Relax Damn!t!!!!

[A4sForever]

To all studs or wings. (or old guys?)

1. My problem is not knowledge
2. or even the finer points of flying the t-34

3. my problem is BAW and SA
4. due to being tense in the cockpit.

Soooooooooo .... now you have a confidence problem.

I've been a STUD and I've instructed hundreds of STUDs. I've done below average and I've done really, really well.

#'s 1 and 2 (above) will not help much unless you address #'s 3 and 4.

Questions: Are you "good enough" to satisfactorily complete the program?? Have you done well prior?? Are you "afraid" of getting a few bad grades ?? Is this just a slump you're in at present ??? Or has this been your trend since the first time you strapped on the aircraft ???

You've established that you have the "grey matter" to do well --- but are you convinced that you can handle the aircraft ??? You know: motor skills, headwork, being able to take in ALL of your learning, study, and translate it into the cockpit environment --- while not being able to take an aviation "time out" prior to thinking and functioning during a syllabus hop.

There's a bunch of guys a lot smarter than me that didn't get their Wings. They could whip up on academics, but it didn't translate into a smoothly performing STUD in the cockpit. You CAN learn to fly by rote --- I've had STUDs that did it and they still got Fleet Seats ... but they weren't as good as they COULD have been if they had learned to develop some confidence in their ability to see/hear/think/fly/ and chew gun at the same time ... sorry I can't help you more in a "hands-on" fashion ... but that is usually the cause of the effect you've described.

You don't have to be the Ace-of-the-Base to become a satisfactory Naval Aviator. But you do have to believe that YOU can accomplish the mission. Which, in your case, is learning to fly, the Navy way ... if you can; this rough time will pass. If you can't get a grip on your performance at present, you need to re-evaluate your approach to flying. Never give up; never quit on yourself; never say die.

Confidence in yourself will serve you well ... best of luck to you.

 

[pdx]

Yeah, no kidding, that's why he did it. Do you think you're going to be happy if your engine quits in midair?

Based on your post, you wouldn't last 2 seconds with some of the instructors I've flown with.

Staying cool in the cockpit (especially under pressure) is a skill that you have to learn at some point. But I wouldn't necessarily agree with the last. It sounds like your sources of stress are internal, not instructor based. Once you really learn to be comfortable with your self, it is a lot easier to take whatever the instructors are dishing out.

Call it Zen, or whatever, but you are going to have to find something that works for you. My advice is to just let it come, especially if you are still in the beginning of the program. I know you want to do something proactive, but realize there is a self-fulfilling prophecy happening here. Searching for a way to combat stress is just one more thing that you have to worry about. Taking a more passive attitude (about certain things ONLY) can be good sometimes. In the cockpit, don't think about all of the things you have to do or be aware of, just take care of your immediate needs. Your instructor might be able to keep track of every plane in the pattern, monitor the radios, keep a good scan, critique you, and still fly the pattern. You can't. Just accept it. Once you learn to fly the pattern well, your SA picture will naturally start growing.

On the ground, it is a different story. You can be VERY proactive about studying your procedures. Maybe your buddies are content with just reading the procedures over a few times, and it works for them. You should spend the extra time to drill the procedures into your head. Make them automatic. You don't think about how you tie your shoes, you just do it. So it has to be with reciting your procedures. That way, in the air you will not feel the stress of groping for the procedure.

I bet that most of us had felt that sinking feeling at least once. Your instructor gives you an EP, and you just draw a blank. If you take a few breaths and stay calm, it comes back. If you try to force it, it erupts into a full blown helmet fire.

PS. Thull, go start a thread with Bill. You guys can give each other advice.

 

[Brett327]

Staying cool in the cockpit (especially under pressure) is a skill that you have to learn at some point.

Portland has got a point here - in a big way. Being in the air, sometimes at the mercy of an ornery jet/helo/prop, is the nature of the beast, so being able to roll with the punches which that A/C brings forth is what it's all about. "Fairness" is not in the vernacular of the Naval Aviator, nor is he apt to complain when his machine decides to assume a configuration for which he was not prepared. The Aviator gets it done and brings her home, or dies trying.

Brett

 

[BigIron]

As said by an O-4: "you gotta chew gum when you fly"

"good flying starts with fresh breath"

 

[nittany03]

pdx, very good points. My last comment was in relation to thull who seemed to be trying to justify "kinder, gentler flight school . . ."

 

[Brett327]

"good flying starts with fresh breath"

That is hilarious.

Brett

 

[pdx]

pdx, very good points. My last comment was in relation to thull who seemed to be trying to justify "kinder, gentler flight school . . ."

Yeah, upon re-reading, I realized your post was in ref to thull, not Whalebite. Critical reading is one of those skills I have, but seldom exercise on Airwarriors.

 

[Whalebite]

All yee studs wings, (old guys with xx000 hours) and scoober thanks for the advise.
Im in PA's. This issue is definitely difficult for me, and I am working on it. There is definitely no silver bullet, although i think solo is a great tool to let me work on my own technique. I was completely relaxed on my solo and it went great.
My difficulty gets compounded flight after flight as instructors have their different conflicting techniques, that I have to meld together. Sometimes I think that my prevous flights taint the current one and the flight becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
I shall push forward and keep working.

 

[FlyingBeagle]

Whalebite,
I was in your same situation. It really got bad during RIs because selection was so close and I was stressing about it. I remember one sim where I was sucking, and all I could think of was how I was tanking my grades. A lot of people may disagree with me on this, but sometimes it helps to not care.

Do the best you can, and hold your head high. Think of the worst possible outcome, and find the bright side. Realize that if you attrite, you might actually be a happier person, and that being a bad pilot doesn't make you a bad man. Once you can do that, and you know that you can fail, move on, say you did your best, and still live a good and haappy life, you won't stress as much. Once you put things in perspective and relax, you'll be a happier person, enjoy life and flying more, and you'll probably become a much better pilot with much better grades.
Good luck, and feel free to PM me about it

 

[zippy]

Whalebite,
A lot of people may disagree with me on this, but sometimes it helps to not care.

I totally agree with this statement... I did a good bit better in advanced then I did in primary- I think a lot of it had to do with that the stress was pretty much off for me. I just didn't care about my grades and tried to have fun with things- as long as the grade sheets were white at the end of the day I was happy.

 

[BurghGuy]

Good thoughts in your post FlyingBeagle. I'm approaching my solo checkride in the next few flights, and needless to say, I've added alot of stress to myself too. It happens to everyone I suspect.

A lot of people may disagree with me on this, but sometimes it helps to not care.

I don't know too many who would completely disagree with that statement. Don't overstress yourself about grades much unless you fear you might fail out. It just adds more stress to stress you already have. It's pretty sound advice.

 

[TheBubba]

Not a SNA, but can relate none-the-less as a SNFO. I tend to stress out a little and put more pressure on myself when flying with a specific IP. Not that he's a hardass or anything (he's really not). Its just that he's seen my performance at its utter best, and I think I have to be perfect in the plane. Needless to say, I've turned a couple not-so-good (but passed) flights with him.

Then the next day, I'll get in the plane with a different IP, less stressed and do the exact same thing, but do it better and turn a better flight.

The key is to relax and let things flow. If you start the helmet fire, take a deep breath, call it a new day and start over.

That and form habit patterns. Making certain things habit can help the flight go much smoother.

Cheers,
Bubba

 

[Gatordev]

Whalebite,
A lot of people may disagree with me on this, but sometimes it helps to not care.

Wow, this sounds vaguely familiar. Someone should have mentioned this a long time ago. Oh, wait, they did! Good advice, Beagle.

@Whalebite:

If you're getting stressed w/ an IP but not by yourself, and you're getting overloaded w/ technique, it sounds like you definitely need to let go a little bit and fall back to the solid gold standard: the FTI.

Generally, technique is used to help better execute something you may not have the finesse for yet, or it's some shortcuts that don't go against the standard, but aren't guaranteed to help you, specifically. Not sure how to help you other than to say, "Relax, dammit!" Probably not that helpful.

 

[pdx]

If you're getting stressed w/ an IP but not by yourself, and you're getting overloaded w/ technique, it sounds like you definitely need to let go a little bit and fall back to the solid gold standard: the FTI.

Generally, technique is used to help better execute something you may not have the finesse for yet, or it's some shortcuts that don't go against the standard, but aren't guaranteed to help you, specifically.

Right on. I never had an instructor hold me accountable for any particular technique, even if it was a widespread one. I found that if I did a maneuver safely and correctly per the FTI, I didn't get many technique comments. If I gooned it up, however, the IPs always tried to show me their particular way of doing it right. By "doing it right," I mean meeting the CTS for that maneuver.

It makes sense. Lets say you are flying within your BAW parameters. I (as a hypothetical IP) wouldn't care what particular scan you were using. If, however, you were having trouble, I would jump in with my technique for getting it done.

Take the techniques as advice, but hold yourself to the FTI.

 

[thull]

Whalebite,
.. A lot of people may disagree with me on this, but sometimes it helps to not care.

Agree sounds like good advice.. familiar also..

Troy