My Flying News

Do you ever wonder how pilots stay calm on the flight deck? In this post, I list 7 common traits that pilots have in common. 7 things that we do to remain calm.

Are Pilots Born Calm?

I can fly a plane but I can’t sing. I always wished I could sing. I once asked a friend, who was a lead singer of a local band, how come you can sing? His answer was profound. He answered with a question, how come you can’t sing? Meaning it just came to him naturally. Of course, singing well is not easy; he practiced and honed his skills over the years, but ultimately, he was born that way.

I have been asked more than once over the years, why are you so calm? Like my singer friend, I wonder how come other people are not? I never thought of myself as calm; like anyone else, I can lose my cool occasionally.

Along the same lines, I have been thinking about starting a business or side hustle. I am struggling to develop ideas, so I performed an exercise I saw online. The exercise was to survey my family and friends and ask them what they thought I was good at? What were my top skills? The idea of the survey was that I could take my top skills and parlay them into a successful business.

Frustratingly, every single friend and family member answered my question the same way. All of them (most without missing a beat), answered the same way. My best quality was being calm. I was irritated because I thought, how do I make a side business from calm? I can’t bottle and sell it?

I started thinking about being calm more and more. What made me calm? Was I born this way, or was it a learned behavior? I started observing myself and my co-workers, as most pilots are calm. (OK, not this pilot.) Although there may be some natural inclination to be calm, it is a behavior that can be learned.

As pilots, we undergo a lot of training and years of practice honing our skills. We are routinely tested and judged on how we handle stressful situations and given suggestions for improvement.

I am not a phycologist, but in my mind this means that training and experience have more to do with it than just being born that way. Being calm under pressure is a skill anyone can get better at.

7 Things Pilots Do to Stay Calm

1. Pilots use breathing.

I remember my Mother’s advice from when I was young, “Take a deep breath and count to 10.” When I am stressed or anxious, I always take deep breaths. Straightforward advice from Mom that works 100% of the time.

2. Pilots move slowly and take time to make decisions.

Pilots try to do everything at a reasonable speed. Decisions made under stress usually need to be corrected. When things go wrong, the natural human fight or flight reaction kicks in. Our bodies pump us full of adrenaline, which gives us super-human strength. This is great if we are running from a predator. Unfortunately, the adrenaline rush also makes us stupid and gives us tunnel vision.

One of the best pieces of advice I received was from an old-timer during an upgrade training briefing. This old Captain told me he always gave new Captains 2 pieces of advice. The first piece of advice was to slow down, and the second was to slow the f*@k down.

That old Captain was so right! The best pilots that I have seen are slow and methodical. They have the following attitude towards flying, “when everything is right, then we will go flying.”

Find time for yourself. Take time to make sure everything is alight. The world is crazy and getting crazier. I have found that when I am stressed, the crazies’ tend to come out of their crazy holes. Don’t let them influence you or rob your time.

3. Pilot expect things to go wrong.

Studies show that it is much easier to adjust to situations if you are expecting something to go wrong. It is more challenging and takes much more time to change if you are not ready for something to go wrong.

Pilots are constantly briefing possible threats. On every take-off, we brief what we will do at different points if something goes wrong.

If your first plan doesn’t go as planned, instead of getting angry or stressed, immediately move to plan B or plan C.

4. Pilots take things in stride.

Maintenance, weather, and other delays happen. Schedule changes and reassignments occur. Not getting home to our families really stinks. However, these things happen, and it is better to shake them off.

If something is out of my control, then there is no sense in worrying about it.

5. Pilots are constant observers.

In aviation speak, we call this “situational awareness” or “SA” for short. Pilots want to observe and absorb as much relevant information as possible without being hyper-focused on any one piece of information.

Knowledge is power. By thinking a few moves ahead, pilots try to trap errors and stop bad things from happening before they even start.

What things routinely cause problems? What makes you stressed? What people cause problems? To quote the great philosopher Barney Fife, “nip it, nip it in the bud.”

6. Pilots question their decisions and adapt.

One of the principles of aeronautical decision-making states that once you make a decision, constantly evaluate it. First, take an appropriate amount of time to decide (see step 2 above), and then don’t waste time taking action. Once you take action, evaluate. Evaluate how your decision is working out for you?

Don’t get stressed if things are not going your way; adapt. Perform a 180 or take other action. Don’t be too rigid.

7. Pilots unload.

Help is available. At the airline I fly for, we use colors. For example, I will tell the other pilot, “I’m in the yellow.” They will know that I need help or I am losing SA. Pilots are also trained to use other resources such as our maps, manuals, flight attendants, and air traffic control to help us handle situations.

If you are struggling with a task, look for help. There is usually help all around you if you ask.

Final Thoughts

There is some bad news to conclude this story. I was out at a karaoke bar with my fellow crew members not too long ago. I can report and I am sure they will attest: I still cant sing!