Flight Training - July 2022 - 5

LETTERS
IN THE ZONE
I FOUND SARAH DEENER'S RECENT
article, " In the Zone " (June 2022 Flight
Training), absolutely outstanding.
I recently returned to flying after a
lengthy hiatus. I took lessons and, muscle
memory being a wonderful thing, I
was able to perform all the basic functions-including
landings-competently.
However, competence is not the same
as mastery, or, as Deener argued in her
excellent piece, a state of " flow. "
When I earned my private pilot certificate
in the mid-1990s, there was no GPS in
small aircraft, no ADS-B, and no miraculous
EFB applications like ForeFlight. In
spite of coming to terms with these things
very fast (I like tech) and having a good
CFI, I was still not feeling " at home " in the
sky. It's very easy to blame the endlessly
complex airspace around Los Angeles, or
the frequently marginal weather off the
coast that makes flying VFR out of Santa
Monica somewhat challenging year-round,
but the truth is this: I was suffering from
imposter syndrome. I knew that, to address
this sense of non-belonging, I needed to get
further " ahead of the airplane. "
I was offered a quarter share in a
lovely, well-tended, IFR-equipped GrumALWAYS
LEARNING BY SARAH DEENER
Editor SARAH DEENER is an
instrument-rated commercial pilot
who fl ies out of Frederick, Maryland.
sarah.deener@aopa.org
man Tiger across the field. One of the
great blessings of the partnership is that
one of the four of us is a CFII who did
unpaid dual with me in the Tiger at least
once a week until I could prove to us both
that I was ahead of the airplane, on top of
its challenges, and competent in the use
of all its equipment. After perhaps three
stressful sessions in which I admit I was a
bit afraid of the airplane, I began to experience
the " zone " state Deener described so
well. I began to be able to fly it for fun.
Barry Isaacson
Los Angeles, California
I'M A NEW PILOT, JUST BEGINNING MY IFR
training. One of my last classes at San
Diego State University circa 1995 was an
elective called " Leisure Studies, " where
I was introduced to Csikszentmihalyi's
work. Everyone has their own reasons for
getting into aviation. Mine include freedom
and the love of traveling independently, but
flow is a welcome, unexpected additional
benefit. The intensity and required focus
are relaxing in their own way. I've also
found this " flow " mountain bike racing,
sailboat racing, and on my motorcycles.
Rick Day
San Diego, California
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 satisfi ed.
This is all a long-winded way of
IN THE ZONE
Why do we fl y? 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: fl ow.
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 fl ow, 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 profi cient pilot may reach a fl ow state practicing maneuvers, for instance,
challenging herself to perform with just a little more precision than last time.
Control defl ections 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 fl y 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, fl y 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, fl y to achieve a personal goal.
Along the way, you may discover the best
place aviation takes you is out of your
own head. FT
I JUST READ " IN THE ZONE. " I HAVE TRIED
to describe the experience I have in the
airplane, especially solo. I have told others
that I am so focused on what is happening
that all other cares, for a time, disappear. I
have described it as really satisfying-even
exhilarating-to bring the airplane into
the pattern, execute the turns, stabilize on
final, and gently settle down on the centerline
and 1,000-foot markers. My pilot
friends get it. Nobody else does.
James Ferrin
Pleasant Grove, Utah
We welcome your comments. Please email
flighttraining@aopa.org. Comments will be
edited for style and space.
FLIGHT TRAINING JULY 2022
5
http://www.aircraftspruce.com
Flight Training - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - July 2022
