On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 8:51:33 AM UTC-7, WB wrote:
On Friday, September 7, 2018 at 4:33:35 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Several posters have raised the issue of declining reflexes with advancing age. Especially so in flying and particularly in gliding.

Certainly declining reflexes contribute to accidents. No question about it. However, general aviation does not often require lightning quick reflexes. I think there's a story about some famous pilot who was asked what he would do in an emergency and his answer was something like "First, I'd wind my watch..." meaning he would take a few seconds to think before acting. I suspect the aging related decline that is more relevant to accidents is a decline in our situational awareness. One specific decline is in our ability to perceive how a situation is changing. How long does it take us to recognize that our airspeed is decaying? How quickly do we perceive changes in yaw rate or pitch rate? We may do pretty well and compensate by being mindful of our growing deficits as we age, but as we approach some threshold of function, we might begin to have episodes where we momentarily jump well beyond a threshold of critically reduced function due to fatigue, dehydration, low blood sugar, whatever. I've seen old guys who would fly 9 of 10 flights flawlessly, then inexplicably drive a ship onto the runway or into a field at high speed and end up in a pile of busted fiberglass.

Maybe we need the advice of some folks who specialize in studying and treating cognitive decline in aging.


I'm an older pilot, and the main difference I notice is that my stamina is much reduced. I can perform well initially, but at the end of a long day at the airport, my performance is reduced because I'm tired. I try to guard against this now, and limit my flight lengths and my duty time at my club. I suggest younger people also watch for this in their older friends. Reflexes, I don't notice any reduction, although this may be present, probably because I intentionally act fairly slowly (impulsivity is one of the dangerous attitudes).