The Responsibility Weighs on me

I'm not sure what the consensus was above (sorry didn't read all the posts) but IMHO you need to *want* that responsibility of being PIC, not just reluctantly accepting it as a requirement to get the license.

I think you should approach it with this mindset:

Provided you get your license and continue flying, you WILL run into a worrying situation that will require you to perform under pressure where there is no one else to assume control or delegate that responsibility to. That may be because you've encountered a true emergency situation like an engine failure, or a non-emergency but crappy situation like a mechanical/electrical issue where systems stop working as expected, or perhaps a deteriorating weather situation, an unexpectedly strong crosswind at your landing airport, etc.

When something like that happens I feel like you need to truly believe that you are the man for the moment, because you are, because you have to be. You don't want to be in that position regretting being there or futilely wishing someone more skilled could grab the controls.

If you decide you don't want the responsibility - there is nothing wrong with that at all. You can still go up with an instructor and enjoy many of the fun aspects of flying without needing to assume full PIC responsibilities. IMO that's not at all a bad outcome and shows maturity about what risk you do and don't want to accept.
 
Albany Tom said:
If you're trapped in your ability to experience things based on skills, then you're kind of living a smaller version of life than you need to be. Not trying to be philosophical about it, but I really do think that flying gives a person an ability to see the world in a different way.
Click to expand...

So true.

From the time you wake up in the morning and decide to get out of bed to some degree our lives are concerned with survival. Everyone has varying levels of risks they are willing to take, or smart enough to avoid. The key is whether or not participation in a certain risk offers an individual enough enjoyment, personal fulfillment or utility outweighs an individuals' level of risk avoidance.

I have personally experienced so many positive (including spiritual) experiences while enjoying the freedom and utility obtained in nearly 52 years of flying that I couldn't imagine living another life without it.

The handful of scary life-threatening events that occurred during these 52 years are minuscule and if anything were written off as a small price to pay that helped build additional knowledge to help stay alive during future flights.

Everyone is wired differently, and flying is not for everyone. Only you can decide.
 
As retired, you get to choose what you want to do and put up with.

Me? I am so glad I never have to deal with the corporate palace intrigue and simple mindedness again.

If you want zero stress, zero responsibility now, I get it. But I think we can get more stressed by just “sitting” in the Lazy Boy watching Matlock reruns than pushing our boundaries, getting out and doing things.

You get to pick the things and push yourself because you want to, not because you have to per some company.

See how you feel after you solo a few times. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. So many other things to do.

But if it turns out that it’s an irrational fear that keeps you from flying, what else might it be keeping you from?
 
WDD said:
But if it turns out that it’s an irrational fear that keeps you from flying, what else might it be keeping you from?
Click to expand...

Yes, you've described the irrational fears of my wife. She takes many fear based low probably scenarios straight to the worst result imaginable. I.E., forget to lock the house up at night and that will be the exact time a roving band of murderous home invaders with try a door, enter the house, kill us and steal our stuff. And thousands of other examples.

So sad, but maybe there's some type of DNA anomaly or misfiring synapse process that produces irrational fears and highlights them as inevitable, and needing to be reduced. It definitely steals joy, but she considers it rational and necessary for personal safety, and more anxiety is created by not addressing these fears in the present moment.
 
Irrational fears are mostly a manifestation of some other key issue. A predisposition to worry doesn't mean one can't train themselves to mitigate it.
 
WDD said:
Irrational fears are mostly a manifestation of some other key issue. A predisposition to worry doesn't mean one can't train themselves to mitigate it.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Past negative life experiences that occurred growing up in NYC are key issues that can't be changed, or forgotten. Training and mitigation has helped to have a good life, but IMO could have been a lot more enjoyable without the fear factor.
 
I never was really concerned about this

You take the same risks when you give someone a ride in your car, walks on your homes deck, eats the chicken your wife hopefully fully cooked, or if you help a old person stand up.

The other odd one for me are the people who have different safety tolerances if they are solo vs flying with their offspring.

You are ether safe to make the flight or you are not.

If you deem it safe, your friends probably also know you’re not a professional pilot anyways, load em up and launch.
 
My motto is, never ride with a pilot who "knows no fear."
 
Palmpilot said:
My motto is, never ride with a pilot who "knows no fear."
Click to expand...
Almost as bad as a pilot who fears everything

Did a flying kids event, lots of our locals were soo afraid of liability they probably were too scared to even change their own tires
 
George Carlin summed up the typical emotional response of risk management perfectly more than 40 years ago. To paraphrase - "everyone that drives faster than you is crazy, and everyone that drives slower than you is an idiot." Substitute risk tolerance for driving speed and it's universal. It works because safety isn't and never will be binary. It's a percentage, the numbers 0 and 1 aren't possible, and the actual value often isn't known all that precisely and never perfectly. But people are people, and we want a simple 0/1 answer, so we compare the guessed value to our internal thermostat, declare it good or bad, and lock our answers in with complete certainty.
 
If I read him correctly, the OP was concerned with responsibility, not risk. Risk can be mitigated, but the responsibility borne by the PIC cannot. I think his concerns are reasonable, and I commend him for taking the matter of responsibility seriously.
 
Roger Wilco said:
If I read him correctly, the OP was concerned with responsibility, not risk. Risk can be mitigated, but the responsibility borne by the PIC cannot. I think his concerns are reasonable, and I commend him for taking the matter of responsibility seriously.
Click to expand...

Just normal adult responsibilities

Not much different from taking someone for a ride in your car or letting them walk on your deck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top