ajstoner21
Cleared for Takeoff
I would like to make a request to everyone in the aviation community. If you see someone doing something unsafe, or make a comment about something unsafe that they've done and acted as if it was OK, please speak up and say something. You may save a life.
Security Awareness Training is required for flight instructors and flight school employees. I urge everyone to do it anyway just to help increase awareness
http://download.tsa.dhs.gov/fssa/training/
I have noticed several kind of scary things in aviation. I think it is completely "polarized". Those who care about safety - people who participate in online forums such as this, go to ASI's Safety Seminars or Webinars, and those who dont.
I feel it is really difficult to reach those who don't participate in this stuff and from my discussions with other instructors, they usually have major hazardous pilot atttitude problems and refuse to listen to advice. I would like to ask everyone to try to reach out to pilots you feel are unsafe or have bad habits.
I'd like to suggest everyone take some time and go over some of AOPA's online courses and stories. (NOTE: It is free to create an account to view these)
http://www.aopa.org/asf/online_courses/
http://www.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/index.html
It just may shed light on one of your own unsafe habits.
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The reason I am posting this: I know of a pilot who is a textbook example of at least three hazardous pilot attitudes. This fellow "follows the spirit of the law" and not necessarily what is in print. His primary instructor has taught him bad habits (whether directly or indirectly). For example. We were discussing ceiling, visibility and cloud clearnce requirements for VFR flight and were discussing VFR on Top and VFR Over the top and he made the comment that it was OK to go through clouds to get to the top without an instrument rating. I told him unless his instructor filed IFR in the air prior to going through those clouds, they violated a FAR. This is a guy who doesn't seem to care about passenger currency day or night. He once let maybe 2 1/2 months go by and decided to fly somewhere for a wedding and landed on a short narrow grass strip. No one can convince me he was proficient enough to do that safely. This is all stuff he tells me. I have yet to witness any such unsafe act.
It seems there are alot of people who have forgotten some of the things "every pilot should be well aware of". I would just like to suggest every pilot just take a few hours to review a textbook or some online materials. A lot of instructors I've spoken with tell me they get many people like the one i described above come in for a BFR or IPC and its just scary to know they are in the air. So lets help reach out to these people.
Ok, I guess thats the end of this rambling. Maybe someone will do something...
Security Awareness Training is required for flight instructors and flight school employees. I urge everyone to do it anyway just to help increase awareness
http://download.tsa.dhs.gov/fssa/training/
I have noticed several kind of scary things in aviation. I think it is completely "polarized". Those who care about safety - people who participate in online forums such as this, go to ASI's Safety Seminars or Webinars, and those who dont.
I feel it is really difficult to reach those who don't participate in this stuff and from my discussions with other instructors, they usually have major hazardous pilot atttitude problems and refuse to listen to advice. I would like to ask everyone to try to reach out to pilots you feel are unsafe or have bad habits.
I'd like to suggest everyone take some time and go over some of AOPA's online courses and stories. (NOTE: It is free to create an account to view these)
http://www.aopa.org/asf/online_courses/
http://www.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/index.html
It just may shed light on one of your own unsafe habits.
********
The reason I am posting this: I know of a pilot who is a textbook example of at least three hazardous pilot attitudes. This fellow "follows the spirit of the law" and not necessarily what is in print. His primary instructor has taught him bad habits (whether directly or indirectly). For example. We were discussing ceiling, visibility and cloud clearnce requirements for VFR flight and were discussing VFR on Top and VFR Over the top and he made the comment that it was OK to go through clouds to get to the top without an instrument rating. I told him unless his instructor filed IFR in the air prior to going through those clouds, they violated a FAR. This is a guy who doesn't seem to care about passenger currency day or night. He once let maybe 2 1/2 months go by and decided to fly somewhere for a wedding and landed on a short narrow grass strip. No one can convince me he was proficient enough to do that safely. This is all stuff he tells me. I have yet to witness any such unsafe act.
It seems there are alot of people who have forgotten some of the things "every pilot should be well aware of". I would just like to suggest every pilot just take a few hours to review a textbook or some online materials. A lot of instructors I've spoken with tell me they get many people like the one i described above come in for a BFR or IPC and its just scary to know they are in the air. So lets help reach out to these people.
Ok, I guess thats the end of this rambling. Maybe someone will do something...
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