Making The Grade

Self-evaluation can be an important component of a pilots ongoing training and currency efforts. If we dont know how well we did on a given flight, how will we know what to practice on the next one? How will we know how well well shoot an ILS when it counts if we cant manage one in severe clear on a nice day? Presuming you, like me, always want to fly with the fewest mistakes, some kind of self-evaluation is both necessary and appropriate. How you go about it is key.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Monday, January 30, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Self-evaluation is crucial for pilots to continually identify areas for improvement and maintain proficiency in their flying skills.
Effective self-assessment involves setting clear pre-flight objectives and honestly measuring performance against established standards, such as those from practical tests, covering both tangible flying skills and operational communication.
Pilots should strive to meet or exceed these standards through manual flying, not relying on automation, as continuous improvement is the ultimate goal.

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Self-evaluation can be an important component of a pilot’s ongoing training and currency efforts. If we don’t know how well we did on a given flight, how will we know what to practice on the next one? How will we know how well we’ll shoot an ILS when it counts if we can’t manage one in severe clear on a nice day? Presuming you, like me, always want to fly with the fewest mistakes, some kind of self-evaluation is both necessary and appropriate. How you go about it is key.