Flying Lessons
“Flying is deeply rewarding because it engages you so completely and uses so many aptitudes. But at the core, it is the mastery of the third dimension that changes everything.”
Martha King
If it hasn’t already, it will soon become readily obvious that aviation is my true passion bordering on an obsession. I constantly look up to the skies at the faintest sound of any aircraft, and living directly below the flight paths of three airports – including the world’s busiest – keeps my neck muscles well exercised. It seems to me there are endless analogies between human flight and navigating one’s own trajectory in life, yet two significant flying lessons quickly come to mind, and perhaps more will soon follow.
Albeit somewhat morbid, many pilots constantly read NTSB accident reports with attentiveness to determine what went wrong in a specific incident, and how to apply these lessons directly to personal proficiency. It is a classic example of learning from another’s critical mistakes. We all have noted a tragic but consistent scenario where a pilot flies from clear skies into deteriorating or poor weather conditions, and such decisions are among the top reasons for very bad outcomes. Why do intelligent, detail-oriented people fly blindly into the abyss after years of specific training to do otherwise? Here’s where life intersects: it is so much less stressful to continue on with a given course while maintaining your original flight plan, rather than to replace it with the ambiguity of another plan. Stability trumps the undetermined. “If I just keep going forward, it has to get better.” Not necessarily! A bold, modified course of action could have saved many a pilot, and an altered personal course can protect you from boredom, frustration, anxiety, and the notion there could be much clearer skies if you were to simply not deviate from your current path.
Another example taught to every student pilot candidate who ever occupied a cockpit seat is the concept of a “stabilized approach” when landing. This is obviously important because what goes up must come down. The approach sequence often begins a long way out from the runway but it provides ample time for proper planning, safety, situational awareness, and the precision necessary to place a large piece of floating metal in the middle of a narrow concrete strip. A stabilized approach. Once again, I’d submit this is a terrific methodology for considering your current set of circumstances, your career, your dream, or an early retirement decision that may now leave you feeling unfulfilled. Thoughtful planning in advance is a terrific strategy for achieving precision and emotional stability in the second half of your life.
The quote above is credited to one of the most accomplished flight instructors of our time. While reading her eloquent comment, it seems to confirm in both flying as well as in life, the utilization of your aptitudes – your unique talents and skills – can indeed be so very rewarding. If you find yourself stuck between the two dimensions of time and the conventional, be courageous and discover “that third dimension that changes everything.” Change your course, break out of the fog, steady that approach to something far more rewarding, and pursue what you truly desire to do!
