Teacherjh wrote:

That said, underconfidence will also bite you. You are PILOT IN COMMAND,

Yes, this is an important point. One must not mentally hand over control to
anyone else. It's a trap I recently discussed with some other pilots: Who
is PIC when flying with an instructor.

This is the instructor with whom I did my instrument work, and with whom I'm
doing at least some of my commercial work. But *I* am in charge, and I
cannot assume that he's there to "bail me out" if there's ever a bad choice
being made.

In a way, it's a difficult line. I've always thought that one reason for
flying with an instructor was to push one's personal envelope. So
conditions that might be just beyond my personal minimums are something I'd
try out with an instructor on board. In a sense, this is a case where I am
hoping for a "bail out" should I get in over my head.

I've not thought about it quite this way before, and I'm curious what others
might think.

- Andrew