seawings
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2005
- Posts
- 17
Bear with me for a few moments…I’ll need to set up the points by telling you how I got there.
So….
Straight out of flight school, (helicopters, thank you US Army) I was sent to Viet Nam. Everyone knew more than I did, every flight was dramatic (I flew gunships) and the learning curve was steep…very steep. Due to rotations I was an old timer within six months and started questioning some of the fight habits of the older guys (in their twenties, I was nineteen).
This was to become a habit for many years, based on ego and perceived knowledge we (all us younger pilots) would criticize or “second guess”.
Somehow I survived VN and was assigned to Ft. Rucker to teach “Tactical Instruments” (a whole other story there) which proved to be almost as dangerous as VN…heavy traffic and students under hoods so your see and avoid was really limited. Here was one of the times I respected all the older guys as teaching is a special calling and where these students were headed, they deserved all that you had and more.
Here I must add a little sidebar…for a while I figured the experience and knowledge were gained through flight hours (1000 would make me a pro). Wrong…got the first 1000 the first year and was disappointed in how little I knew. Must be at 2000, got that the second year…still not all that smart. After about 3000 I finally figured out that aviation was an ongoing learning experience.
Not yet smart I moved on to corporate flying, a large department with five types and thirty some pilots, all ages, all backgrounds, (USAF, Navy, Marines, Army and civilians). Needless to say a fertile ground for “second guessing”. Upward movement was based on seniority (mostly) but hangar talk often revolved around management decisions, and older pilots flying styles and techniques (we ranged from our mid-twenties to sixty), we were very judgmental.
Time went by, moved up in types, seniority, and experience. Thirty eight years flew by (pun intended) and I was at the other end of the equation…”when’s he going to retire” (flying a GV around the world), “boy he was behind on that approach and landing”, and many more I am sure. I was now at the other end of the cycle.
So where is this guy going (the ramblings of the old) your asking?
I’ve seen many posting on these forums complaining, criticizing, and second guessing (seems to be the nature of Homo sapiens). It, I suppose, fills the idle hours, fills the pages of the forums and, in some way may relieve stress…but counterproductive and in some cases destructive.
“Come on” you say, get to the point”. Well here’s some of what I learned (all too late).
1. Don’t be part of the problem, by part of the solution. Be willing to work to solve the problem.
2. See what someone has that you can learn from, not criticize, everyone has something to share.
3. Management is not as dumb as you think (wait until you get there and you’ll see the pressures)
4. AND, most of all, remember life IS the journey, NOT the destination….so enjoy each phase of your career…even the worst times make great stories later.
CARPE MOMENTO! "Seize the Moment"
Best of luck in your aviation career.
So….
Straight out of flight school, (helicopters, thank you US Army) I was sent to Viet Nam. Everyone knew more than I did, every flight was dramatic (I flew gunships) and the learning curve was steep…very steep. Due to rotations I was an old timer within six months and started questioning some of the fight habits of the older guys (in their twenties, I was nineteen).
This was to become a habit for many years, based on ego and perceived knowledge we (all us younger pilots) would criticize or “second guess”.
Somehow I survived VN and was assigned to Ft. Rucker to teach “Tactical Instruments” (a whole other story there) which proved to be almost as dangerous as VN…heavy traffic and students under hoods so your see and avoid was really limited. Here was one of the times I respected all the older guys as teaching is a special calling and where these students were headed, they deserved all that you had and more.
Here I must add a little sidebar…for a while I figured the experience and knowledge were gained through flight hours (1000 would make me a pro). Wrong…got the first 1000 the first year and was disappointed in how little I knew. Must be at 2000, got that the second year…still not all that smart. After about 3000 I finally figured out that aviation was an ongoing learning experience.
Not yet smart I moved on to corporate flying, a large department with five types and thirty some pilots, all ages, all backgrounds, (USAF, Navy, Marines, Army and civilians). Needless to say a fertile ground for “second guessing”. Upward movement was based on seniority (mostly) but hangar talk often revolved around management decisions, and older pilots flying styles and techniques (we ranged from our mid-twenties to sixty), we were very judgmental.
Time went by, moved up in types, seniority, and experience. Thirty eight years flew by (pun intended) and I was at the other end of the equation…”when’s he going to retire” (flying a GV around the world), “boy he was behind on that approach and landing”, and many more I am sure. I was now at the other end of the cycle.
So where is this guy going (the ramblings of the old) your asking?
I’ve seen many posting on these forums complaining, criticizing, and second guessing (seems to be the nature of Homo sapiens). It, I suppose, fills the idle hours, fills the pages of the forums and, in some way may relieve stress…but counterproductive and in some cases destructive.
“Come on” you say, get to the point”. Well here’s some of what I learned (all too late).
1. Don’t be part of the problem, by part of the solution. Be willing to work to solve the problem.
2. See what someone has that you can learn from, not criticize, everyone has something to share.
3. Management is not as dumb as you think (wait until you get there and you’ll see the pressures)
4. AND, most of all, remember life IS the journey, NOT the destination….so enjoy each phase of your career…even the worst times make great stories later.
CARPE MOMENTO! "Seize the Moment"
Best of luck in your aviation career.
