LMAO


Lonewolf 50

No. Compartmentalization is a skill of mental capacity to focus on what is at hand, and set aside that which is not.
Oh, okay -- I understand what you mean. That usually isn't that hard to do, adrenaline really helps assist that process though.

If you can find it on the web, try to view a copy of the lecture "Sex and the Naval Aviator." This film was hugely popular as a training tool regarding the psychology of American Navy pilots. It was presented by an experienced flight surgeon who'd been dealing with pilots for most of his career.
Sounds like an interesting lecture...

"Don't ever give up" is a good mental predisposition.
It's important to not just be determined, but to know when what you're doing just isn't cutting it, start trying something different, switch strategies and taking different angles.

ASTB means Aviation Selection Test Battery
Understood

Another point, Jane: successful military pilots, in terms of those who are successful over the long term, also have the capacity for honest self-criticism.
Makes sense. If you never acknowledged your weak-spots, it would only be a matter of time before that weak-spot would eventually get you creamed in one way or another.
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Old 22nd Jul 2011, 08:12
  #30 (permalink)  
 
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Fifty years ago -

1. The ability to drink five pints of beer while standing on ones head without being sick.

2. Being able to survive on twenty quid a month!

3. An addiction to the smell of 100 octane avgas.
Sounds like most FI's I know.....
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