Pilotage

Pardon my resurrecting recently deceased political clichés, but "family values" (possibly the least-defined yet most emotional term bandied about in the last presidential election) has me thinking about aviation. Follow me through on this.

I read that someone is trying to inject some specificity into the term by slightly rewording it to "the values of family." This makes sense to me. I can't define family values. However, turn the question around to "What are the values of family?" and I have some opinions. Everyone does — politicians, especially.

At some point I made the mental leap from thinking about the values of family to the values of flying. Every pilot can wax poetic about the views from above; about the eloquence of a dawn flight in opaque, glass-smooth air; and about the majesty of an internally lit thunderstorm towering off your wing. Those are the sensory pleasures — the sights, sounds, smells, and touches of flying. But what, if anything, does flying offer in the way of values, of character-building qualities?

Plenty, I think.

Start with gumption. It takes a lot of it to tackle the challenge of learning to fly — the considerable academics and tricky tests, the mental aerobics of flight instruction, the torturous planning that goes into each instructional cross-country, and the heart-pumping anxiety of an all-or-nothing checkride with the feds. And we willingly pay for this kind of fun? That's gumption.

Perseverance. To weather the inevitable delays, pitfalls, frustrations, and expense of earning a certificate and attempting to use it regularly.

Scholarship. Every flight, every text, every seminar offers new insights and knowledge. We just have to be open to it.

Self-reliance. Cockpit resource management — CRM — is SOP in two-pilot cockpits, but most general aviation aircraft are flown by a one-person crew. There's still lots of ATC help that a lone pilot can take advantage of during a flight, but there's no escaping the reality that all the decisions must be made by one person. You have to rely on you.

Teamwork. Self-reliance can go too far. Even though we may be flying single pilot, we're still part of an extended family — ATC, FBOs, and other pilots. Flying the traffic pattern at a busy uncontrolled airport is an exercise in teamwork. Teamwork keeps things running smoothly and safely. United — and I don't mean the airline — is the only way for us to fly.

Responsibility. To yourself, your passengers, your family, and the aviation community. Every tragic mistake mushrooms, casting a foreboding cloud over the entire group.

Confidence. Flying a 3-degree glideslope in the clouds — at night, down to an altitude of 200 feet above the ground before deciding to miss the approach and go elsewhere — calls for some kind of confidence. Self-doubters need not apply for instrument approaches to minimums.

Humility. Lest confidence ferment into a noxious brew of cockiness and carelessness.

A cool head and a sure hand. If things go wrong, calmness and deliberation have a better chance of seeing you through to a successful outcome than do panic or resignation.

Moderation. It's recommended for all things, but mostly for the indulgences and vices that conflict with the principles of the good aviator.

Humor. If we didn't laugh about the absurdities, we'd cry. Laughing is better for the heart, head, and soul. All pilots derive some amount of pleasure from aviation, or why else would we put up with the expense and the inevitable frustrations? We could all do a lot worse in picking our pleasures. Yes, flying is expensive and maybe even a little self-indulgent, especially if our passion isn't shared by our families. But expensive and indulgent also describe the pursuit of golf or surfing the World Wide Web until the wee hours of the morning.

Think of all the good things flying offers, of the positive reinforcement it provides. Flying rewards discipline, the pursuit of knowledge, good judgment, a responsible attitude, respect for pilot and machine, cooperation, self-reliance, moderation, hard work, precision, flexibility, concentration, vigilance, and spirituality.

My dictionary defines spiritual as "of the spirit or the soul, as distinguished from the body or material matters"; or, "of, from, or concerned with the intellect"; and, finally, "characterized by the ascendancy of the spirit; showing much refinement of thought and feeling." There is no doubt in my mind that flying is a spiritual activity. Certainly there isn't much physical stuff going on, other than a little tug on the yoke here and a slight push on the pedals there. If flying isn't physical, then we pilots must be "concerned with the intellect," and "characterized by the ascendancy of the spirit." No question, we "show much refinement of thought and feeling." (So what if we're the only ones who believe that?)

Have I made my case for connecting the values of family with the values of flying? I think the two have a lot in common. Wouldn't the world be a better place if more people were turned on by demonstrating responsibility, cooperation, intellectual curiosity, and all the other character traits that flying encourages and rewards?