by Chris
16. December 2009 10:02
Pilots love to talk about flying, it's who they are. Imagine if you will, you're sitting in the pilots lounge at your airport on a lazy Sunday morning. The weather forecast is a bust, and it looks like you're stuck on the ground until the fog burns off. Being the diehard pilot that you are, you decide to hang out and shoot the breeze with fellow pilots. You discuss different topics, like the time some pilot went off the side of the runway and ended up in the grass after a botched crosswind landing or how you had to execute a go around last week because of a vehicle on the runway. We all have our stories to tell. We all have something to share, something to teach, or to learn. This is the clearinghouse for ideas that we call hangar flying.
The advantage of hangar flying is that the people who share their experiences in these forums don't live in the pages of a text book. They're very real flesh and blood pilots, and other pilots relate to them. These pilots profess both positive and negative real world values about flying.
Out of these ideas come some very safety conscious, conservative methods of performing various flight maneuvers, like learning the proper airspeed to use during a strong crosswind. Others exhibit reckless behaviors and dispense questionable information disguised as sage advice, like scud running. In the movie Forrest Gump, the main character said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." Nothing could be truer than that, particularly with instant access to just about any media you can get your hands on. Remember the big faux paus about former Vice President, Al Gore. he invented the internet, or did he? Hangar flying has expanded from the three dimensional pilots' lounge to the World Wide Web. It has evolved to where pilots chat, blog or text. It's not quite as personal, but there's still good and bad information to be had. But, no matter where pilots choose to congregate and converse, hangar flying can still be entertaining, educational and fun.
Pilots still tell embarrassing stories of stupid things they did in an airplane last summer or during that summer some twenty years ago when they should have known better. These pilots learned very important lessons from the schools of hard knocks, and they love tell their stories so that you don't have to go through their ordeals.
Hangar flying isn't just learning from other pilot's mistakes though.
Hangar flying is about gaining valuable insights, like how transition from a crab to a side slip. Sometimes changing technique is all it takes to make a good landing a great one. You could also learn about the fine art of energy management and how perfect airspeed control on final. You could learn how to reduce cockpit work load, and organize the cockpit so that it works for and not against you. You might even discover the mysteries of the airport restaurant. On rare occasions you might even hear from the dark side of the room where questionable advice lies in wait.
When you're unsure of certain advice, speak to experienced pilots you know you and trust. Talk to the savvy flight instructor, the high flying corporate, airline or freight pilots who mix it up in the real world every day. Their insights can be invaluable. Talk with them. They have thousands of flight hours and you have ten, but don't worry. Pilots like to talk flying and love to help out. Get their opinions.
If you've heard about or discovered a new insight on how to perform crosswind landings or how to land on real (not simulated) snow covered runways, get some dual before you try it solo. Fly with experienced instructors who've actually done it. Doing otherwise is like asking for driving directions from someone who doesn't know the roads.
By Jeff Sponberg
Human Nature is a funny thing, with our well established habits and all.
Pilots can do some pretty bone headed things in airplanes. So, learn from the mistakes of others. You will never live long enough to commit them all yourself. Keep your ears open and listen, but take everything you hear with a grain of salt. And be careful before you act on new found knowledge.
Share your flying stories with others. Tell people what you learned. Sort out good information from the bad. Acquire the wisdom of the ages. Read good aviation magazines like AOPA Pilot and Flying. Read these and other industry standards.
What separates good pilots from the bad isn't necessarily superior skill, but exercising good Judgment. You know the old saying about experience it's when you make the same mistake a second time. Experienced pilots know how to avoid the pitfalls you haven't even discovered yet. Sometimes it's best not to go there.
Remember that there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots; but there are no old bold pilots. So have fun, enjoy hangar flying. Fly safe.
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Jeff Sponberg is a Professional Pilot and CFI flying a Single Engine Turboprop in the New England Area.
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