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In the zone

I found Sarah Deener’s recent article, “In the Zone” (June 2022 Flight Training), absolutely outstanding.

I recently returned to flying after a lengthy hiatus. I took lessons and, muscle memory being a wonderful thing, I was able to perform all the basic functions—including landings—competently. However, competence is not the same as mastery, or, as Deener argued in her excellent piece, a state of “flow.”

When I earned my private pilot certificate in the mid-1990s, there was no GPS in small aircraft, no ADS-B, and no miraculous EFB applications like ForeFlight. In spite of coming to terms with these things very fast (I like tech) and having a good CFI, I was still not feeling “at home” in the sky. It’s very easy to blame the endlessly complex airspace around Los Angeles, or the frequently marginal weather off the coast that makes flying VFR out of Santa Monica somewhat challenging year-round, but the truth is this: I was suffering from imposter syndrome. I knew that, to address this sense of non-belonging, I needed to get further “ahead of the airplane.”

I was offered a quarter share in a lovely, well-tended, IFR-equipped Grumman Tiger across the field. One of the great blessings of the partnership is that one of the four of us is a CFII who did unpaid dual with me in the Tiger at least once a week until I could prove to us both that I was ahead of the airplane, on top of its challenges, and competent in the use of all its equipment. After perhaps three stressful sessions in which I admit I was a bit afraid of the airplane, I began to experience the “zone” state Deener described so well. I began to be able to fly it for fun.

Barry Isaacson
Los Angeles, California

I’m a new pilot, just beginning my IFR training. One of my last classes at San Diego State University circa 1995 was an elective called “Leisure Studies,” where I was introduced to Csikszentmihalyi’s work. Everyone has their own reasons for getting into aviation. Mine include freedom and the love of traveling independently, but flow is a welcome, unexpected additional benefit. The intensity and required focus are relaxing in their own way. I’ve also found this “flow” mountain bike racing, sailboat racing, and on my motorcycles.

Rick Day
San Diego, California

I just read “In the Zone.” I have tried to describe the experience I have in the airplane, especially solo. I have told others that I am so focused on what is happening that all other cares, for a time, disappear. I have described it as really satisfying—even exhilarating—to bring the airplane into the pattern, execute the turns, stabilize on final, and gently settle down on the centerline and 1,000-foot markers. My pilot friends get it. Nobody else does.

James Ferrin
Pleasant Grove, Utah

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