I Learned That the Hard Way

It's always better to learn from someone else's mistakes, right? But sometimes we get to learn (and teach others) from our own mishaps, missteps, miscalculations, and misfortune. It's usually not fun, and as pilots we tend to conceal our faults and shortcomings and promote our strengths as much as possible—especially in front of our fellow pilots. Not only is our pride on the line, but for some pilots their livelihood is at stake as well.

I have noticed that there is a trend toward openness and transparency among pilots, and in general I think that's a good thing. In that spirit, I've decided to write a series of blog posts about some things that I've learned the hard way in my short career as a pilot. This will be a series of posts, and I have a preliminary list of topics in mind. I can't promise that the list won't change, but here are some of my ideas:

1. My Story—AKA "A Fateful Day in February"
2. It's Never Wrong to Go Around—Except when it Is
3. Lenny the Loser—AKA "Accidents Only Happen to Bad Pilots" or "The Worst FAA Training I've Seen"
4. What Does That Number Really Mean?—Understanding Automated Wind Reports
5. Success Chains Can Be Broken Too

I hope to make this series as interesting and helpful as possible, and I hope you'll continue to follow along! Look for the next blog post in a few days!