Learning About Life From Flying

There are a few things that can be learned about life from flying.

One is that when you are in a bad situation, it is not very productive to spend time moaning about how you got into the situation. You'd best think about how you are going to get out of it.

When things are in the process of going to shit, denial had better only be an Egyptian river. Denial is not a tactic and hope is not a plan. It's better to recognize that things are going bad and always have an alternate course of action in mind.

Another is that after the dust settles, there is a big difference between playing the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" game and "what can I learn from this." Recriminations are pointless, but learning the lessons are not. Yet if one is going to learn the lessons, the first step is being honest with one's self about what went wrong and one's role in it. Which may mean that you have to step up and fess up. "I fucked up" may be hard words to say, but often they are necessary if you're going to deal with the aftermath.

"Pilot in Command" is not just a column heading in the logbook; regardless of what happened or who caused it, once the airplane leaves the tiedown, the problem is yours to fix. If you're lucky and/or skilled, at the end of the flight, the airplane is usable. The minimum acceptable outcome is nobody dies.

And the big lesson is this: The Universe is uncaring. You have only your skills, the tools at hand, your brains and your composure to get out of any jam. Screaming at the Universe will solve nothing and panic will kill you.