If you ever feel rushed while flying, take a deep breath, gather your thoughts and return to the task at hand — and whatever it was you were doing, do it more slowly. After all, very few things in aviation need to be done in a hurry. Rushing will only cause you to make mistakes. And mistakes increase risk.
Your unhurried approach to flying, in fact, should begin before you ever get to the airport. When I was taking flying lessons I remember a student who would show up on the flight line, rush through his pre-flight and post-flight, and be back in his car on his way who knows where before the rest of us could blink. He was a terrible pilot, and he washed out of flight school before he ever took his private pilot checkride.
I think one of the mistakes this aspiring aviator made was in not realizing that the business of flying isn’t all about the time we spend in the pilot’s seat. Around half the time and effort we put into any given flight, in fact, should be devoted to other activities, such as pre-flight planning, checking weather, and reviewing anything that’s pertinent to the safe outcome of a given trip.
We’re so used to viewing our airplanes as a way to save time that we sometimes forget that the safe planning and execution of a flight means investing some of our time performing other, related duties. Don’t be in such a rush to get in the cockpit and get going.
The same is true while we’re in the air acting as pilot in command. With the exception of takeoff and landing and a few busy times during climbout and while setting up for the approach there’s usually plenty of time to accomplish flight-related tasks in a thoughtful and deliberate manner.
It might sometimes be counter-intuitive to tell your inner-type-A self to relax and slow down, but that’s exactly the attitude you should be fostering as a safe and competent pilot.
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