Fifty years on this planet

I had an incredible birthday.  I ate breakfast with my wonderful family.  I did my chores and went to work.  My incredible bride allowed me to go to practice my profession.  I have worked on most of my birthdays.  

            Back in the day I did a water drop into Lake Moultrie, SC on my birthday.  We were working on CRRC (Combat Rubber Raiding Craft) para-drops. The rubber boat, called a Zodiac 470, is like the ones Jacques Cousteau used on his shows.  The particular method we were using was called a hard duck.  The fully inflated boat, loaded with the majority of our gear, was placed on a palette and the parachute attached via straps through the bottom of the palette.  We were dressed in our diving gear (did I mention it is December 18th?) because the water was cold. The jump procedures are a bit non-standard because we are following the duck out of the back of the C-130 rather than the normal method by the doors.  (The paratrooper paradigm = jumping out of an airplane = perfectly normal).  Dive fins on our feet add to the challenge of walking out of the aircraft.   

As we near the drop zone the load master opens the ramp and cold damp air rushes in and takes your breath away.  Or was it the view out the back?  As the slipstream of the aircraft curls the air behind the moisture is squeezed out making the wake turbulence visible.  Our jumpmaster issues the jump commands and soon we are standing next to the boat watching the drogue chute pull the main chute of the duck into the slipstream.  In the next few moments we witness an extraordinary trick where a boat is snatched out of a plane traveling about 130 knots.  Soon after clearing the aircraft the main chute catches air and violently decelerates the boat, the pallet and all the contents and it floats down to the lake.  As we waddle out the whole show is repeated except it is our body going through similar physics.  As you gain experience you learn that body positioning as you enter the slipstream is critical.  The feedback is visceral, immediate and intense.  Under canopy the crisp Carolina blue sky reflects off the lake's surface.  "Wow this is my job!"

The incredible scenery is the backdrop to intense concentration as we attempt to maneuver our steerable round parachute to land upwind of the boats.  These chutes are reliable and provide some forward drive but are not as maneuverable as the square ram-air parachutes.  Parachutes are awesome at slowing your fall.  In the water they work well at sailing for a moment but, when they get wet they are very effective at drowning young paratroopers so don't get caught up in it.  If you land down wind you probably not be able to reach the boat in a timely manner.  If automatic disconnect for the chute on the boat is not released it can capsize the boat, and destroy our equipment rendering us ineffective.  A skilled crew can land upwind, get dragged by their chute to the boat and begin de-rigging the boat post haste and be underway in moments. 

This year on my birthday I worked with an instrument student on his long cross country.  We flew to New Bern, NC and did the VOR4 to a touch and go followed by vectors to the ILS4.  We reviewed the lessons learned and then flew to Edenton, NC and executed the LOC19 to a touch and go followed by the published missed approach and then returned to our home base at Sanford and practiced the RNAV (GPS) 21 partial panel with a circle to land.  We flew 5 hours much of it night.  We learned a lot. 

I try to provide insights and help the pilot attach meaning to their perceptions.  Most times I merely point out observations provided by the circumstances.  Instrument flight is primarily a cerebral event because we try to fly the plane in a stable manner and keep our pitch and bank angles very mellow.  I like to say "There is nothing hard about instrument flying, only two or three hundred really easy things that will kill you if you don't do them right." Pilots and paratroopers have this in common; survival depends on two things, skilled performance and how much God is smiling on me today.  Disciplined practice, top notch equipment and inspirational teamwork can help keep us safe.  Our ultimate survival is also a matter of chance.  The story is that when you get your rating you have two cups.  One cup is full of luck.  The other is experience.  Try to fill up the one cup before the other is empty.  I have been incredibly lucky and survived errors that could have killed me.

I try to learn all the time.  Learning is fun!  Knowledge is power only if shared.  I am blessed to be able to do this as a profession.  Watching the next generation blossom into ever more incredibly skilled people inspires me.  At the end of the day I chatted with my good friends and peers over a cup of coffee and went home and had a wonderful meal with my family.  We watched movies and Alex played guitar.  The next day Bernadette and I hung out and muddled through our to-do list.  I love hanging out with that woman.  This week three of my students passed their checkride.

I have a great life.  In fifty years you should have attained some wisdom.  I wish I had been paying attention and taking notes much earlier in my life.  My pop taught me a few principles but very few rules; #1, tell the truth, #2, do the right thing, #3, pay attention.  They are hard to live up into.  Becoming grounded allows one to see things clearer.  As the winter solstice approaches I become more aware of the movement of the heavenly bodies and recognize how short my mortal life is.  What an AWESOME ride it has been so far!   Thank God for every second of this experience. 

A festive article

Barry asked me to write a festive article.  Everyday is Christmas for a pilot. People ask “How are you?” “Awesome!” I answer.
I woke up. I am blessed with life; I woke up breathing non-toxic air under a roof that does not leak and in a warm bed with no one shooting at me. I went and brushed my teeth and drank some water with no fear of dysentery. What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot.
My breakfast was nutritious and delicious. I do not want for food as a matter of fact I have to restrain my gluttonous tendencies. I am blessed more than most; I kiss my wife and my children as I leave for the airport.  Should I take my truck, or my car, or my motorcycle? What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot.
I get a standard weather briefing on the way to the airport.  I live in a delightful time where I can speak to another human that is miles away and discuss the intricate knowledge gained from satellites and radar.  What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot.
Arriving at the airport I am greeted by my friends as I head out to pre-flight the aircraft.  I examine with exacting glee the product designed by geniuses and shaped by of hundreds of skilled craftsmen.  What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot.
After some time I find myself applying throttle and accelerating down the runway.  Before you know it we are in the air and climbing!  Some days I get to fly in and out of the clouds. I get to glimpse at sights that only the birds and the angels see. Last night was a light show.  Ribbons of light made of angry motorists stuck in traffic but it's beautiful to me. What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot.
After multiple vectors to and fro we roll out on final and see the approach lights all in a row, flashing white leading to the green and red of the runway with beautiful blue lights of the taxiways trimming the edges with wisps of green taxiway centerlines. What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot.

Sometimes I get to give people their first ride in an airplane. What a magical time.  How many gifts I have!  Every day is Christmas for a pilot and some days you get to be Santa Claus. Merry Christmas.

Pain number

"What is your pain number?" is a question the medical professionals ask. 
I do not know how to answer. 
They say "Using a scale one to ten where zero is no pain and ten is 'the worst pain you can imagine.'"
'The worst pain I can imagine" is not physiological. 
How about the worst pain I can remember, and that just makes you pass out.  I do know that the more I pay attention to pain the more it hurts.  (See the post on nueroplasiticity.) 
That being said what number do I assign when it makes me lose control of my bowels? 
How about makes me curl up in a ball and cry like a female dog? 
What number is it when the hairs on my arm stick out straight?
What about it make you walk all funny?
Six point seven nine is my final answer. 

A day in the swamp

I live on a swamp.

Why do I live on a swamp?

Because I purchased a house on a swamp...it was a good price.
I may be Shrek.  I am an ogre.

DWARF, not a midget!
I was born in Baton Rouge, LA and, as a child lived in the woods.  I also spend time in the desert.
I LOVE the swamp.  A day of silence in the center of a vibrantly alive piece of North Carolina wetlands brings peace.
Among my  companions were three species of duck, two or more flavors of geese, and a heron.

It was and is a cold wet cloudy day.  "If it ain't rainin' we ain't trainin'" was the refrain used during my youth. Adapting to the environment is evolutionary so it is no wonder I feel right at home in the swamp.  There are several life changing big events coming and I need to clear my head.  Being silent outside in the world grounds me like nothing else. 

Who kilt Christmas

I don't know who kilt Christmas but he lives in my neighborhood and it looks like he did in Frosty as well.

Coats, cans, and kickers

How many coats does a man need?
If you boil it right down to the essence, we only need one coat. And that's only if its cold , rainy, windy or other hazards. During a motorcycle wreck I would like to have on my body a strong leather jacket. If I were in an airplane crash I would want a fire proof jacket. If I were in battle I would want a bullet proof jacket that makes me invisible to my enemy and visible to my ally.

  So the question is, rather, how many coats SHOULD a man have.?
My son identified four; a dress coat, a warm casual coat, a wind and/or waterproof coat and a work coat. 
My daughter added a motorcycle jacket and perhaps a flying jacket.  My wife is convinced that I'm insane and looked at me like I was from a different planet when I asked her. The dog and the cats firmly back the one coat theory.

What a ridiculously materialistically blessed human am I? I suspect that there are people in Harnett county then cold of the last few weeks they do not own a coat and I have more than enough.  I'm not planning on giving all of my coats away but merely the excess. Then I have to identify the moral issues of giving away coats that were gifts to me. I only have a few coats that I actually bought for myself.  Each of these pieces of cloth have meaning.  Much of my cold weather attire was issued.  My lovely bride gave me the majority of my wardrobe including the winter stuff.


I have identified that I have an excess number of coats and I am going to give some of them away.  Forgive me for being so selfish that I want to keep more than one. 

Ten years after

I retired from the USAF ten years ago.  I have been blessed to be able to earn a living as an instructor.  My roles have included performing as an adjunct instructor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, as a rider coach for the North Carolina motorcycle safety program and as an independent flight instructor.  I have the pleasure of helping people learn about things I love. 

Years ago I was returning to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan from a deployment and I noticed a sign “Kadena Aero Club.”  I signed up for a discovery flight and I was immediately hooked.  I landed, took my Harley off order and signed up for 30 days of leave.  My instructor, and dear friend, Naoya Tamanaha taught me how to fly.  He is a brave and patient man who provided an excellent example of how to combine precise professionalism with endless enthusiasm.  Flying has allowed me to interact with a multitude of interesting people. 

During the last ten years I have logged over six thousand hours and had the pleasure of working with over 200 individuals.  Fifty of those folks went on to complete a rating or certificate.  Some of them were returning to flight after a long hiatus and others were blank canvass that I was able to mold in the image of my mentors.  The saying “we see so far because we stand upon the shoulders of giants” especially applies to aviation.  My teachers and mentors each gave me additional tools and insights in both the technical aspects of flight and the art of instruction.  My students have inspired me, scared me and, at times, frustrated me.

Inspirational students include Jessica who overcame a physical disability and went on to set world records in the light sport category.  When I feel like complaining about my ailments I am shamed into silence.  If I had her heart nothing would stop me. 

Emmanuel is another student that taught me about life.  He started his aviation journey as a young man, too young to drive.  He had plans, I remember him telling George how he was going to proceed through the ratings and become an airline pilot.  It was my privilege to help him achieve his goals.  We had to wait until his birthday on several occasions because he was too young for the FAA rules.  He is living his dream.  His level of maturity and focus are indeed motivating but how he treated people was even more enlightening.  As a young, talented aviator he had every right to be proud and this often leads to arrogance.  But he showed humility in his words and deeds.  Whether interacting with “air bullies” who seek aggrandizement over their ratings, aircraft or experience or speaking to timid potential students he was respectful and candid.

One of the joys of aviation is the fact that the airplane does not care who you are.  Rich or poor, regardless of race, color, sexual orientation or creed it is merely physics and the human machine interface. If you are truly honest there are no excuses only performance or lack of.  Either you are humble when you start or the aircraft affords you opportunities to learn humility.  The students that scared me include ones that were arrogant and did not recognize their limitations and occasionally ones that surprised me during critical phases of flight or fright. 

The students that frustrate me divide into two basic categories ones who fail to achieve because they won’t listen and those whom I can not figure out how to present the material.  This may be different sides to the same issue.  Either I do not know what to say or do that will allow the student to learn the skill or knowledge or I have not presented it in a manner that they think is useful.  I am rarely frustrated because a large part of the fun of teaching is to figure out how to present the same material translated for the individual. 

  Some people ask "when are you going to move on to bigger and better things?"  I have no plans to move on because it is hard for me to think of too many things that are more fulfilling. 
            I need to start a series of “inspirational people” so I can talk about George, Sam, Stan, Gene, Betsy, James, John, Tonya, Jay, Hanna, Catherine, Len, Greg, Bob, Grover, Jan, Kory, Harrison, Ashok, Emily, Shelley, Mauricio, Steve, William  and many others.  What a great time I have had, I look forward to the next ten…(second, minutes, days, weeks, years). 

Halloween

We had a great time on Halloween.  I dressed up as myself working in the garden on a cold winter day.  Hat for the sun, jacket for the cold and the face mask Angie and Tina got so I can ride my bike in the winter.  I had my tools, hatchet, machete, and what I refer to as my Molly Hatchet...I did not include the flame thrower.  
The price the children had to pay for the candy was to tell me "WHO ARE YOU?" and to pet Ben. 

I

I let them "TAKE WHAT YOU WISH...BUT REMEMBER THERE ARE OTHER CHILDREN!"

 

One year and two days

One year and two days ago I rang the gong.  The gong hangs in the UNC radiology department of the cancer hospital.  When you finish your treatment regimen you can ring the gong.  I hit it with all my might.  At that point I had lost 30% of my body mass and had been puking for about three weeks so I was pretty weak. 

Since then I have recovered enough to get my medical and return to flight instruction.  I still don’t have the stamina to attempt motorcycle instruction, mainly because of the long hours on the range with out protection from the elements.  I try to PT most everyday.  I am still too weak to put on a good show but I am getting stronger.  The pain still sucks a lot of the fun out of things but it builds character. 

Thank God for my lovely wife and awesome friends and family. 

Tips

Don't pet a burning dog

Look both ways before you cross the street

Use caution when applying capsaicin cream on your body parts

Good friends and a bottle of wine

            The lyrics to a song from my youth ran through my mind as I sat down to eat with my good friends.  It is wonderful to be healthy and happy.  My buddy invited me over for dinner and I got to meet two more of his adult children.  We spent the night discussing nothing and everything.  God has really blessed me by putting a lot of interesting people in my life.  

            A few days later another buddy came over to help me with some home repairs and we ended up shooting the bow at the zombie targets.  Life is good.  Funny thing I did not have any wine either time.      

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s7dY6O__J8

           

What to do with my second chance

            Last year I had been cut on, poisoned and fried.  I was in a fairly miserable state physically.  God put wonderful people in my life that strengthened my resolve to fight.  I survived for some reason.  The fundamental questions of life are more pointed when we brush up against our own mortality.  What is my purpose on earth?  Does my life have meaning? 

My personal mission is to increase beauty and happiness, decrease fear and ignorance by exemplary conduct.  Be a pillar in times of crisis.  I seek balance and want to make logic-based morally just decisions.  Wisdom, integrity, and happiness are what I want.

I wrote that back in the 1990s after much soul searching.  I revisit this every so often with the intention of revising it.  Perhaps replacing happiness with joy and adding something about love are the only edits I have contemplated for twenty years.  But really who gives a flip about what feel good bumper sticker you have on your sleeve what really counts are actions.

This goes back to my current quandary.  You ain’t dead.  Should you stay in your current profession and location or pursue something else or somewhere else? 

Acupuncture is working for me

            After three acupuncture treatments I feel okay announcing that it is working for me.  Alternative medicine has a bad reputation mainly because much of it is bad.  But if it is stupid and it works it is not stupid.  Traditional Chinese medicine is not stupid but much of it does not stand up to clinical trials.  My logical mind wants valid experimental data on most things, especially when they are life and death issues.  My faith allows me to explore things that may not be explained by the scientific method.  I believe that we have a soul and it is hard to set up a control group to test that hypothesis. 

            The evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture is not conclusive.  It would be hard to make a control group.  Would you stick fake needles in them?  If the points are indeed effective would stimulation of the point with the fake needle skew the data?  Acupressure therapy seems to be founded on that argument.  Anecdotal evidence supports the undisputed fact that acupuncture works for some people especially in the treatment of chronic pain.  The human brain is a powerful tool and testing against the “placebo effect” is central to all analytical testing. 

            My personal experience may be a tale of the fool who is tricked by hocus-pocus or the fool who is cured by ancient techniques redirecting the chi.  I have had a reduction in the intensity of the peripheral neuropathy.  The process was fairly straightforward.  The therapist reviewed my medical background and determined our goals.  Then I lay down on the treatment table and they began to put needles in me.  I closed my eyes so it would not freak me out.  The needles mainly felt like a mosquito bite.  The advantage of the neuropathy is that it did not penetrate the background pain on a lot of the needles and I did not even notice it.  On some of the needles I could only recognize that they were putting pressure around my neck.  Other needles did not hurt going in but felt “hot” like an electric charge was going through them.  The therapist would jiggle the needle until the feeling went away or on a couple of occasions they removed the needle and reinserted (maybe in a slightly different spot?) the needle.  It is not supposed to hurt.  After about forty or fifty needles they put an infrared lamp on you and let you sit for about thirty minutes.  Soft music with the sounds of the ocean in the background help you relax.  I felt like a burrito in the microwave with the radiation therapy now I feel like the stale chicken entrée under a hot lamp. 

After the first session the pain was less intense.  If the pain were like layers of clothes I shed a few layers.  The therapist advised against exercising after our treatment sessions so prior to the second session I exercised.  I think that was an error.  I took a twenty hour nap afterwards.  The pain again changed in intensity.  My hands and feet have felt like they are on fire and several days afterwards they felt kind of like when you fall on the pavement in cold weather.  That is a big improvement, instead of a ball of pain at the end of my arm; I can differentiate pain in the individual digits.  My lovely wife did not go in during the first session because she did not want to see needles in me.  She did go in and talk to the therapist the second and third sessions resulting in more needles in some more specific points.  I am among the luckiest men in the world; my wife massages me and pays attention.  She was able to provide specific feedback to the therapist on places that are inflexible.

Today is the day after the third session.  The intensity of the neuropathy seems to be another notch lower.  It is difficult to assess the progress because I have made a conscious effort to ignore the pain as much as possible.  The reprogramming of my brain has had some success.  I can function at a reduced capacity from my pre-cancer activity level but significantly better than immediately following treatment.  I was being pushed around in a wheelchair at one point.  Later I was celebrating being able to walk, then being able to walk around the block.  Now I can jog around the neighborhood.  I can even “run” for a few yards at a time.  At one point I could barely lift my arm.  Later I was able to lift a 2 lb. weight.  Now I am able to perform several repetitions with five pound weights. 

Thanks for the prayers and support. 

July fly-by

            The whole month of July flew by.  My wife, daughter, cousin(s) and aunt had birthdays.  Tina moved back in the house.  I studied for and passed the FAA written test for airline transport pilot.  I visited the doctor(s) and still have a clean bill of health.  I am scheduled to start acupuncture next week.  I hope it can lessen the pain.  I am getting stronger and look forward to aerobatics and teaching motorcycle safety.  Thanks for all the support and prayers.  I hope to blog more in August.

Trip to Louisiana

            We went to Louisiana to visit my mom and daughter.  It was an awesome trip!  We flew in my good friend’s airplane.  My wife tends to get airsick and she did not.  I had to bribe her $100 to fly with me the first time.  After just a short time she said she wanted to return to the airport so we did.  She told me “you go ahead fly some more have fun.”  Later that day the other dudes at the Kadena Aero Club said she was puking in the bushes as soon as I taxied off.  It was a few years later that I was able to convince her to fly again.  We took the kids to another island in the Ryukyu island chain.  She did well on the trip to, but lots of food and a day at the beach took its toll and she was airsick even though we tried Dramamine.  Several years later one of my students was singing the praises of the “relief band” say that he was formerly queasy every flight but was rock solid now.  This device applies electric shock your medial nerve utilizing an acupuncture point.  We took off and made it about twenty miles before she was filling up a Wal-Mart bag again.  I wanted to ask her if she was sure it was working but it was making her arm twitch so I could tell she had it on high.  In one of my few moments of discretion I kept my mouth shut, since I imagine she wanted to dump the bag on my head. 

            During my cancer treatment I was able to experience severe nausea.  This gave me empathy.  I used to have sympathy but since I never felt that way I could not really understand how much my wife loves me to get in an airplane when she knows that she will feel sick.  As a kid I used to fill up milk jugs with water and hold them in my arms as I spun around until I was too dizzy to stand up.  This, of course, was before video games.  I think I broke that part of my brain.  One of my best aerobatic buddies loves to loop and roll all day but is only good for about 30 turns of spinning before he wants to puke.  My wife used a Scopolamine patch, Sea Bands, and Adivan to good effect.  It will be wonderful if she can start enjoying flying. 

            The flight was very educational.  I was able to become familiar with the G1000 avionics suite.  This particular avionics package has synthetic vision with a flight path marker.  This is definitely space age technology.  The presentation of information is amazing.  The primary flight display shows you the path to follow as small boxes, you manipulate the controls to put the green dot in the middle of the boxes and you are on course and glide path.  The terrain is displayed along with weather and traffic.  It is simply amazing how easy it makes instrument flight.  The integrated autopilot has robust capabilities that provide the pilot tools to manage workload.  With over fifty mode dependent buttons and knobs it takes some time to learn how to manipulate the avionics.  With a little over thirteen hours round trip flight time I was able to become comfortable with the system.  I look forward to more glass but I still love putting around in a Cub.  The travel was fun but the real joy was seeing family.

            My mom loves me and I was showered with affection.  She fed us delicious home cooked meals.  We also visited my uncle who whooped up some vittles.  My ethnic background includes Mexican, Southern, Slavic, German, Welsh, Irish, Vampire and puppy so we likes to eat.  Food is love and we like it both spicy and sweet.  My lovely daughter has been visiting the family in Louisiana and you could see the positive effects on her entire persona.  I was able to meet my mother’s fiancé and I am very happy to see he is a God fearing gentleman.  They seem very happy.  I was only able to visit for a short time but I got to see my dear cousins, childhood friend and some of my extended family.  It was beautiful but short.  I look forward to talking my wife into flying again.  I have always wanted to share the joy of flight punctuated with amazing destinations and marvelous people with my best friend.  Thank God for all my blessings.  Thank y’all for the prayers and support.

Getting Stronger

            It has been about eight months since my last treatment.  Praise God I am alive!  Every day is a gift that I try to cherish.  I am working hard to get stronger.  Progress has its fits and starts.  I tend to overexert myself regularly and then have to back off.  Kicking my own butt seems to be a recurring theme.  I have learned to lower my expectations and accept my limitations.  I have stopped chastising myself for laziness.

            Progress can be counted in many ways. When comparing myself to other cancer survivors at the relay for life charity walk I am very blessed.  I do not have noticeable pieces of my body missing; I can walk and talk without assistance.  But I don’t dwell on comparing my performance to others.  It either produces depression because I can not play the piano, dunk basketballs, or juggle very well or arrogance because I can roll my tongue, sing off key very loud and my dog thinks I am the coolest human in the world.  I have a pedometer and my monthly mileage has increased from less than 25 miles a month in October to just over 100 in May.  I can do pushups again; strict form and high repetitions are coming slowly.  I have been able to ride my motorcycle and fly airplanes; wheelies and aerobatics may take awhile. 

            I am grateful for many of the simple pleasures in life.  I can taste food.  I am strong enough to do chores like mowing the lawn.  It is hard to believe how far I have come.  Yesterday was an awesomely cool day. 

I woke up.

            And that’s pretty cool.

            It got a lot better; I had breakfast with my lovely wife.  I took Ben for a walk in the woods after a summer thunderstorm.  That dog teaches me a lot; stop and smell the roses, and the snails, and the trees.  Occasionally urinate on things and kick up dirt.  Love unconditionally, live life like it is your favorite thing.  When you are sleepy, sleep.

Dealing with the pain remains one of the challenges.  I was praying about how I wanted God to take away the pain and I found some Biblical advice.  Paul asked for the thorn in his flesh to be removed and God said “no.”  Later in Romans I see that I am supposed to “rejoice in our suffering.”  Because suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.  The paratrooper translation when he asked God to make the pain go away God said “Nope, suck it up, builds character.”  Thank all of you for your prayers and support.

First lesson part one

            The first lesson sets the tone for the rest of the training.  We cover a lot of information and it often feels overwhelming.  There is nothing hard about flying; there are however two or three hundred really easy things that will kill you if you don’t get them right.  Understanding that concept establishes a need for solid habits that will serve us well.

            Safety first is a good saying but has some connotations that may not be realistic.  An antiseptic airplane in a plastic bubble that never flies is probably the safest, but that is not what planes are for.  Understanding the risks associated with flying and how to manage them is important.  I do not want to scare people away.  I do want them to understand what the risks are and how to manage them so they can fly more than once.  Just about any fool can fly an airplane…once. 

Roaring around in a thirty year old aluminum tube at 100 miles per hour about a half mile off the ground with an engine designed in the 1930s sounds dangerous but probably is not as scary as sharing the road with all the distracted drivers.

            Risk management is the term for weighing the options and taking calculated chances.  The first step in risk management is to identify the hazards.  Running out of gas would be one of the hazards associated with flying.  Step two is to mitigate the risk, if able.  There are lots of ways we could reduce this risk, we could take off with full tanks, we could figure out how much gas we use per hour and, for example, if we had four hours of fuel only fly for three hours.  The next step is to look at the residual risk and determine if the reward is worth it.  Some hazards don’t happen very often but the consequences are horrible.  We should mitigate those.  In flight collisions do not happen very often but they are usually fatal. 

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20051019X01689&key=2

            This brings up a discussion of visually and verbally clearing prior to turning.  I try hard to build the habit of looking for traffic prior to turning.  The phrase “clear left, turning left” or “clear right, turning right” lets me know that they are trying to look.  Later when we put the view limiting device (hood) on the pilot the conversation goes “clear left?”  Which is a question asking me if there are any obstacles, birds, or traffic in the direction we are planning to turn.  My response should be “clear left” before they initiate the turn and say “turning left.”

            Breaking up complex subjects into component parts makes it easier to analyze and digest.  I think of the four risk elements as the pilot, the aircraft, the operation and the environment.  This graphic from the airplane flying handbook illustrates it well.   

 

There are other appropriate methods to divide up risk management elements.  It is not that I don’t care which method a pilot uses, but that they use a method consistently.  One of the challenges of risk management is that a thousand acronyms, complex charts, questionnaires, and spread sheets make it less likely the operator will utilize the tools and simply see it as a paperwork drill.