Page 11 - Dear aviator...

show fluctuating oil temperature but it was checked out by an approved mechanic
who determined it was an instrument issue.
Obviously fear is a very personal thing. What frightens one person may not frighten
another and a training pilot may brush away his or her first encounter with a stall
whilst becoming distressed with conducting a pre-flight walkaround.
I have often been asked if I was ever frightened of getting airsick. The answer is no;
I never suffered any form of nausea or discomfort whilst flying. However, I do know
of several of my course mates who did find themselves in the dire need of using a
chuckie bag. We learn in the Human Factors course that airsickness is normal and
will usually subside after a few flights, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

Excitement

Let’s be honest… this is why you want to become a pilot. For the excitement and
man oh man are you gonna get some excitement! Like fear, excitement is a deeply
personal and subjective feeling. So I’ll limit myself to describing what my idea of
excitement in aviation is, bearing in mind that the line between excitement and fear
can be quite blurred.
Excitement is lining up on the runway as you wait for clearance for take-off and
then letting loose all of that 100 horsepower (99 to be honest, but when you’re new
to it it feels like a goddamn stampede) and you start accelerating down the strip. At
some point the aircraft starts to become light on its tyres and you feel she wants to
fly and when you both are ready you just let her lift off the ground and there you
are, just like that, surfing the sky.
Excitement is planning and executing a long navigation flight with several stages
and legs and a couple of fuel stops only to have all those plans thrown out the
window because of lower than expected cloud and then knowing that you are going
to have to fly for an extra hour that you weren’t planning on; you know that you
have the fuel for it, but it still feels funny knowing that when you dip those tanks,
they are going to show a lot less fuel than you had originally planned.
Excitement is getting stranded at a remote airport because a coolant pipe burst and
you have no idea how you’re going to get home.
Excitement is seeing that your electric flaps are deploying uncommanded during
cruise and you have to figure out a way to return home safely.
Excitement is getting cleared to fly over a major international airport and seeing
commercial jets landing below you.
Excitement is passing your written tests and your flight tests, and seeing your
classmates pass their tests and then going for a drink together.
Excitement is taking your first passenger and marvelling at the wide-eyed look with
which they are experiencing perhaps their first flight.
Excitement is looking back at the two years just passed and wondering “How the
hell did I do that?”

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