Insights

Subtle benefits will occur

Congratulations, you earned your private pilot certificate. It's the world's best bargain, because you can now escape your Earthbound environment and enjoy the beauty of looking down rather than up. However, you should consider this question: Will you maintain those skills--or, better yet, will you try to improve them?

The old adage of "practice makes perfect" is true, but in reality, improvement does not always occur with continual practice. It takes additional insights that can only occur by accepting new challenges. Many opportunities exist, and while some may be things you'll never use, the advancement will be worthwhile.

This situation is analogous to an example I use when explaining instructor-student communications. The instructor makes a statement to his student who says, "I understand." The instructor states it again using another viewpoint, and the student again says, "I understand." On the instructor's next attempt, using a third viewpoint, the student smiles and says, "Oh, I get it." Aviation advancement will generate the third example, where the student finally understood what was said and the concept.

The following examples are those that I undertook early in my aviation career. Other opportunities exist, but I can only relate my own experiences.

Check out in a high-performance airplane. During private pilot training, I transitioned from a 65-horsepower Aeronca 7AC to a 108-hp Piper Tri-Pacer for cross-country training. That was a big change, but the airplane I had my eyes on was a high-performance, 250-hp Piper Comanche. After earning my private pilot certificate, I scrimped for six months in order to check out in that airplane, which I could never afford to fly on a regular basis. The learning experience was awesome, and my flying skills did improve.

Acquire an instrument rating. That's equivalent to a shotgun blast when it comes to skill advancement. If you have no desire to get the rating, take the first stage of instrument instruction that deals with instrument scan, instrument interpretation, and aircraft control. You'll be happy you did.

Acquire a commercial pilot certificate, but be careful. If your instructor uses visual references, not instrument references, to teach the advanced maneuvers --steep spirals, chandelles, and lazy eights--the benefit is spectacular. You will quickly learn to recognize and manage pitch, roll, and yaw deviations in a manner that is impossible with instrument reference.

Here are three indisputable facts: The attitude indicator tells you what the airplane is doing with respect to attitude; the other five flight instruments tell you what the airplane has done, and what you see out the window tells you what the airplane is going to do. Pilots who have not been exposed to that knowledge have missed a golden opportunity for piloting excellence.

Master the commercial maneuvers properly, and you'll think your shoulder blades are attached to the airplane's wing spars. You become part of the airplane with enhanced self-confidence and skill. In fact, that is the prerequisite for aerobatic flying, another endeavor that will provide you with additional insights.

Acquire a multiengine rating. Multiengine flying always has been and always will be an enjoyable step forward. It enhances your ability to anticipate and deal with a variety of critical situations. Your skill level will improve, but the biggest enhancement will be your mental perspective for flying airplanes.

Acquire a glider rating. If you can fly an airplane, you can certainly fly a glider, but don't be braggadocio at that school. Considerable knowledge is required in order to master the art of soaring. The biggest benefit, other than the sheer beauty of soaring, is leaning what I call micro-meteorology. You'll never understand the movement of air near the Earth's surface until you learn to soar, knowledge that will obviously enhance your airplane flying skills.

Acquire a helicopter rating or learn to solo one. Helicopter flying demands precise attitude and power control. If the nose rises or drops a quarter inch, you are probably overcontrolling. Airplane pilots receive a big bonus when they develop this high level of attitude awareness.

Go ahead! Enhance your airplane flying skills and your knowledge. Fly something that's different. You will automatically break through the proficiency stagnation barrier that is so common. AOPA Flight Training magazine is not kidding when it states, "A good pilot is always learning."

Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying since 1959 and has 25,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.