|
Please download the PDF version of this article to see all associated graphics.
You don't have to be involved in aviation very long before you hear the time-honored
advice on personal minimums. It goes something like this: "Legal weather minimums
are just a starting point. You should establish your own personal minimums for flying,
and you must have the discipline to stick to them -- no matter how much you want to
make the trip." Sound familiar? It's good advice. Most pilots would agree that it's
a good idea, and it's probably true that more accident pilots -- not to mention their
innocent passengers -- might be alive today if they had followed it. So why didn't they? And
why do so many pilots who appear for flight reviews or other training look sheepish and make
excuses for why they haven't managed to write down their own personal minimums?
There are probably many reasons that the concept of personal minimums is more honored as an
idea than as a regular practice. I suspect, however, that a major reason is that many pilots --
even safety-conscious ones -- don't have a clear idea about where to start, and that many
flight instructors -- even conscientious ones -- may not know how to guide pilots through the
process of establishing personal minimums. I confess that I have been guilty on both counts.
I consider myself to be a safety-minded pilot, but for too many years my personal minimums
were little more than a vague mental notion. I also like to think of myself as a conscientious
and safety-minded flight instructor (CFI), but far too few of my clients would be able to
tell you that I even talked about, much less taught about, personal minimums. To make amends,
here are some ideas that might help fellow aviators avoid similar sins of omission.
|
