Yes, I'm familiar with reduction in force, and yes, I have had to compete. I've always been able to come out ahead, but always trying to hold out a hand to those around me while I do it. I usually carry a bit of a reputation for doing that most places I go. Elevate those around you, you help yourself. That's not touchy feely fern bar crap; it's a true and correct principle of life. Try it some time.
As for being too sensitive, truth be told, I'm one of those folks that can look you in the eye and smile while I put a bullet through your chest.
Is that too sensitive?
Why would all the rest of you that are giving him a hard time want him to not think like that. He is a fighter pilot in training and not thinking like that could get him killed just as easily.
No, and apparently it bears repeating one more time. That attitude will eventually kill him if he fosters it.
The truth is that often its those other 25, the "poor bastards," that are around 25 years later to memorialize the first 25 good bastards, the ones with the swagger, the ones who were so arrogant they bragged about it, the ones who weren't humble enough to know that yes, it really can happen to them.
What has that to do with this thread? Everything. Should most private pilots be able to fly a single engine ILS? Yes, if they're multi engine rated and instrument rated. Yes, they should be able to fly the maneuver with the outcome never seriously in doubt. But that's a far cry from swaggering about and overconfidence. Fast hands in the cockpit kill...folks that reach for levers too quickly, do things without the checklist, that sort of thing. But that's only one trait and characteristic in the cockpit that kills. Overconfidence is another.
Short story long; I was walking on the beach with a friend years ago as he related an incident he had whitnessed a few years prior. It involved watching a friend get killed beneath him. As he flew over, his friend pitched up hard, stalled, and went in, exploding. He watched it happen. As I listened, I was respectful, but in my mind thought that only an idiot would have failed to keep the airplane under control; clearly pilot error I thought. My friend's purpose in telling me the story was to discuss a flight characteristic that one might not discover until it was too late, and he punctuated it with the death of his friend.
I wasn't having any. After all, I'm a pilot, I'm in charge of my aircraft. We parted ways, thanked him for his insight. Fast forward a few years, and I find myself in the same type aircraft. Close to the ground I experienced the same situation that had been described to me; the aircraft went vertical, speed bled off, and the airplane fell out of it. I didn't end up like the individual in the story because the terrain fell off around me; I had instant altitude ahead. But if it had been a plateau or over level ground...I wouldn't be typing this. Funny thing was, when it occured, my helmet got pushed over my eyes, my visor dug into my nose, my chin was in my chest, and I was doing my level best to control the airplane (which wasn't enough), and all I could think about was, "Oh. This is what Al was talking about."
Overconfidence kills.
Should a private pilot be able to execute the maneuver? Sure. And he should be confident in his training enough that he can do it with the outcome never seriously in doubt. That's a basic practical test standard.
Arrogance is something else again; it's overconfidence. I don't care weather one cares to call one's self the tip of the speer or the fist of the fleet or the cats meow. Overconfidence, arrogance, doesn't belong in the cockpit, and yes, it is lethal. It's in no job description I'm aware of. It's an undesirable trait, mostly found in young men who don't know better.
