Page 23 - Dear aviator...

be here if your instructors didn't think you were ready etc… all of this is absolutely
true and valid and it won't make a lick of difference. You'll still be scared shitless.
The way I approached it was like this. The stress and nervousness are not going to
go away, so I might as well embrace them: I know I can fly and my instructors told
me I can fly. My flying skills are not what I am being tested on… I am being tested
on my ability to deal with copious amounts of stress and on my readiness to
perform consistently when under heightened nervous conditions. I tried to go into
the exam believing that this was what the examiner was looking at. Your training
records speak for themselves… now show that you can manage the difficult
circumstances of being examined. I have no idea if this is the case or not, but it
served me well for my flight tests.

The people in the community

For at least the first year of the course my aviation world consisted of the school
building, the course theory building, my instructors, my course mates and the
training aircraft that made up the school’s fleet.
I saw plenty of other people around the airport - which is one of the country’s
busiest training airports - and plenty of other aircraft but I almost never engaged
with them.
It was like going to a party where you know only 1 or 2 people and you spend the
evening speaking only with them.
However, at the beginning of the second year of training a coursemate who also
happened to work at an aircraft maintenance hangar took me around and
introduced me to other characters which populated the airport stage.
A whole new world opened up before my eyes as I discovered that the airport
environment has many other people besides pilots and student pilots.
That day I met mechanics and engineers and their students and apprentices. These
are people who have the exact same passion as we do for aviation and are not
afraid to get their hands dirty. They are the ones who keep the aircraft serviceable
and airworthy and it’s a wonder to see them work as they remove and reinstall bits
and pieces as they document everything.
After that episode I made it a point to interact more with the people around me and
it made it a much more pleasurable experience. I started with the refuellers who
would bring their truck regularly to fuel up the school’s fleet. I got to know them by
name and we always had a chat as they were refuelling my aircraft. I got well-
wished by one of them on the day of my CPL flight test and a phone call after to ask
me how the test went. It was a very heart-warming feeling.
My airport also has an amazing aviation museum where I would go regularly, a
biker pub serving great food, a souvlaki stall managed by a lovely Greek lady...
there is usually a very diverse and vibrant community around airports.
“Treat everyone with respect and don’t be an asshole.” - I’m directly quoting a
course mate and a very good friend. You can learn something from each and every
one and you never know whose help you might need in a pinch.
I regret it took me so long to get to know and appreciate my aviation neighbours.

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