Private Pilot Flight Training and Instruction Flight Training Article Library | Back To 4VFR.COM Thoughts on Thoughts Flying is not dangerous; crashing is dangerous Flying is the perfect vocation for a man who wants to feel like a boy, but not for one who is. There are five ways to fly: the right way, the wrong way, the company way the captain's way and the instructor's way. Only one counts. Pilots underestimate the probability of any particular event happening to them. Standard checklist practice requires pilots to read procedures used every day and recite from memory those needed once every five years. An airplane may disappoint a good pilot, but it won't surprise him. The nicer an airplane looks, the better it flies. There are three rules for making a smooth landing: Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. Any pilot who does not privately consider himself the best in the game is in the wrong game Any attempt to stretch fuel is guaranteed to certain to increase headwinds. One hole in the overcast is better than 10 published approaches. A control tower tape that supports your version will be "accidentally erased." The accident rate (1991) per 100,000 hours of flight is down. However, while the product (airplane equipment) factor ....rates are on the decrease, human factor rates have increased. Most poor landings occur because of failure to utilize ground effect. Flying straight and level is one of the most difficult skills in flying. A well rigged airplane trimmed for a level 30 degree bank is stable in that bank …yoke level to the cockpit. Flying is where left handers of the world get even. When you become confident, be three times as careful. Lift is not always opposite weight. In a turn some lift "lifts" the plane into its curved path. The turning radius of an airplane increases, and the ability to change course (rate of turn) decreases with the square of the aircraft velocity. The rudder does not 'turn'. Pilots walk funny because of the rudder. When taxiing you may correctly turn the yoke to the left while turning right. Back elevator does not always give 'up'. Turning the aileron to raise the wing doesn't always work. Flaps are not designed or intended, primarily, to slow the plane. Bad decisions tend to follow bad decisions. 50% of fatal accidents are caused by a series of judgmental errors. "Dragging" a wing low can make 100' a minute climb rate loss. If you do not climb wings level on takeoff, you will be lower than you could be in the event of engine failure. The same logic applies for climbing at Vy during takeoff. A constant landing approach angle is determined by airspeed. The last thing you learn to do well is to taxi. A steep landing approach gives better aim than a shallow one. The trim wheel is moved 'backwards'. Moving it up lowers the nose; moving it down raises the nose. This is because you .....actually have hold of the 'tail' end of the trim wheel. A comment about how well things are going is a guarantee of trouble. Never whistle in the cockpit. One peek at the ground is worth a thousand instrument scans. Half of the cost of a new aircraft is for product liability. Only 17% of all the money paid out by manufacturers in claim settlement ever reaches the original claimant. 1% of all plane crashes are related to medical problems Written by Gene Whitt Flight Training Article Library | Back To 4VFR.COM