Arriving safely to Grandma’s house
Are you prepared to change your holiday plans?
Answer: The unabated truth is that change is a constant. In other words, change is an ever-present variable in the art of flying as it is in the business of life.
A philosopher by the name of Heraclitus many centuries ago wrote: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and he’s not the same man.” Substitute the sky for the river, and you’ll see where this is going.
The holidays simultaneously evoke joy and panic, no matter our degree of participation. For many of us, this mindset becomes our baseline from mid-November to the first of the year. Add to that the focus and readiness required of a pilot planning and flying home in their beloved airborne sedan, and that baseline holiday pressure is amplified manyfold. Change-averse pilots are bound to get tripped up if they resist the wisdom of flexibility.
Learn to avoid common missteps. Be present. Be adaptable. Proper preflight prep means maintaining an awareness of the variables that will affect your plans. Consider factors that will affect your aircraft, like maintenance, as well as weight and balance; or yourself, like stress, fatigue, and medications; or your route, like weather, traffic, and flight restrictions.
No one loves change. But if your VFR flight stumbles into instrument conditions, concede the shifting conditions, lean into them, and respond as if your life depends on it, because it does. Complacency is lethal.
Similarly, admit when circumstances, be they physical or aeronautical, fall outside your personal minimums and make a go/no-go judgment based on those minimums, not on your plan.
That means practicing proactive planning; it is more than mitigating risks. It is envisioning a future and quickly adapting to that outcome. Do you want to arrive safely at Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving Day? Don’t plan for conditions that resemble your previous flights, be attentive to how this trip will be different from the last—winter weather, added weight from gift giving and receiving, time pressures, fatigue, and peripheral stress.
Change is the only constant, Heraclitus wrote. Fly confidently home for the holidays knowing your adventure will bring unique challenges. Plan accordingly.
airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/dotherightthing
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