Life is Short, Fly SLOWLY (and Enjoy)!

As pilots, we are truly blessed to see the world from above and control this process artfully. Less than 1% of the US population will ever know this joy (pilots are rare). Unfortunately, we often get numb to this privilege, and  seldom appreciate our flying with full awareness. As a tonic, I recommend (again) this wonderful book by Michael Maya Charles “Artful Flying” (SAFE members get a discount and Michael will sign a copy for you!) I also encourage you to read this article just published in GA News: (again, SAFE members get a free issue of this publication).

Flying is fun because you see it, feel it, and hear it while you are doing it — it’s all very sensual. The eyes see, the ears hear, and you feel the movement in the seat of your pants. Your hands feel the stick or yoke, the throttle, and other controls.

Whenever possible, I fly low and slow. I relish looking at the farmers’ fields with their neatly squared off patches of color.

Lastly, I encourage gratitude for those who taught each of us to fly. Artful flying is a lifelong apprenticeship and we learn lessons every day if we keep our eyes and ears open; there are teachers everywhere. I personally have been blessed (again) with some of the most amazing educators and mentors. As I scan the rolls of our 3K SAFE members – our group is amazing. (I will be posting some of the websites on our home page soon.) We are currently reformating our Mentor Program to be more interactive and I encourage you to get involved (at any level) since sharing knowledge is the essence of SAFE. If you are part of this program already, stand-by for new ideas…

And SAFE members please sign-up for an invite to our Annual SAFE Meeting on Tuesday at 8PM EDT on Zoom. Fly safely (and often) and appreciate it fully – we are all blessed.

Author: David St. George

SAFE Director, Master CFI (12X), FAA DPE, ATP (ME/SE) Currently jet charter captain. View all posts by David St. George