For as long as I can recall, everything
that moves through the sky has been a deep passion for me. For many reasons,
learning to build and fly model airplanes became my entry into the world of
flying.
I still remember my very first plane; my father bought it to me when I was 10
years old. We ( my dad ) built it on the kitchen table. There were almost
something “magical” about these pieces of balsa and plywood – could this really
take to flight?
After some time and work, the bits and pieces started
to look like a plane !’
At that time, there were no such thing as heat shrink
covering – the tedious work of putting on paper and dope cover for the wings
had to be done with great precision…
This kind of building technique thought me that accuracy and precision was
important for a good end result.
Finally, the day of the maiden voyage came along! What
a wonderful and exiting experience that was – the same that still lives deep
inside of me, 25 years later.
And the plane flew just beautiful – I am never going to forget that moment,
ever!
Our project had been most successful – having a goal
is very important, to actually achieve it, is even better!
I had a good start on my career, witch I think is of
outmost importance.
As an instructor, I always try to follow this no. 1
rule – It should be fun!
In the following years, I spent a lot of time flying
my planes. Desire to perform was always present, and all the time, I tried to
get better on all things dealing with the matter.
Me and my friend Inge was always out flying –
frequently crashing …… frequently making mistakes, big mistakes!
After a while, we started to learn from our mistakes
………
“ Cooperation is important – just don’t forget your own reasoning “
In the spring of 1986, I took the big step toward
personal flight, attending Per Ivar’s hang glider class. He must have been a
good instructor …… as I am still flying?
The spring of 1991, I converted my level 5 HG licence
to a level 3 ( now 5 ) paraglider licence.
This was one of the very fist licences issued in the
northern part of Norway.
Today, for me, a life without the silence and
tranquillity among the clouds is a utopia.
Flying has brought me the most wonderful experiences.
I have seen the midnight sun over a silvery sea from
3000 ft over the mountains of home.
I have been the first to fly off countless summits
with my paraglider.
I have conquered the most rigours XC routes, miles and
miles of flying over desolate mountains.
I have experienced the forces of nature over the
highest summits there is – at altitudes beyond any concept of “ normal “
I have done little flights like 2 minutes – 2 minutes
of unforgettable beauty.
I have been up at the winner’s podium, representing
Norway in international events – nothing tastes so sweet…
Flying has taken me all around the world, made me meet
really remarkable people, learnt me so much more than just being in the air.
Experiencing both great success and defeat gives you
new insight.
As an instructor, I know that the pleasures of flight
sometimes seem hard to get to.
This article is meant as a guideline for the
prospective pilot ( and pilots ! ) on his / her way to true enjoyment of
flight.
I really would like to share some of my experience,
and thus possibly making the learning process a little less cumbersome.
Before Flight
Most people learn to fly through a flight school or a
course held by the local club.
Be aware that the making of a pilot, is by no means an
easy task – there will be made demands on your part of the deal!
In flight, you will be in a very “ democratic “
environment – no matter who you are: do a mistake and you will pay the
consequences!
Believe me; the ground has not much cushion to offer …
As a student, you will be faced with a seemingly
overwhelming amount of required knowledge.
To be successful, you need a certain basic attitude
towards the process of becoming a pilot.
Learning to fly is by no means a simple task!
Neither is it impossible – motivation
works wonders!
Remember – if there is a will, there is a way.
Your greatest mistake will be flying for
expressing an image, doing so, you fly mostly for other people’s amusement –
you forget yourself in the process.
The beauty of flight disappears, and as a result the
very source of your motivation.
When the fun disappears – the driving force for being
a pilot also vanishes.
If you look at the statistics, it is among the
daredevils you find the ones having nasty accidents / those having rather short
careers.
“ As a pilot, you are constantly evolving / learning –
put yourself in focus, not other peoples demands or hunger for seeing
you doing something stupid “
Flying is a rather expensive activity,
and be sure you have a reasonable knowledge of the costs involved. If you
really want this, you probably have the funds – prioritising helps a lot!
Flying is something that should become a way of life –
ideally.
Flying 3 weeks a year in your vacation only? , Forget about it! Your flying
skills need to be constantly kept sharp. Accidents among low time pilots are
alarmingly high!
You have to put a lot of effort into this! Know that
your efforts will pay off vastly in the long run!
It is a fact that
the increased workload of moving in three dimensions can be disqualifying for
some people.
It has happened,
and will happen again – students being asked to reconsider their desire to
become pilots.
A good physical
and psychological health, the appreciation of exiting, vivid adventure, will be
your best guarantee of a long and safe career as a pilot.
This is my
concept of a well-designed start of a career.
You will meet
many new people during your training, and most of them are nice people!
Your instructor (s) will have the greatest influence on your progress as you go
along.
The instructor is
in charge, and is responsible for everything that happens during the training.
To become an
instructor is by no means an easy task – the persons doing this job have gone
trough several difficult stages and rigorous training to be able to instruct.
Most instructors
do this out of enthusiasm and idealism – they really enjoy teaching people to
fly!
You can rest
assure that your instructor knows his / her stuff, therefore put full and
complete thrust in their judgement and decisions.
During the
training, your safety depends on your instructor – don’t make this job harder
than necessary!
An instructors
nightmare, is seeing the student wander off into manoeuvres / areas off limits.
This is not the
environment to start expressing your own ideas – especially while in the air!
Always follow the
instructions given!
During the first
altitude flights, my pulse rate is as high as the students are!
I have seen a lot
of “ weird stuff ”, and I tell you: please do not cause heart attacks on your
instructors!
The sweetest moment and reward is seeing the level of
joy and happiness a student radiates when the flight went well – A true and
sincere feeling of doing something valuable.
You can actually hear the yells from several miles
away – you on the mountain, and the student safe at the landing field…..
Takeoff !
Before we can start doing our long gracious flights,
we need to get the thing airborne…
Unfortunately, takeoffs and landings are one of the
rather difficult phases of flight.
“ We have to start with the difficult stuff, this is
the sad truth learning to fly a hang glider of paraglider “
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself “biting the
dust” – that is normal during the first days of training.
I remember how my initial enthusiasm was somewhat “
cooled off “ after a few rather “ hard “ landings….
Dreaming of long, nice flights, I wasn’t prepared for
the “ blood and guts “ routine, learning how to start the “ f. “ thing. It is
said that resistance makes strong…
For 2 days I kept working hard, and bit-by-bit there
was progression made - made me happy again !
No rule says that you will have to struggle during
initial training – just don’t be disappointed / angry with yourself if that
becomes the case…
Remember that there will always be differences in how
fast students learn – nothing says that the fastest learner becomes the best
pilot in the end!
Prejudice is a very real part of our busy society.
Let yourself go, empty your mind, and go to the task
of learning to fly with an open mind.
By doing so, you won’t have to fight your own
impression of what flying means.
Prejudice means believing something without really
knowing. In many cases, you will see that reality is somewhat more multifaceted
than you thought…
Many of our various conflicts and problems arise as a cause of this.
Lot’s of
challenge initially, but take it step by step, be patient, and you will
succeed!
Once you have
learned the basics concerning start and landing, you will come to realise that
flying this thing no longer seem impossible!
You will soon
face the decisive moment: Your first altitude flight!
Start preparing
yourself well in advance, mentally and physically. Discuss any uncertainty with
your instructor; there is no such thing as a stupid question!
Flying alone at
2000 feet is so different than skimming the ground!
You will feel
tense, you will feel nervous, the butterflies in your stomach, expectations
soar.
This is the feeling
of REALLY being alive. Your body perceives every little impression…
This true
adventure will make you discover the passion for living, and true positive
values.
Still after more
than 3500 flights, I have never lost that wonderful feeling of taking to
flight.
“ Making those
final quick steps, feeling the air rush by, your wing gently lifting you off –
a feeling not possible to describe … “
The ground
quickly disappearing, you soon reach high altitude, and for the first time, you
are TRULY on your own…turn to the left, turn to the right, navigating,
controlling airspeed, glide perception…
YOU are in charge
– you decide – you act – you see the consequence…. The same second.
YOU have your life in your hands – no one can reach you up there.
In any other walk
of life, you can reconsider – let other decide – change your mind.
Flying will enhance your self-confidence, make you independent - develop your character!
Be ready to find more than beautiful scenery and beauty of flight…
Try to relax
while flying, slow deep breath, lower your shoulders. Have faith in yourself,
and do what the instructor told you to do.
Chances are – you just had the experience of a lifetime. . From now on, there is no turning away from the ever present desire to be up there.
Only the lucky
aviators know the feeling. Explaining is just impossible.
If you put some
effort into the program, you will finish before you know it !
Even if you are
the lucky holder of your first aviation licence, remember that your experience
is still very limited.
This is a very
critical phase of your career! Many promising students have lost it during the
post-training phase. I hope that you left your training with a good “ gut
feeling “ and really enjoy flying.
All it takes is
one flight in too turbulent conditions – a bad takeoff or landing….
Any feeling of
loosing control can make it all tumble.
-
An unsecure
feeling, uncertainty, you delay your next flight – more uneasiness – more
delay. A promising career is at an end before it even started.
You have your
whole life ahead of you – don’t risk your career for a flight you easily could
have delayed. The mountains and the wind will always be there!
During this time,
it is of great importance to build your level of experience up to a level of
experience that will take you over that critical phase after your initial
training.
Fly a lot! Use every opportunity to expand and verify your
growing skills.
When you fly, fly
with pilots more experienced – ask questions, but remember:
Always try to
develop your own decision-making.
On the journey
towards becoming a proficient pilot, you will need to go long way.
Please walk the
whole way, do not try to skip a step or two. This practice will leave holes in
your knowledge – knowledge that will bee needed eventually.
You can do this
journey quickly or slowly – it’s all up to you, but remember to walk every
stair on the way!
Little steps……
Experience is a
very widely abused word.
Most people tend
to think of experience as a large number in the logbook – WHY?
I have spent many
hours flying in loneliness. I was the only one who was that committed to
becoming a good pilot. Most of my fellow club members had a more casual
attitude towards their hobby, therefore mostly alone in the sky.
It soon came to
my mind, that after a decent level had been reached – further progress became
hard to achieve.
“ I was always on
top of the ridge, always on top of the thermals, I had none to compare myself
with (soon leaving my club mates behind in flying skill), I reasoned this being
the main reason for the stagnating progress.
I spent a lot of
time thinking about solutions (moving was hardly an option):
Next question:
how to extract every tiny bit of NEW information from EVERY flight?
Where to go get
this precious information?
- There is no new
information gathered by soaring the same old ridge for hours and hours.
Once you have learned where the “hotspots”
of lift is – then all the flying you do
is recreation and
fun, but no NEW information can be
expected.
Therefore: off to
new and unexplored territory, and this is how my passion for cross-country
flights began. I remember with great pleasure these first years of trial and
error. None really did this back home before I started.
It is incredible
where you can land a hangglider if you have to………every once in a while, I go
back to some of the “ landing sites”
just to see and remember those beautiful flights !
Doing this, the
amount of information increased dramatically – now, how to sort all of this new
knowledge?
If you fly and
fly – you really have to take some time analysing and valuating what you learn.
Everything is
just gathered in a ” mess “ back in your head. Like a computer without a
operating system – the information is there, but the “ machine cannot interpret
the information.
Imagine that you
think of all the thermals flown – now, what was the similarities surrounding
the good ones, the not so good ones. What did the clouds look like, direction
of wind, air pressure, the underlying terrain, and temperatures?
Think of when you
encountered heavy sink – strong headwinds, any similarities?
What you should
be looking for, is patterns, events that seem to be common when you do good –
or when you do not so good. Try to verify your previous experience.
If you think you
see a pattern – Try it out! If this worked out, you have reinforced your
experience!
ALWAYS have some
kind of plan for every flight, don’t just fly holes in the sky – Follow your
plan, and see whether or not your experience could take you to new levels of
learning.
The more you fly,
the more you expand this growing wealth of knowledge.
Remember,
everyone has their own way of thinking – only you can decide what is right for
you.
When you have
flown a lot, you will know more stuff – be prepared that more and more time
will pass between every NEW experience, however, you will continusly keep
verifying your previous experiences – thus making you more secure in your
knowledge.
No matter your
level of experience, this is a technique good for all pilots and levels of
skill.
Remember to
believe in what you experience – you MUST base your decisions on previous
experience – it is your only way of real improvement.
If you just fly without any thought of what to do, you haven’t learned
anything!
The way I see it,
a pilot with 50 hours can be much more experienced than a 200-hour pilot can!
….. Provoking
thought for some, but still very true!
No matter how
good your glider or airplane, no matter how good your computerized “glass
cockpit”, don’t forget your most important source of aerial information.
You have an
instrument capable of solving the most complex of tasks, handling the most
superficial and subtle information –
Your own
intelligence! Your ability to make sound decisions.
This is where
your success or failure is founded; this is where the perceptions are
processed.
This is the where
the decisions that will bring you to cloud base are made. The decisions that
will bring you safely home!
This is not
uncommon knowledge – many people are aware of these facts.
What is less known, is the power of the deeper mind, the unconscious self, the
foundation of perseverance, willpower. The very source of aptitude.
No matter how
many hours of training, the make and model of equipment, the decisive element
is the incredible force of the deeper mind.
-
You are
struggling low in weak conditions, your glider soars in a developing, turbulent
thermal, you are close to the terrain and landing sites are sparse.
At this stage, all pilots tell themselves “ I want to
get up, I want to get up! “
Some pilots say “ I want go get up “, but they really
don’t believe in it…
Some pilots say the same thing – and they believe in
it with all their heart and soul.
The result is very often given in advance.
NEVER give up on an opportunity for success; NEVER
give up if you are in a threatening situation.
You can make a
difference, no matter what the circumstances are.
This field, the
deeper consciousness, is not well defined; only yourself knows what works for
you.
A few basic
guidelines apply:
-
Work with
yourself – try do do better all the time !
-
Every day: Do
something that requires some degree of courage!
-
Be good to
yourself, feeling good is the basis for a positive self-image!
-
Remember: Worries
are only a problem if you spend time thinking about them.
-
Be open to all
impressions, and pay attention to your intuitive sense – it is a valuable tool!
-
Say to yourself:
I ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I CAN DO A GOOD FLIGHT!
Norwegian
nationals 1991 – easterly winds, 20 kt gusting to 30 kt. Strong thermals.
The very best of
Norwegian hotshots are gathered to compete; most of them are worried about the
turbulence and unstable conditions.
Exept for one –
NO.44 Lars Sletten, flying the new Rumour 14.5. Hot pilot – hot glider…..
What’s all the
whining about??? Get the wimps out of the way!
Soon I’m off into
the thermals, struggling to catch the violent updrafts.
Turbulent? – YES, but not critical…Soon 300 ft over takeoff, the mind is
strong…. Norwegian nationals, lot’s at stake, honour and glory…
I see a bright
flash of neon yellow sail tuck in front of me, the negative Gforce lifts me up
into the frame, spinning blur of colours, the control bar are ripped out of my
hands by incredible force, the airspeed is rapidly increasing,…..300 ft agl….
SHIT !
My life was saved
by some divine intervention, as I dived inverted, doing around 70 kt, the
glider suddenly self erected, pushed me back into the frame, and allowed me to
regain control – about 50 ft agl….
I did a good
landing, and the day was cancelled…
The next day, I
finished off the competition as the winner, blasting through the course at
record speed.
I was still alive, and had not lost my love for flight – Big thanks to
who/whatever took the controls at that moment of potential tragedy.
A serious
evaluation of my attitudes towards risk taking was needed.
We have an
expression in Norway – The mid stage syndrome.
After the initial
carefulness after the training, many new pilots start developing a “ no worries
“ attitude – they feel invulnerable, and the self-confidence soars.
Learning to fly
the thing is often fairly easy, after the initial hops, many pilots start
thinking that flying is a “fun game “ – The flying skills are far in advance of
the aeronautical experience gained.
As an instructor,
the hardest thing to teach a student is how to develop the proper respect for
the potential dangers of flight – Airmanship.
Simple rules on
how to make your flights safer.
Humans tend to
need a serious amount of pain before the consequences of our actions are
perceived.
I flew a lot
after my initial training. The flying skills increased fast, a lot faster than
my knowledge.
I felt invulnerable,
and you could tell by watching my flying.
I had a shitload
of luck – many times!
I feel very lucky
being in the position of learning from my mistakes – not everybody does that.
All it takes, it
one moment of negligence – don’t throw away your whole life on a single moment
of impulsivity.
You should pursue your flying within the limits of your skills, by doing so; you can look ahead for a long and rewarding career as a pilot. Expand your skills and abilities! It has nothing to do with compromising safety – just do it in a slow and controlled manner.
In the end
All this years since I started – What a great time I have had since then, never a boring moment, always new challenges ahead.
I have turned down many opportunities just to be able to do what I love the most – being up there, all by myself. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store!
To those who would like to take to flight : There is a world of amazing adventure waiting for you!
Just remember that all kinds of flying has its inherent dangers, so keep that in mind, and remember:
Little steps…….
Best of
luck !
Lars Sletten. (Translated from an article I wrote back in 1995)