Can Anybody Learn To Fly?
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Dublin
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I think anyone can learn to fly an airplane, in the sence of control it flight path. It's not that difficult. Even landing which causes students so many problems is not that difficult to achieve. Smooth landings yes, they are difficult to learn, but getting the plane on the ground in one piece is not that hard.
However the attitude needed for flying an airplane is different. If you don't have the right attitude, the this too can be learnt, however only by someone who is willing to change their personal attitude.
Driving....2 feet out of place on the road, can mean death in a serious crash, on certain roads. Everything can seem to be going fine in a car, and two seconds later someone runs/drives out in front of you, and it's all gone pair shaped, and needs an immediate reaction....no major thought at this point in time, just an instinctive reaction.
Flying is different. You can be two miles out of place, and their is not danger. However you can already have set off a series of errors that will lead to a terminal end, but which will take an hour to play out to their conculsion, and not realise it. Therefore the thought process is more important that instinctive handling skills.
So, to fly yes, anyone can do it. To fly safely requires the correct attitude, or a willingness to change your attitude.
dp
However the attitude needed for flying an airplane is different. If you don't have the right attitude, the this too can be learnt, however only by someone who is willing to change their personal attitude.
Driving....2 feet out of place on the road, can mean death in a serious crash, on certain roads. Everything can seem to be going fine in a car, and two seconds later someone runs/drives out in front of you, and it's all gone pair shaped, and needs an immediate reaction....no major thought at this point in time, just an instinctive reaction.
Flying is different. You can be two miles out of place, and their is not danger. However you can already have set off a series of errors that will lead to a terminal end, but which will take an hour to play out to their conculsion, and not realise it. Therefore the thought process is more important that instinctive handling skills.
So, to fly yes, anyone can do it. To fly safely requires the correct attitude, or a willingness to change your attitude.
dp
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Dublin,
I take your point about the safety requiring a different attitude but I don't agree with your comment on driving a car requiring more handling skills and flying inaccuracies being slower to turn into problems. The points you refer to: making a 2 foot error in a car and yes you probably will do a fair bit of damage and in navigation whilst flying all things considered you could end up 2 miles away from your destination froma similar error but consider the following when talking about mistakes when flying and handling skills:
What wbout when you turn onto final with flap and at a low airspeed and accidentally stick in some heavy boot on the rudder whilst still in the bank cos you've overshot the centreline? I think you'll need some pretty nifty handling skills to get out of that one in one piece.
What about windshear on landing? Handling skills required.
What would you do if you failed to spot a sea king helicopter passing in front of you til the last minute whilst in something like a PA28 or C152, you don't get much time to think about it, you just do it.
Crosswind landings. Ever seen one go wrong? If you have then you'll know how serious it can be if it's not handled properly. If not then the one's you've witnessed probably have been handeld very well.
Engine Failure after take off. Needs a whole lot of instinctive skill to deal with it properly and even then can have a devastating outcome.
And finally! Some people (not all, no offence intended) learn to fly at large aerodromes with loads of tarmac available. It can take some people a lot of time to perfect how to handle a short strip or a difficult approach to a short and narrow runway. Imagine you learn on a 2000m runway then try your first land away on a 400m one. You need to ADAPT your skills to fit the situation.
I'm not trying to tear your comment apart because the examples you used were correct but there are many cases in flying where incorrect handling does not take an hour to manifest itself in serious consequences. You need to be able to 'feel' what you are doing up there and instinctively know what to do if something serious happens.
I take your point about the safety requiring a different attitude but I don't agree with your comment on driving a car requiring more handling skills and flying inaccuracies being slower to turn into problems. The points you refer to: making a 2 foot error in a car and yes you probably will do a fair bit of damage and in navigation whilst flying all things considered you could end up 2 miles away from your destination froma similar error but consider the following when talking about mistakes when flying and handling skills:
What wbout when you turn onto final with flap and at a low airspeed and accidentally stick in some heavy boot on the rudder whilst still in the bank cos you've overshot the centreline? I think you'll need some pretty nifty handling skills to get out of that one in one piece.
What about windshear on landing? Handling skills required.
What would you do if you failed to spot a sea king helicopter passing in front of you til the last minute whilst in something like a PA28 or C152, you don't get much time to think about it, you just do it.
Crosswind landings. Ever seen one go wrong? If you have then you'll know how serious it can be if it's not handled properly. If not then the one's you've witnessed probably have been handeld very well.
Engine Failure after take off. Needs a whole lot of instinctive skill to deal with it properly and even then can have a devastating outcome.
And finally! Some people (not all, no offence intended) learn to fly at large aerodromes with loads of tarmac available. It can take some people a lot of time to perfect how to handle a short strip or a difficult approach to a short and narrow runway. Imagine you learn on a 2000m runway then try your first land away on a 400m one. You need to ADAPT your skills to fit the situation.
I'm not trying to tear your comment apart because the examples you used were correct but there are many cases in flying where incorrect handling does not take an hour to manifest itself in serious consequences. You need to be able to 'feel' what you are doing up there and instinctively know what to do if something serious happens.
Join Date: Feb 2002
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POL
Point taken, but perhaps I didn't explain the point I was trying to make very clearly.
Bascially I think we can all learn the reactions that need to be instinctive...the sudden ones. If you can react to a car driving out in front of you, then you can learn to react to a plane suddenly appearing in front of you did you hadn't seen.
What I think some people may not be willing to learn is the constant vigilance. Basically if something goes wrong in a car, you need a quick instinstive reaction. However things can be gone wrong in an airplane long before it will become obvious, and therefore requires a constant vigilance and a paranoid approach to saftey.
dp
Point taken, but perhaps I didn't explain the point I was trying to make very clearly.
Bascially I think we can all learn the reactions that need to be instinctive...the sudden ones. If you can react to a car driving out in front of you, then you can learn to react to a plane suddenly appearing in front of you did you hadn't seen.
What I think some people may not be willing to learn is the constant vigilance. Basically if something goes wrong in a car, you need a quick instinstive reaction. However things can be gone wrong in an airplane long before it will become obvious, and therefore requires a constant vigilance and a paranoid approach to saftey.
dp
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Kilmacolm
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Hi SSD,
> Is that an indicator as to why your encounter with
> the apparently suicidal cyclist resulted in an impromtu
> emergency stop?? ;~))
Nope, I'm not that bad at spotting developing hazards, indeed the CD-Roms I bought for preperation for the test I was getting in the high 60's out of 75 and that was without really practicing on them. So I thought I'd be okay on the test itself, how wrong could I be. Also whilst driving I'm always looking for hazards etc.
Anyway the side street that the cyclist emerged from wasn't the easiest to see cars / cyclists etc emerging from... it was one of those with buildings, bushes, trees etc. Even my instructor didn't see the the cyclist until he was pulling out in front of us (the cyclist didn't stop at the give way line at all, he just pulled out. Maybe he did see us and misjudged our distance / speed but there most definately wasn't enough room).
> But what really makes a good pilot isn't the basic ability to
> drive an aeroplane - it's about attitude and judgement. The
> same could be said of driving, except that driving is far more
> forgiving of foolishness. The exception, as someone pointed
> out, is motorcycling. Because the motorcylist is so vulnerable,
> attitude is crucuail to staying alive, just as it is for a pilot.
Agreed. BUT foolishness is not a place in either an aeroplane OR a car. Both are NOT forgiving one little bit to foolishness.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
> Is that an indicator as to why your encounter with
> the apparently suicidal cyclist resulted in an impromtu
> emergency stop?? ;~))
Nope, I'm not that bad at spotting developing hazards, indeed the CD-Roms I bought for preperation for the test I was getting in the high 60's out of 75 and that was without really practicing on them. So I thought I'd be okay on the test itself, how wrong could I be. Also whilst driving I'm always looking for hazards etc.
Anyway the side street that the cyclist emerged from wasn't the easiest to see cars / cyclists etc emerging from... it was one of those with buildings, bushes, trees etc. Even my instructor didn't see the the cyclist until he was pulling out in front of us (the cyclist didn't stop at the give way line at all, he just pulled out. Maybe he did see us and misjudged our distance / speed but there most definately wasn't enough room).
> But what really makes a good pilot isn't the basic ability to
> drive an aeroplane - it's about attitude and judgement. The
> same could be said of driving, except that driving is far more
> forgiving of foolishness. The exception, as someone pointed
> out, is motorcycling. Because the motorcylist is so vulnerable,
> attitude is crucuail to staying alive, just as it is for a pilot.
Agreed. BUT foolishness is not a place in either an aeroplane OR a car. Both are NOT forgiving one little bit to foolishness.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
