Things go wrong - sometimes in ways that look like you are incompetent.

I had my airbrake over centre adjusted wrong at an annual inspection.
First tow there was much excitement and rudder waggling. Every time I
locked the lever back, every time they popped open 20 seconds later.
Eventually just wedged them and flew, the aerotow was slower to climb
because I could not hold the brakes entire ly closed with my thigh - but
at least I was not having 20foot excursions the whole time.

Lots of comments when I landed.

Geometry checked and overcentre load adjusted correctly. Suddenly pilot
competence increased substantially...

So - yes we try to make things safe because things can go wrong. There
is a fine line before sanitising to the point of pilots becoming dangerous.

Unfortunately some folk just can't ever get safe. In our club operation
they then have the choice of continuing with a safety pilot, or going
back to being a spectator. Fortunately there are very few who fail to
recognise their own limitations. It is one of the reasons folk drift away.

Hard call to make, but it is better to have someone alive and resentful
of your decision than dead.

On 2011/09/10 9:47 PM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 9/10/2011 12:19 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
Why must we continue to try to make everything safe for everyone? Some
people should just NOT be flying aircraft. Or riding motorcycles, or
driving cars. I think we'd all be better served if these folks were told
to stop flying. But then we'd have to ask: "Who certified them as safe
and competent in the first place?"

Sorry if I sound harsh, but there are too many incompetent people in the
world, the result of putting their self esteem above their safety. If
they can't do it, why not just tell them so?

Sometimes we do, but it's not an easy task determining who is
incompetent, or if currently incompetent, will become competent. In a
recent post, you wrote:

If your spoilers "suck open" and you don't recognize it, you shouldn't
be flying.

Perhaps you missed my earlier response to that statement, but the basic
idea was: I know many competent pilots, including myself, that have had
this happen to them.

As many have pointed out, accidents are happening to pilots that appear
competent and are certainly experienced. It's not just the obvious bozo
that's having accidents.


--
Bruce Greeff
T59D #1771 & Std Cirrus #57