We all need a full dose of confidence to fly sophisticated aircraft in challenging conditions. There is, however, a very fine, but critical line, between confidence and hubris. Risk management is all about saying “no” to a plan or situation where hope or overconfidence would keep us moving forward – caught in the “mission mentality.” … Continue reading “The Confidence Trap: Hubris!”
Most people think “learning from experience” is easy, or natural, but neither is true in a high-consequence environment. It takes serious effort and a disciplined awareness to learn well when safety is a critical concern. Some “successes” may be accepted as valuable – but only after careful analysis. Many other “successes” should be rejected as … Continue reading “Learning Well is an Acquired Skill!”
The burning question in aviation safety is why pilots who know the “right thing” choose to ignore conventional wisdom (SOPs) and operate recklessly. Frequently, pilots involved in accidents are simply contrarians who think they know better than everyone else or can somehow defy the laws of physics. Adding overconfidence and a “hurry up” attitude to … Continue reading ““Scary Pilots” Determine *Your* Insurance!”
The Dunning-Kruger Effect is often misunderstood to apply exclusively to low intelligence; “too dumb to know you are dumb.” But Dunning-Kruger applies across the spectrum of human intelligence and actually describes a lack of self-awareness or metacognition that blinds individuals at every level to their real abilities. Very simply, we are unaware of our incompetence … Continue reading “Teaching “Accomplished Professionals””
It may be politically incorrect to state this so publically, but we all know that in our daily aviation world there are some people that endanger all of our lives with their unwise actions. Sometimes “stupid” is a one-off move (guilty as charged) that can be fixed. In other cases, “stupid” seems to be an … Continue reading “Ideas to “Cure Stupid!?””
To be an effective educator, it is essential to honestly and accurately assess every learner in terms of capabilities and potentialities, starting with the very first meeting. Each new and unique learner is a potential project embodying the burning question: “are we, working in partnership, going to be able to successfully get this “pilot project” … Continue reading “Super-Learner: Head, Hands, and Heart”
More than 100 people die every day on the US roads in their automobiles. An active co-conspirator in this carnage is the fact that 90% of drivers believe they are “better than average.” As a species humans are notoriously overconfident! And the Dunning-Kruger Effect (a well documented psychological phenomenon) shows that the least skilled are … Continue reading “Calibrating Confidence”
This is one in a series of posts by special guest authors about SAFE’s new CFI-PROficiency Initiative™ (aka SAFE CFI-PRO™). The goal of the initiative is to make good aviation educators great! Rich Stowell authored many articles in the early 2000s on “The Problem with Flight Instruction” that helped precipitate the SAFE Pilot Training Reform … Continue reading “SAFE CFI-PRO™: Scenarios, Maneuvers, or Both?”
We do not fly in combat but these are great ideas for every pilot!
…please share your years of accumulated wisdom and help young CFIs. Pay it forward! From a recent FaceBook post by a VFR-only Cirrus pilot: “First time in 800+ hrs I’ve had to scrub a VFR flight because of weather. The field quickly went marginal to IFR in minutes while I taxied out and did the … Continue reading “SAFE CFI Mentoring Reborn: Share Your Wisdom!”
