PREPARING PILOTS FOR REAL LIFE

IN THE GUN-TOTING MIG-INFESTED North, he sharpened his previously demoralised men into formidable fighter pilots, embedding his experience and cunning into their young hands. Robin Olds taught that the key to air superiority was not only regular battle-ground training, but last-minute flexibility, the very ability to change and adapt to any environment and deal with unpredictable enemy tactics.

It was also said that Olds valued all of his people – from the base’s support staff to his airmen. This remains true in our context – the business and human resources side of things keeping the flying work coming in, while creating the opportunities for further training and development.

But what does half-century-old fighter pilot lore have to do with the modern helicopter pilot? To develop from a merely competent pilot into a flexible operator pilot requires an immeasurable amount of input from many spheres. As you may have read before in this column, throughout my helicopter flying career I’ve had the advantage of great mentors and teachers. It’s a crucial enough topic to mention again. So this month I’d like to take you into the operational training environment.

Unlike basic flight training, or ab-initio as it’s known, operational training, also known as line training in airline circles, is never complete. For as long as you remain a pilot, ab-initio should be an ongoing calendar item to keep your skills sharp. Of course, this type of training is invaluable to any pilot, whether commercial or a private license holder. We can and should all learn continuously.

Again, Olds is an excellent role model, who kept reinventing himself throughout his career. Despite his experience as an active pilot during World War II and beyond, he chose to fly as the “new” guy when he first arrived in Vietnam, while learning from those who had been in-country longer than he.

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