Flight Training - February 2015 - 8

LETTERS

Talk back
WE APPRECIATE YOUR
COMMENTS. Please email letters
to flighttraining@aopa.org. Letters
will be edited for style and space.

FIT TO FLY?

THE NEED TO STAY ALERT

hank you for Pete Bedell's enlightening piece, "Career Pilot:
Fit To Fly?" (December 2014 Flight Training) I am starting to
learn to fly in a Piper Cherokee. So I am really excited to learn
more from an experienced pilot. My original profession is a
pharmacist at a major city hospital. Over the years, I have learned a lot
about being too tired.
It is an exhilarating experience fulfilling a task such as dispensing drugs or
piloting an aircraft. The rush is immensely
rewarding. You realize you are doing
something that only a select few are
trained to do. But there are a few tricks to
learn. When you are tired, you are tired!
You must rest rather than take a risk. I will
ask myself, "Am I tired?" I recognize that I
could easily make a calculation error and
take the life of an innocent patient.
Occasionally, we all suffer from "decision fatigue." This occurs when we have
many choices to choose from and are
stymied. We cannot make a clear decision.
And being under stress causes "burnout."
The "burned-out" individual is run down
and would rather throw in the towel. That
person has no desire to fulfill a task properly and takes shortcuts. It is important to
rest and recharge, especially when doing
something important. Otherwise, what we
love to do is no longer enjoyable. Thank
you for teaching me something and allowing me to share something with you.
Steven Gewirtz
Brooklyn, New York

FLYING CARPET

This letter is written concerning an article
by Greg Brown about Mogollon Air Park,
in Heber, Arizona ("Aviator's Paradise,"
December 2014 Flight Training).
The author made some statements that
never should have been included. I am
referring to his comments concerning the
presentation by a FAAST team member
the day he and his companion visited
Mogollon.
The presentation being given was on
ADS-B, and I have heard this presenter
give this program at other meetings. Explaining something this technical,
and trying to give people as much information as is reasonably possible to make
informed decisions for the coming 2020
deadline, is a Herculean task.
The author complained about the
venue, which was out of the control of the
presenter. The hangar space provided,
at no charge, to the FAAST team had too
much natural light to allow for good viewing of the PowerPoint presentation. This
was a huge disadvantage to the presenter,
and certainly unintentional on everyone's

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF FLYING?
49.2%

Freedom of flight
Mastering the skill

25.4%
23.3%

Going places
Other

The results from poll questions in Aviation eBrief do not necessarily represent the views of pilots, aircraft owners,
or AOPA members and therefore should not be used for research purposes.

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Flight Training - February 2015

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