![]() ![]() ![]() The FAA characterizes pilots’ states of mind prior to flying in several ways, mostly in the context of aeromedical factors and aeronautical decision making (“ADM”). It’s an uninterrupted, undistracted, sacrosanct period of time before you step to the aircraft during which you relax, focus and separate yourself from anything unrelated to the flight, and mentally prepare for conducting the flight safely. Air show pilots deal with these issues by observing the “Sacred 60 Minutes.” The Sacred 60 is exactly what it sounds like it might be. And the rest of the world (usually in the form of your smartphone) continues to make demands on you that have little or nothing to do with keeping an aircraft right-side-up and pointed in the right direction.ĭistraction, fatigue and stress can threaten any pilot and any mission. Advancing weather sometimes adds pressure to launch earlier than expected. Passengers don’t show up on time or they require assistance for which you hadn’t planned. Your IFR clearance void time might be approaching. And, after all of this, they must safely fly demanding routines in confined airspace in front of tens of thousands of people at an unfamiliar airport.Įven if your next flight doesn’t involve flying upside down 20 feet off the deck or doing a ribbon cut on knife-edge, you might face circumstances that are every bit as chaotic. ![]() Prior to flying their routines, air show performers must attend to their aircraft, get to and from briefings, obtain food and fluids, constantly monitor the air boss frequency for schedule or order changes, give media interviews, and deal with many other distractions. But pilots about to fly their air show routines have implemented a formal “quiet time,” allowing them to focus on their upcoming flight and get into “the zone” or “the game,” if you will. An air show’s sights, sounds and attention-grabbing activities perhaps make it one of the worst places a pilot can be prior to a flight. It’s also a major challenge in the dynamic world of air show pilots. That’s a major challenge when we serve as baggage handler, dispatcher, meteorologist and pilot. Different pilots have different ways of focusing, but one common thread is blocking out anything unrelated to ensuring the upcoming flight’s success. To help meet our responsibilities to ourselves and our passengers, we need to minimize the outside world’s distractions when we sit down in the cockpit to focus on the task at hand. Pilots of personal aircraft ultimately have all the responsibility to ensure a flight is conducted safely. ![]()
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