A pilot is never truly off the clock, whether or not they fly for hire or not. In reality, a pilot's license is a job in and of itself. The duties are maintenance of skills and knowledge and constant learning.
Every other pilot I've had the pleasure of shaking hands with is proud to share their preferred method of reviewing material. An instructor of mine kept flashcards on his person at all times, pulling them out in moments of downtime and waiting. Riding passenger seat or sitting in the waiting room, constantly reviewing. A learning pilot is a good pilot. A phrase I'd be honored to claim as coined. The best pilots are constantly learning the latest information, techniques, and theories in order to become better pilots. I refer again to Captain Sullenberger. In his book he brought up how he would study accident reports, and the experimentation of new techniques. This routine is what brought him to learn water landing techniques and put the airbus safely into the river. Constant learning and improvement is part of the deal of becoming a good pilot. Its a necessity, just as much as working hard is to getting stronger.
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Everyone gets discouraged, its part of being human. Many student pilots get discouraged when they do a maneuver incorrectly. Often times this occurs during a check ride. This often causes the student to be distracted and make errors in subsequent maneuvers.
one of the best ways to overcome this is similar to how one gets over stress on the ground before flight; set it aside, deal with it later. Focus on getting the following maneuvers correctly. Some examiners have given students slack for being able to let stress roll off of them. This does not just apply to just flight however. Screwing up a simulator lesson can rattle confidence and throw a student off their game. A lack of confidence can create the self fulfilling prophecy of failure. The student pilot may unknowingly fail intentionally in order to fulfill their own expectation. |
Photo used under Creative Commons from C. P. Ewing