Page 8 - Dear aviator...

Who shouldn’t be a pilot

In order to start pilot training you don’t need to know high-level maths and
physics: basic arithmetic and geometry will suffice; you don’t need to be the
embodiment of fitness: as long as you can hold a class 1 or class 2 medical you
should be fine; you don’t need to know anything about aviation in general: that is,
after all, why you’re undertaking the course.
In my opinion the “only” prerequisites lie completely in your attitude: this journey
is not a “walk in the park”; it’s not for the lazy and it’s not for those who start
projects and never finish them. I can assure you there will be moments of
disappointment and frustration that under normal circumstances might deter you
from continuing. These are completely normal; dealing with these instances are an
unwritten part of your training: many aspects of aviation - not only training - will
be negatively affected by things such as adverse weather, improper maintenance or
not passing an exam which will test your patience and your resolve.
The test for you will be to learn from each one of these events and continue with
your training keeping your eyes on the prize. Sometimes the prize will be out of
sight, other times it will be clearly in view but just out of reach.
You will find yourself learning what resilience means and you will surprise yourself
by discovering how much you can take in order to achieve that overriding goal.
In my experience it is difficult to pinpoint a set of people who categorically
shouldn’t be pilots. However there are some attitudes which should certainly be left
at the door when you start training; most of these can be collected under the
banner of the most detrimental of attitudes which in my opinion is arrogance in its
widest sense; the measure by which you can keep arrogance in check can truly
make or break not only your experience, but that of your course mates as well. It is
always a good thing to remember that your attitude will have an effect on the
conduct of a flight lesson and of ground school. Just imagine how you would want
your student to behave with you if you were a teacher; I’m sure you wouldn’t want
somebody who constantly questions your knowledge or who interrupts with
irrelevant comments or who is an attention seeker and hijacks a lesson. Don’t be
that person. This shouldn’t discourage active participation, but always exercise
common sense and ask yourself if what you’re about to ask or say is useful either
for the upcoming flight or the lesson.

The aircraft

Before you ask what the purpose of this paragraph is, I’d like to bring your memory
back to the first time you saw a small single engine training aircraft; was it what
you were expecting? Had you actually ever seen one before?
I don’t want to take away the pleasure of meeting your new aircraft for the first time
but I think there are a couple of things that are worthwhile mentioning.
Let’s start with this: when you get inside you’ll be surprised by how tiny they are.
Depending on your body size you may be shoulder to shoulder with your
instructor/passenger. And remarkably the more modern trainers are becoming
even smaller; it is not so much a case of getting into the aircraft as it is wearing it -

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