Proficiency

Without a doubt, human brains are the fastest and most versatile computers in the world. Thats especially true when the humans in question are pilots, but when it comes to repetitive tasks such as monitoring the progress of a flight on instruments, pilots can learn a thing or two watching silicon-based computers operate.

Once a digital computer has been programmed to perform certain operations, it just keeps on cranking through it until told to do something else. It repeats what it does, over and over and over. The same way. Every time. Because of this, computers are ideally suited for repetitive tasks that need to be done consistently, uniformly and flawlessly.

In an effort to lear…

For the average owner/pilot, its not hard to stay knowledgeable about the systems and procedures of the airplane youre flying. You fly not only the same make, model, and year, but the very same airplane every time you fly.

If youre lucky, you have a panel equipped the way you want it, with the avionics you chose, laid out in the pattern you found most convenient. Switches fall easily to hand and, after you learn them once, you know exactly how to operate each piece of equipment. You know how it works, how to make it do what you want, what it can do and what it cant.

Airline pilots are in much the same situation. Even though they dont fly the same airplane, there is much consiste…

[IMGCAP(1)]Day in day out, week after week, in good weather and in poor, pilots are beating the snot out of airplanes, using the runway, edge lights, signs, ditches or anything else that gets in the way of their landings.

Landing accidents account for more than a third of all general aviation accidents. While landing accidents are not as likely to be fatal as other kinds of crashes – only 3 to 4 percent of fatal accidents are caused by poor landings – they are responsible for nearly 500 bent airplanes per year.

General aviation accidents tend to be caused more often by pilot error than by mechanical problems, and those pilot errors can be separated into two categories: judgment error…