Just fly the damn plane

Surprisingly enough* this actually is the key to getting it right. Today was tense even before I got to the airport, nothing to do with flying initially, some of my other fears manifesting themselves and turning me into a sweating wreck. Hey! They don’t call me WMAP for nothing!

Still I gave it a go, and had actually settled myself down reasonably well before taking off. One good thing about flying is the extensive checklists and stuff you have to go through before you can even move the plane means that I focus my mind on them rather than my fear, which instantly has a calming effect.

Conditions were challenging, cloud base was low, air was marginally bumpy (certainly not super smooth) and I was a bit on edge. On the first approach I lost patience with myself and said out loud “For F@#ks sake just fly the plane.” You know what? Turns out that kinda works! I was a bit sideways for a while but got it on the runway for a reasonable touch and go.

We only managed two circuits due to the weather. My second circuit was still a little fraught but again by following the aforementioned mantra in my head, even if not out loud**. I managed a very respectable full stop. Even though my height was a bit all over the place on final.

So just fly the plane and stop sweating the small stuff. Somehow the landings are still working despite my best efforts to talk myself into failure!

 

* Yeah, I know most people have this figured by now!

** I believe what came out of my mouth was “F#@kity, F#@kity, F#@k, F#@k, F#@k.” – I can be quite poetic in my profanity sometimes!