The entire teaching in the aviation centres around an instructor. The role of the instructor in aviation is to make the pupil stand on his own feet, to make student completely independent.
The role of the instructor is to make himself superfluous – such is the great vision that flight instructor must have.
Down the Memory Lane
To be a military pilot, is a long journey no lesser than thousands of thousand miles, and as I kept taking baby steps, it got better and I discovered passion and love in it. I begun my career as a Cadet in National Defence Academy Pune, where we were introduced to the basics of aviation and initial flight experience aka flight lessons on a glider. Subsequently moved to Air Force Academy, Dundigal Hyderabad for basic training on HPT-32 – a piston aircraft and advanced training on Kiran – a jet aircraft. Through the years, as I gained experience, I subsequently graduated to became a Qualified Flight Instructor (QFI) and then an Experimental Test Pilot. In aviation like in life, it is not just important to get correct conclusions but it is paramount to have a process of thinking which is safety oriented, which is based on logic, reason and facts. My instructors never deviated from strict rules of reason and logic. The training squadron always had a vibrant atmosphere and no subject or topic under the sun was left outside the perview of discussion. Even in the cockpit, the instructor would respond to slightest of whisper and that was discussed at great lengths during debriefs. Nothing was left untouched or overlooked. Unrelenting discipline coexisted with friendly informality in the military units. An atmosphere of respect and intimate nearness existed between all the pilots. Aero-Engine, aerodynamics, weather, emerging technology were discussed simultaneously along with subtle subjects like airmanship and leadership. The journey was rewarding and professionally satisfying.
Today, I have transformed to a commercial pilot. I had to unlearn a few and learn new skills to complete the transformation. Despite all the bags of experience (Piloting more than 30 type of aircraft), the transformation was not possible without the help and guidance of instructors. The military flying had its own charm and challenge while commercial flying has its own glamour. There is freshness and newness in every flight despite the sameness. It seems like yesterday, when I started my journey and would I want to swap it with something else – Absolutely NO.
The only journey is the one within.
As I meander into my past experiences and the path that has led me to where I am today, I realise that I could go on-and-on about how much I love aviation and the part of being an instructor – sharing my knowledge with others. Along the way I have had the privilege of being surrounded with exceptional aviators who have helped me instill a safety-minded approach to the thrill of flying. If I were to thank every person that has contributed to my journey it would be a long series of blog-posts in itself. Instead of writing down a long list of names, I plan to focus my energy on giving back to the aviation community who has taught me so much throughout the years. I believe that the best way of doing so is to do my best to share my knowledge with the next generation of pilots.
To all my instructors I wish to say that – you are not only my mentor; rather, you are a friend, guide, and inspiration all modelled into one person. I will always be grateful to you for support.
Blue skies and Happy landings.
