Whats the most difficult thing??

Rudy

Rudy

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Rudy
Ok I was reading FLYING magazine and there was an article in there about this.
So here is my question:
What do you think the most difficult thing we have to do as pilots is??

I would say for me it is a gusty crosswind landing, but i am new and i was wondering what everyone else thinks
 
Rudy said:
Ok I was reading FLYING magazine and there was an article in there about this.
So here is my question:
What do you think the most difficult thing we have to do as pilots is??

I would say for me it is a gusty crosswind landing, but i am new and i was wondering what everyone else thinks
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I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, the hardest thing is to say "Not today" when looking at the weather. I know I shouldn't go, but I still mentally question my decision.
 
Burning through that first hint of the leans when you are climbing into bumpy IMC. Mind over matter.
 
Rudy said:
Ok I was reading FLYING magazine and there was an article in there about this.
So here is my question:
What do you think the most difficult thing we have to do as pilots is??

I would say for me it is a gusty crosswind landing, but i am new and i was wondering what everyone else thinks
Click to expand...

Pay Bills 9 10
 
Situational awareness: where is everyone else, what are their intentions and how can I not be in the same place at the same time. :D
 
Henning said:
Pay Bills 9 10
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It took me a minute to figure out what "9 10" meant. The ten character minimum!

You can simply add spaces and end with a period. Proportional spacing will actually shrink the distance and it won't look too weird.

Edit: Henning, if you had simply added a period, you WOULD have had ten! ;)
 
Judging the weather as an IR pilot, and determining whether it is just IFR or deadly IFR. I'm still WAY conservative.

Jim G
 
Rudy, this is an excellent question.

For me it's always those last few moments before takeoff, when I hope I've checked everything adequately and I'm worried something will quit on me. I always seem to hear a new sound at that time. Once I take off, I feel better.
 
NickDBrennan said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, the hardest thing is to say "Not today" when looking at the weather. I know I shouldn't go, but I still mentally question my decision.
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That one never goes away even with a de-iced, radar equipped twin although the average answer to the "can we go today" question moves closer to the yes side. A related issue that can be just as tough is can we continue per the plan or should we divert to somewhere we didn't want to go when the weather etc turns out to be worse than expected.

One other toughie for me is the build up of complacency WRT to things like preflight inspections. After close to 30 years of checking and rarely finding anything of note, it gets harder to take a close look. Of course on the rare occasion when you actually find something amiss, you feel more compelled to check carefully for a while.
 
Toby said:
For me it's always those last few moments before takeoff, when I hope I've checked everything adequately and I'm worried something will quit on me. I always seem to hear a new sound at that time. Once I take off, I feel better.
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That runs through my mind too, especially from right before rotation, until I get to cruise altitude.

When ever I take long periods of time before I fly I get a mild right leg jitter when I push down that rudder! LOL - As I hold down that right rudder on take off, and climb out, the anticipation, excitement, and awareness of what I am trying to do gives me the jitters. Usually once I am up there for a while, or by the time my second leg of the flight starts I'm cool, and calm again and enjoying every second.

I guess if I ever lose those jitters completely I'll need to get smacked around to not get complacent with what we are doing. :dunno:
 
Most difficult thing for me? Not getting airsick, and not worrying about Sean falling out the darn doors.
 
lancefisher said:
One other toughie for me is the build up of complacency...
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Amen. The more experience I get, the smarter my CFI's get. All the stuff they tell you is for a reason, and it will all *eventually* come true if you fly long enough. It is really easy to become complacent when it *doesn't* happen after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of flights. But sure enough it will.

Keeping the chain links from connecting is a full time job. I don't think it is being slightly overweight, or slightly out of CG, or getting a little slow on climbout, or getting in a hurry and skidding your base-to-final just a little bit...but it is letting those things pile up.

My constant thought and prayer is to never let *any* of these things that we have all read about and thought, "He's so stupid...I would never let that happen" *ever* happen to me.

I'm not sure that any one thing is the most difficult thing for me. It's keeping the entire flight from developing even *ONE* link in the accident chain. No matter how hard we try, that is a very difficult thing to do. The reason most of us never crash is we keep the 2nd link from forming. If you look hard enough, you had the first link on many flights...at least I do...
 
The most difficult for me is actually finding time to fly. I have kids to watch during the weekdays, and work weekends. The plane is a 45 minute drive, and I don't have the money to drive that far. Sigh.
 
Coming to the conclusion that its a 'NO GO' decision and Telling passengers that are paying $2,100/hr to fly with me that we can't go b/c of weather and that they are going to be late to a meeting or their engagement. Have to do that once or twice a year and it is just NO FUN.

Simulator is brutal too.
 
Trusting the airplane again after it's been sick.
 
If this were a poll, my vote would have to go to weather understanding and analysis. It affects every flight we make, changes every minute and has the potential to do really bad things.
 
I echo the weather related GO - NO GO decision. Probably because I feel I'll never be able to obtain perfect knowledge of weather conditions so it's always an educated guess - particularly when looking at 3 day out weather forecasts for a return trip.
 
Simular to Berry's Post;

The Go No-Go Decision on weather issues. Weather is always in contant change and I have enoumous respect for the weather. Weather reports are snap shots of a given moment and the forecast is a guess or a trend. Many times my frineds who want to fly with me are disappointed when I say "Not Today" or the trip is cancelled.

Very good question Rudy; It makes us think.

John J
 
Coming up with repeated believable excuses not to take my mother in law flying with us.:dunno:

Seriously! Fear of spacial disorientation and then managing X wind landings
 
NickDBrennan said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, the hardest thing is to say "Not today" when looking at the weather. I know I shouldn't go, but I still mentally question my decision.
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I absolutely agree. Or, put another way, saying "Not Today" even though the weather is perfect but mentally or physically it's not your day.

Carolyn
 
Kaye said:
Trusting the airplane again after it's been sick.
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What can be even tougher than that is when the airplane acts up and they can't find anything wrong with it.
 
Kaye said:
Trusting the airplane again after it's been sick.
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Heh, I like that one too. :yes:

In a similar vein of "not today", it's turning around and going back after taking off, usually for a mechanical reason, while explaining to the passengers why we are doing so. Then there's the explanation of the fuel jettison, "don't worry, that's not smoke."
 
What has been the most difficult thing for me is drawing the line and not crossing it when it comes to making flying decisions going with more experienced pilots with a lot more initials after their name than I have (including my spouse). Especially when we disagree on issues of weight and balance, weather and other safety matters.

I could truly identify with Barbara Cushman Rowell in her book “Flying South, A Pilot’s Inner Journey” in the first several pages.
 
Brian Austin said:
It took me a minute to figure out what "9 10" meant. The ten character minimum!

Edit: Henning, if you had simply added a period, you WOULD have had ten! ;)
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However, since I han't formed a sentence, a period would have been improper grammar, and yalls knows what a stickler I is for good grammar.
 
Toby said:
Rudy, this is an excellent question.

For me it's always those last few moments before takeoff, when I hope I've checked everything adequately and I'm worried something will quit on me. I always seem to hear a new sound at that time. Once I take off, I feel better.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't worry about something quitting on you, you should expect it always. Things quit all the time, most of them aren't critical, some of them require advanced thought. Be prepared mentally.:dance:
 
Diana said:
What has been the most difficult thing for me is drawing the line and not crossing it when it comes to making flying decisions going with more experienced pilots with a lot more initials after their name than I have (including my spouse).
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Yeah, but experienced pilots make mistakes too and initials after your name only means you've passed some tests, not that you have superior judgement. No, I didn't mean to discount other people's accomplishments.

Good for you for speaking up even if you think you are more "inexperienced"! I know this has to be hard if it is your spouse... or maybe not. ;)
 
The most difficult thing pilots do is dividing fuel capacity by fuel burn...

On second thought maybe we do that part right but can't tell which number is bigger ETE or Endurance.
 
Putting the plane back into the hanger at the end of the night.

Jeff.
 
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