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Flight School: Judgment

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Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Pilot judgment is cultivated indirectly through experience, which in turn is gained by consistently applying good decision-making skills rather than being taught as a standalone subject.
  • Flight instructors can foster judgment by sharing real-life pilot stories and mistakes, providing students with tools to enhance their decision-making processes.
  • Students should be given an active role in aeronautical decision-making throughout their training, allowed to assess and correct errors (e.g., go around), and learn from accident reports.
  • Developing strong situational awareness by understanding both the "what" and "why" of actions, and practicing "what if" scenarios, provides crucial information for making sound judgments.
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Harry Kraemer is an ATP, CFI-I, MEI, Master Flight Instructor and president of Kraemer Aviation Services (flymall.org) He says:

“There is an old aviation saying: ‘Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.’ And another that goes: ‘A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid those situations which require the use of superior skill.’ But how do we get that ‘good or superior judgment’? The FAA does not tell flight instructors how to teach judgment. However, FAA manuals do define pilot judgment as the mental process by which pilots recognize, analyze and evaluate information regarding themselves, the aircraft and the external environment. And they go on to say that good pilot judgment can be developed as part of a flight-crew training program.

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