Not long ago, I was kibitzing with Mike, my longtime friend and hangar-flying buddy. Aviation was, of course, the topic of choice. I
was in the midst of a compelling (or so I thought) “there-I-was” story in which I referred to a colleague as a “good” pilot. Mike stopped me with a deceptively simple question: “Paul, what does it mean when you call someone a ‘good’ pilot? What makes a pilot ‘good’?”
I had to stop and think about that one. As I rapidly replayed some recent conversations in my head, I realized it was common to hear things like, “He’s a good pilot, but he’s weak on procedures.” Or, “He’s a good pilot, but he lets the plane get ahead of him.” What were they thinking?
