I have a permanent note file on my phone that I use to jot down
anything I have to ask Bob as I think of it. But I ask far more questions than
I ever bombard Bob with. I have a whole host of people on the other end of an
email whom I constantly pump for information.
It got me thinking that no pilot I’ve ever come across has ever
refused to answer a question, has never even considered doing anything other
than taking the time to reply to my onslaught of questions. People don’t bat an
eyelid when a simple “check out my cool new video” email elicits a whole slew of
questions from me.
I’ve done the same myself, a random internet person asked me for
advice about flying into CYTZ. As a mere student I wasn’t sure how much I could
assist but I was able to give them some tips about the local airspace and
dealing with ATC.
No matter how big or macho the egos involved, no one will ever let
a fellow pilot struggle on unassisted. It seems to be an unwritten pilot code;
you will answer questions posed by another pilot. As an example, a simple
comment that JES seemed to be struggling to climb in a recent video, led to the
pilot sharing his weight and balance calculations with me.
I’m infinitely grateful to this infinite wealth of information at
my disposal. The more cynical amongst you might wonder how I know that I can
rely on this advice; after all I’ve never met these people. They could be
telling me anything.
True, but every single person who has ever tried to offer me
assistance or has passed on any useful advice has ALWAYS prefaced it with this
caveat…
“… ask your instructor first”
No comments:
Post a Comment