Single-Pilot Safety Standdown focuses on critical skills

AOPA President Mark Baker and Experimental Aircraft Association Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton shared the stage at the tenth annual Single-Pilot Safety Standdown hosted by the National Business Aviation Association in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 15. The event was held just ahead of NBAA’s annual Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition.

The panel was moderated by NBAA Chief Operating Officer Steve Brown. In sharing his many years of flying all types of aircraft on all types of missions in all types of weather, Baker said, “You can always learn. I’ve been flying for 40 years and most of the time single pilot.”

Baker recommended aerobatic lessons to increase stick-and-rudder proficiency and encouraged pilots to “be sincere about the things you haven’t done” when planning flight reviews to work on underdeveloped skills.

Baker encouraged pilots to “focus on the stuff we don’t know.”

He pointed to the many free resources available to pilots, including the industry-leading safety resources made available through the AOPA Air Safety Institute.

Pelton said pilots should never get complacent, and discussed closing the proficiency and personal minimum gap between professional and recreational pilots. “A lot of it gets down to personal decision making,” said Pelton.