Flight Training - May 2024 - 8

PILOTAGE BY IAN J. TWOMBLY
IAN J. TWOMBLY is embracing
the name of his father's column
in AOPA Pilot magazine;
Mark R. Twombly wrote
" Pilotage " for 15 years.
ian.twombly@aopa.org
IT'S ABOUT THE JOURNEY
An expression coined in the military and now going around
extreme adventure circles says, " Embrace the suck. " The idea is
that pushing oneself will be hard, and it will sometimes be painful,
or even result in failure, but that's OK because it leads to growth.
Pilots should embrace the suck.
Backcountry flying has gained popularity in recent years. For the uninitiated,
backcountry flying involves taking an airplane off into the wilderness, landing at some
super-secret outpost, maybe camping, but definitely taking a bunch of photos to show
off to your friends and on Instagram. It's all about the pull of the mountains, beautiful
valleys with impossibly short runways, and being closer to nature.
Like all good marketing, sellers of backcountry flying evoke a feeling, and when
we buy into it, we're buying into that feeling. Tailwheel flying and the incredibly
popular range of modern tailwheel airplanes are central to backcountry flying.
Adventure and exploration may be what draw pilots in, but I think the challenge is
what keeps them coming back. Backcountry pilots embrace the suck.
Tailwheel flying, especially tailwheel flying on short strips with no go-around
options and blind approaches, is hard. It takes training, practice, and some good
guidance when flying to new areas. These pilots know there will be bad approaches
and terrible landings, and they relish the challenge.
We often talk about the skills required to become a great pilot, but skills are
simply a byproduct. Great pilots aren't great because they can fly the perfect steep
turn or nail a stall recovery within 50 feet. They are great because they are constantly
trying to get better, they take on new opportunities, and they have a growth
mindset. In other words, they are humble.
Even if you're new to the aviation game, you've likely heard flying stories
around the flight school. These hangar chats help us bond and learn from each
other, but they are also illuminating. Most pilots have a series of stories they cycle
through in these settings, and how they tell them says more about who they are
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FLIGHT TRAINING MAY 2024
as a pilot than the specifics of the story.
I'll never forget the old timer who told
me he had experienced seven engine
failures. He was proud to have come
through unscathed, and not shy at all
about his apparent terrible luck. Yet luck
probably had nothing to do with it. He
wasn't a test pilot and didn't fly unusual
airplanes or engines. He was clearly
doing something wrong, but his hubris
was overflowing.
Now take the late Richard McSpadden,
our colleague at AOPA, who was
a commander of the U.S. Air Force
Thunderbirds and an internationally
recognized safety expert. He often wrote
columns about mistakes he had made,
what he learned from them, and how it
changed him. McSpadden, like so many
great pilots, embraced the suck. In this
case, quite literally, as well. He didn't
hide from mistakes. He knew they were
essential for learning, growth, and to
become a better pilot. He also embraced
it through continually challenging
himself and taking on new learning
opportunities.
This humility-a recognition that we
don't know everything, aren't the best at
what we do, and that we are fallible-is
the common denominator among the
great pilots.
Which brings us back to the
backcountry, and specifically, to
tailwheel airplanes. I recently realized
a lifelong dream and bought a Piper
J-3 Cub, and it is beating me. My Cub,
a trainer designed to be easy to fly, has
made a fool of me. Roughly 100 hours of
Cub time from 20 years ago has proven
useless at improving my three-point
landings, the first-learned and often
easier of the two primary tailwheel
landing techniques. I have no trouble
with wheel landings in the airplane, but
three-points have flummoxed me.
I think the constant challenge is why
pilots love flying tailwheel airplanes.
The airplane doesn't care if you are an
experienced pilot, even an experienced
tailwheel pilot. It will take you by surprise
and bruise your ego.
I'm trying to remember that it's
about the journey. The goal isn't consistently
perfect landings, although
that would be welcome. The goal is to
improve, to push myself, and grow as a
pilot and aircraft owner. I'm trying to
embrace the suck. FT
Flight Training - May 2024

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