AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2017 - 100

P&E

PROFICIENCY

Rehearse emergency
scenarios on a regular
basis. Going after the
things that scare you
the most is where you
will find your personal
pay dirt.

APPLY NOW FOR
AOPA'S FLEXIBLE
AVIATION LOAN
DO YOU WANT QUICK & EASY?
Fill out a quick online application and be approved
in one business day.

DO YOU WANT AFFORDABLE?
A $10,000 flight training loan with monthly
payments as low as $169 a month. AOPA Member
rates range from 7.74%-12.99% with terms up to
84 months.

solution. Eddie Gould at General Aviation
Support Egypt provided route guidance, permits, fuel information, lodging,
weather, and mechanical support for the
entire journey.
All pilots need a team. Don't be afraid
to call on mechanics, local pilot groups, and
AOPA wherever you land. Their collective
wisdom and support will guide you, keep
you safe, and allow you to live your impossibly big dreams. Start building your team
and engaging them the day you start dreaming of your trip. Every person counts.
5. TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING

DO YOU WANT FLEXIBILITY?
You can borrow as little as you need or as much as
$100,000.

DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR
AIRPLANE?
AOPA's Flexible Aviation Loan can also be used to
pay for your annual, an engine overhaul, a new
paint job, an updated panel, an interior
refurbishment, hangar
repairs or other aviation expenses.

Go to

aopa.org/financemytraining
to apply today.

AOPA's Flexible Aviation Loan can be put
to work right now to get you on your way as
a better trained, more proficient pilot.

Fear may be tipping you off to the fact that
you have some work to do on yourself.
Proper training ultimately comes down
to our ability to handle any situation we
are presented. For me, the test came with
the loss of engine oil and an overspeeding
propeller at 14,000 feet over the Strait of
Malacca, where I glided 19.6 nautical miles
into Kuala Lumpur International 10 percent over max gross while spraying hot oil
on the 1,500-degree exhaust.
As a general aviation pilot working hard
to build your skills, confidence is key. Life
will test you, and you are better off practicing with your flight instructor, who can
keep you at the top of your game. Rehearse
emergency depressurization, engine out,
ditching, smoke in the cabin, and electrical
failure on a regular basis. Going after the
things that scare you the most is where you
will find your personal pay dirt.
6. SILENCE YOUR MIND

Once I had engine problems in Asia the
voices in my head started screaming at me
before every flight-things like, "You can't
100 | AOPA PILOT October 2017

do this." "You aren't a good pilot." "Your
family is right. You are going to die."
I used the words "Cancel, cancel" to
quiet them and reminded myself of what I
learned in my spiritual psychology training
about acknowledging the fear, focusing on
the times I broke through fear in the past
and persevered, and how great I was going
to feel when I had successfully returned. As
author Don Miguel Ruiz says, "If you are
going to tell yourself a story, you might as
well make it a good one."
7. GO DEEPER INTO THE FEAR

What if fear is actually a friend with an
important message from our bodies? What
if we noticed where the fear was located
in our bodies and asked it what it was trying to tell us?
On my trip, I noticed I held fear in my
stomach. I learned a simple four-step process to dissolve the fear: 1. Acknowledge the
feeling. Sometimes just putting my hand on
my abdomen was all I needed to do to get
the message. 2. Focus on what the fear is
trying to tell me and note the action it wants
me to take. 3. Let the feeling go with a deep
breath. 4. Refocus and get back to the task
at hand. Give this process a try the next
time you start feeling fear, and watch how
quickly the fear will dissipate.
The challenge is that fear keeps showing up-and it gets more intense-until we
learn life's intended lesson. Think of it like
a parent trying to patiently teach a child
something important; the parent doesn't
give up. Neither does life. Neither should
we. Because, once we get the lesson, we
can remove the biggest rock of all from
our flight bag and enjoy what was always
intended for us: the gift of flight.
AOPA
ROBERT DELAURENTIS is an author, speaker,

real estate entrepreneur, pilot, philanthropist, and Navy Gulf War veteran. He is the
author of Flying Thru Life and Zen Pilot
(www.FlyingThruLife.com).

Robert DeLaurentis will be among the
presenters of "Pilot Plus One," a Friday workshop offered as a part of the expanded twoday format of 2017 AOPA Fly-Ins (see "Extend
Your Summer," page 55).

http://aopa.org/financemytraining http://www.flyingthrulife.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2017