The Transactional Pilot

The advent of the direct to GPS button, which allows us to fly a straight line between two points, was instant gratification for efficiency-loving pilots, especially since IFR flights no longer needed to fly inefficient tinker-toy flight paths connecting VORs as long as ATC cooperated. But instant gratification also came with instant risk tradeoffs. The biggest of them is not obvious until you look beneath the magenta flight path where there might not be many, or any, airports.

Editorial Staff

Sunday, March 17, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Of all the hazardous attitudes displayed by pilots, one rarely written about is our drive to be efficient. Despite how much we love flying, we are always looking for efficiencies to exploit and make the best use of our time and resources. I think it’s also true that aviators often are strongly driven individuals, perhaps more so than non-aviators. It takes drive to become a pilot and an excess of drive to earn multiple ratings.

The drive to be efficient manifests itself in a variety of ways, some no doubt familiar, but it is clear that it is an attitude that must be tempered and offset by conscious risk management. Understanding the areas where we may be trading risk for efficiency will make us better and safer pilots.