When I went through initial at Ameriflight, I had some issues.
Mostly, this stemmed from going straight from my 250TT commerical checkride to flying skydivers. Then after 1500 hours of flying skydivers, trying to make it through AMF captain initial. Line training was done in 0F weather with nearly a month of reduced mins t/o. (inversion in SLC kept the pollution/clouds in the valley, creating a month or two of low RVR/VV)
It was a steep curve for me.
I made it worse though...I had an attitude. Now, at the time, I didnt think I did. When I was 90% through training, my training captain told me that I was argumentative.
I couldnt believe it... Me? Argumentative? I was (in my mind) completely humble, and couldnt believe I came off that way.
Looking back, its easy for me to see how it happened. Basically, comming from no IFR experience to AMF, my head was under the water. I knew it, and was trying to compensate...every time I screwed up, I would try to lessen it by making excuses. Instead of just saying "Ok", I would make an excuse. I didnt realize how this made me sound.
Luckily, my training captain had paitence, and I made it through. My short tenure at AMF was just what I needed remedy my IFR deficiency, and after flying out of SLC For 7 months, I am a better pilot....but also a better trainer.
My coworker at my new job exhibits some of the comments/attitude that I had at AMF. My experience at AMF has given me the fortitude to give my coworker the benefit of the doubt in many situations, that I might not have tolerated otherwise. I can put myself in his posistion and see why he doesnt accept responsibility for poor performance. I am NOT saying this attitude is okay, I am definately working to get him to see the light....but still....I can understand the basic human psychological reasoning for adopting excuses. I am working towards trying to get this person to see what I eventually realized...its much better to admit you need help/arent up to speed, than to try and lessen that percpetion by making excuses. I mean, its not like the captain/trainer/instructor can't see that you are not up to speed. Making excuses only makes it worse.
Anyway I'm rambling.
My point, is that usually attitude is a very easy way to fail out of training....I only hope that the training captains/sim instructors don't take their reccomendations lightly....maybe someone (especially those new to airline flying) only needs a attitude correction talk to get them on the right page...instead of just dumping them.
Looking back, if the AMF training captain and I were to have switched shoes, I am not sure, that back then, I would have kept myself in the program. Now....Having been though that experience, hopefully I would be as paitent as he was.
Mostly, this stemmed from going straight from my 250TT commerical checkride to flying skydivers. Then after 1500 hours of flying skydivers, trying to make it through AMF captain initial. Line training was done in 0F weather with nearly a month of reduced mins t/o. (inversion in SLC kept the pollution/clouds in the valley, creating a month or two of low RVR/VV)
It was a steep curve for me.
I made it worse though...I had an attitude. Now, at the time, I didnt think I did. When I was 90% through training, my training captain told me that I was argumentative.
I couldnt believe it... Me? Argumentative? I was (in my mind) completely humble, and couldnt believe I came off that way.
Looking back, its easy for me to see how it happened. Basically, comming from no IFR experience to AMF, my head was under the water. I knew it, and was trying to compensate...every time I screwed up, I would try to lessen it by making excuses. Instead of just saying "Ok", I would make an excuse. I didnt realize how this made me sound.
Luckily, my training captain had paitence, and I made it through. My short tenure at AMF was just what I needed remedy my IFR deficiency, and after flying out of SLC For 7 months, I am a better pilot....but also a better trainer.
My coworker at my new job exhibits some of the comments/attitude that I had at AMF. My experience at AMF has given me the fortitude to give my coworker the benefit of the doubt in many situations, that I might not have tolerated otherwise. I can put myself in his posistion and see why he doesnt accept responsibility for poor performance. I am NOT saying this attitude is okay, I am definately working to get him to see the light....but still....I can understand the basic human psychological reasoning for adopting excuses. I am working towards trying to get this person to see what I eventually realized...its much better to admit you need help/arent up to speed, than to try and lessen that percpetion by making excuses. I mean, its not like the captain/trainer/instructor can't see that you are not up to speed. Making excuses only makes it worse.
Anyway I'm rambling.
My point, is that usually attitude is a very easy way to fail out of training....I only hope that the training captains/sim instructors don't take their reccomendations lightly....maybe someone (especially those new to airline flying) only needs a attitude correction talk to get them on the right page...instead of just dumping them.
Looking back, if the AMF training captain and I were to have switched shoes, I am not sure, that back then, I would have kept myself in the program. Now....Having been though that experience, hopefully I would be as paitent as he was.
Last edited: