Flight Training - June 2022 - 8

ALWAYS LEARNING BY SARAH DEENER
Editor SARAH DEENER is an
instrument-rated commercial pilot
who flies out of Frederick, Maryland.
sarah.deener@aopa.org
control. Time might seem to slow down
or speed up, and the sense of transcendence
lasts through shutdown. The
quotidian worries waiting for her on the
ground-emails, errands, responsibilities
large and small-are oddly surprising.
Are these still here? It's when we lose
ourselves in a transcendent purpose,
Csikszentmihalyi argued, that we are
most satisfied.
This is all a long-winded way of
IN THE ZONE
Why do we fly? Some pilots rhapsodize about the freedom and
romance of soaring with the eagles; others praise the utility of
point-to-point travel. You'll hear about off-road adventures,
lifelong friendships, and personal achievement. But I think
there's something more, something fundamental, that keeps
us coming back to the cockpit: flow.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term for the state of focused
contentment elite athletes, artists, chess masters, and others feel when completely
engaged in a task. It's the experience we often refer to as " in the zone, " when time
melts away, self-consciousness and ego disappear, and we feel a clarity of purpose.
In a state of flow, we're happy not in spite of the challenging activity that consumes
us, but because of it.
The concept is often associated with creative enterprises or sports, but
someone can experience flow working on an assembly line or studying cell
biology. The reward isn't in money or fame, but in the activity itself-and we
experience it as pilots.
A proficient pilot may reach a flow state practicing maneuvers, for instance,
challenging herself to perform with just a little more precision than last time.
Control deflections are smooth and automatic, and the objective is clear. Feedback
comes swiftly: changes in engine sound, shifting G forces, the motion of the
horizon in the windscreen, and the satisfying shudder of the airplane hitting its
own wake turbulence at the end of a steep turn. Worries and distractions recede
and the pilot is thinking only of the task at hand, focused on the things she can
8
FLIGHT TRAINING JUNE 2022
saying what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
expressed so eloquently: " I fly because
it releases my mind from the tyranny of
petty things. "
You don't have to be a world-class
performer to reap the benefits of flow,
but you can't get there by dabbling.
Your skill must match the challenge.
Meet high challenge with low skill,
and you get anxiety. Tackle too small
a challenge and you're bored. On the
feathered edge of just-difficult-enough,
you'll find flow.
If you are overwhelmed by the challenges
of flight training, hang in there.
As one lesson builds on another, the
pieces will start to fit together in your
mind. Your white-knuckle grip will
relax on the yoke and your mind and
muscles will begin to work in tandem.
Soon, maneuvers won't take so much
conscious thought, and you'll lose
yourself in the moment.
And the great thing is, flying grows
with you. As you gain experience, you'll
press on the edges of your comfort
zone, expanding it gradually. If you
become bored with your regular hamburger
run, you can stretch yourself
with a longer trip, a fly-in, a tailwheel
endorsement or instrument rating-the
list goes on. Even revisiting checkride
maneuvers can sharpen your skills and
send you into flow.
Amid busy schedules and always-on
connectivity, uninterrupted focus nourishes
the soul. So, fly for the freedom, for
the adventure. Because it's a great way
to get where you're going, or because it
ties you to friends across the nation. By
all means, fly to achieve a personal goal.
Along the way, you may discover the best
place aviation takes you is out of your
own head. FT
Flight Training - June 2022

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