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Situational awareness is one of the primary tenets of aviation. It is a skill, and like any skill it can be developed and refined. Young pilots will start out
by yutyut 10y ago
Situational awareness is one of the primary tenets of aviation. It is a skill, and like any skill it can be developed and refined.
Young pilots will start out flying in their own reality, one that is completely non-representative of what is actually occurring outside. Over time the gap between what you perceive is happening and what is actually happening will narrow to the point that you can operate safely on your own.
I write this not to contradict you but to prevent your post from discouraging any would-be pilots from pursuing what can be a very personally rewarding and enriching hobby--or career.
And apologies in advance if there is some sort of diagnosed mental condition or quality at play here but ideally that is something that is picked up by FAA medical examiners before students go out and solo.
- saulrh 10y agoDo FAA medical examiners have a suite of tests for tendency to zone out or hyperfocus? Do they measure how fast those skills are developing to measure the total cumulative risk experienced during the learning period where the situational awareness skill hasn't been learned? I'd be kind of interested in those; I'm pretty sure I'm a lot worse on both of those metrics than most people I know, but don't have a diagnosed attention-related mental condition or any evidence harder than "I nearly killed myself a few times just in the two months I had a learner's permit before deciding that cars weren't a good idea".
- sokoloff 10y agoNo, at least not that are administered in the regular course of getting aviation medical exams. General health (with particular focus on cardiovascular and neurological/consciousness concerns), eyesight, and hearing are the big ones.