Comments on: Singling out Young Pilots (and Old)

By: pranesh dey

pranesh dey — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:50:29 +0000

Hi Ben,
So well said, Ben. I’m glad that you shared your views and made all of us richer. Wisdom from the trenches of aviation. Ben, I’m preserving your piece and sharing it with others if you don’t mind. I completely agree with you when you say:
– ‘Aviation provides an excellent opportunity for young people to learn responsibility and judgment’.
– In my experience, young aviators learn to be responsible for themselves and their passengers, as well as those around them, than many other full grown “adults” I deal with outside of aviation.
– reinforced good judgment more so than in other activities of my youth.
This good judgment one learns as an aviator I guess extends to everything else in life: driving, crossing the road, boarding the train, compassion for people around you, love for one’s country (however imperfect it may be), whether to go for an expensive electrical wiring for your home or settle for a simple electrical architecture that is safe and easy to maintain. Great piece Ben. I feel richer after reading it. Thanks

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:17:58 +0000

Bruce, this is an interesting read after just reading another ASF article about how rules of thumb are no examples for using your brain. The “well documented facts” about the maturity of the human brain is just another rule of thumb. I’d be careful in how you apply it!
When I reminisce about being a young pilot, well, I have to admit that I’ve achieved one of my goals: I’ve become an old aviator. As we approach (land and then depart for life beyond) “middle age”, we look back and like to blame the foolishness of youth. It provides comfort and our intuition is that we wouldn’t do the same foolish things again. I’ve seen plenty of evidence to the contrary!
“Know what you don’t know” is the key to success in everything I’ve tried. What we *think* we know is what gets us in real trouble. Experience may lead us to wonder more deeply about what we’re missing, or maybe not. Aviation provides an excellent opportunity for young people to learn responsibility and judgment. We can follow the rule of thumb, like the masses, or we can take advantage of the opportunity. In my experience, young aviators learn to be responsible for themselves and their passengers, as well as those around them, than many other full grown “adults” I deal with outside of aviation. I think that, at least when I was a young aviator, the culture provided the learning opportunity and our peers (including those grey bearded geezers that we have now become) encouraged and reinforced good judgment more so than in other activities of my youth.
Your “well documented facts” should be tempered with real-world experience: attracting young people to aviation is good for them, good for aviation, and good for everyone else: if we continue to provide the environment that encourages and reinforces good judgment, continue to set a good example (the hard part), then we have all won.

By: pranesh dey

pranesh dey — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:20:11 +0000

Agree Bruce. Mistakes on the part of younger pilots stem from ignorance. As you said, ‘young pilots don’t know what they don’t know’. Mistakes on the part of experienced pilots I believe are because of other factors.