Zen

After the usual hectic spring rush of dusting off the airplanes from the winter hibernation and getting all the proper survey equipment installed and working, we're off to the races. We have numerous US contracts lined up for pretty much the whole summer, unfortunately their locations are confidential, so I'm going to have to limit my geographically specific writing. Actually I think I'm going to change my blogging style a little anyway.


I used to write in a way that would pretty much follow me along in my exploits chronologically, but I don't write as frequently as I used to, and it gets tiresome to constantly be writing updates to fill in my readers (if I even still have some) on what has happened since I last wrote. Instead I think I'll go back to using the blog as a place to write my musings on aviation related matters, which is sort of how it started to begin with. That way I can maintain the confidentiality requirements of the job and also not feel obligated to keep filling everybody in on what has happened between posts.


Seeing as how I've been flying professionally in the same job now for a few years, new and exciting experiences are becoming fewer and fewer - at least ones that are exciting to write about. This is a good thing career-wise, but makes for boring blogging.


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Over the last couple years I've noticed my flying style changing, but not only my style, but how I judge what are good practices and what are not. When I first started flying professionally in Moosonee I was struck by how quickly and proficiently the pilots there would flow through the pre-flight actions. I was impressed by the proficiency and tried to emulate it. I say action and not checklist because we never actually used any physical checklist, it was all by memory and conducting a flow - completing actions by moving from one side of the cockpit to the other in an orderly fashion.


The area where I have changed my thinking now however is that I used to look at the speed at which things are accomplished in the cockpit and equate that with proficiency. Its been through flying with and watching the pilot who first trained me on the Navajo, and through some lessons learned on my own, that speed and fast hands in the cockpit isn't a good measure of skill or cockpit discipline.


There are a lot of external factors exerted on pilots to rush through things. Unexpected hiccups always seem to pop up and bring us behind schedule, company management can instill flight crews with a sense of urgency, and even weather can conspire to create a rushed environment.


The thing I've observed in my pilot-mentor however is that once it comes time to pre-flight the airplane and then climb into the cockpit and start up, he's never in a rushed frame of mind. At first glance, to me at least, when I first started flying with him, his calm, meticulous demeanor came across to me as the opposite of proficiency. Why are you taking so long to start the engines? Haven't you done this 1000 times before?


After a while though I realized that he's taking his time not because he doesn't know what he's doing, just the opposite, but he understands its well worth the extra few seconds to make sure he does things right. Like I mentioned there can be a dozen different factors which contribute to a sense of urgency in the cockpit, but the cockpit should be a place where calm and un-rushed thinking and action takes place. In reality, with the exception of a few specific situations, like an engine failure after take off, very few things with flying take a rushed demeanor and lightning fast reflexes. Almost everything takes a clear mind and can benefit from taking a few extra moments to collect yourself and double check that the action or decision you're making is rational and correct.


Its through watching this pilot that I've learned that a safe flight is much better accomplished by pausing, taking a deep breath, and making sure you take your time and do everything correctly the first time. The rest of life can be hectic, rushed, require snap decisions, go-go-go, but as soon as you walk out to that airplane, its time to change that. Take a deep breath. Do the walk-around slowly. Are the chocks out, is the fuel drained for contaminants, are all the covers off? And down the list you go. When its time to climb into the cockpit; another deep breath. Flight plan filed and open? Cockpit organized? The pressure of time can sometimes tempt you to start up first and then organize things on the go. Temptation tells us "we can do all that stuff later, lets just get out of here first". But as soon as those engines are running, part of your attention for the rest of the flight is diverted to the needs of the airplane. Its only prudent to do as much as you can while the airplane is stationary and not requiring the attention of the pilot. Forget about any pressure to do it faster. Once the cockpit is organized, charts and publications at hand, kneeboard and pen within easy reach, checklist on your lap - another deep breath. Time to start up.


Its all about changing your tempo as soon as you're around the airplane. I call it my zen state. The pace of decisions slow down, the automatic reactions are reeled in and double checked. No external pressure or schedule has any justification anymore to make you go faster than what it takes to do things right.


It can be difficult to switch gears like that, especially for me, but that's where the discipline lies.