I am sorry for saying this, but you have to change your attitude toward
flying before something serious happens. You are showing all the classic
signs of hazardous attitudes (described in detail in the Aviation
Instructor's Handbook).

I am not familiar with the cleaning example, but if someone had gone
through the effort of establishing a procedure for it, then there is
usually a good reason behind it. You can't toss everything out just because
it 'seems' to be a waste of time. I am not saying that you should not
question the procedures, but before you question the procedures you must
thoroughly investigate the pros and cons of those procedures and come up
with an alternative.

Coming back to flying, if one of my students came with an excuse as yours,
I would ask them to do the exam again, or find another instructor for their
training. The low score is one issue, but arguing that it is a waste of
time to score higher is a more serious issue. If you think that you will
not take a similar attitude in the cockpit, I don't believe it. The
attitude towards being a safe pilot does not begin in the cockpit; it
permeates all parts of ones life.

Before you question what exam scores have to do with safety, safety is not
just about manipulating the yoke and rudder. It is about making informed
decisions on the ground and in the air. Written exams are an indication of
how much information you know, and how willing you are to learn them.

As for skipping questions because you are confident of passing the test,
this too displays an attitude towards taking shortcuts. It might be
worthwhile for you to read about risk management. There are plenty of
aviation publications that deal with this subject.






chris priest wrote in
:

tony roberts wrote:
I spent a long time contemplating your post.
I even started a very detailed response, and then deleted it, because
it seemed to me that an honest and impartial response was not what
you were truly seeking - so I'll just say this.
I truly believe that the rewards you get out of this will roughly
equal the effort that you put in. Just don't tell the interviewer
that you will not put in xyz because you actually have a life -
because, believe it or not, so does everyone else!
Most employers, particularly in your field seek excellence, but you
may get lucky and find one that is satisfied with mediocrity.
Otherwise - do you have a second career choice?


Tony
P.S. I'm not trying to **** you off - I'm trying to wake you up!


It just seems silly to me to have to spend all of that time studying
just to get a perfect score, when you can spend 80% less time studying
and still pass, giving you the same result. My summer job currently is
basically being a janitor at a RV park. My job is to pick up trash,
clean the bathrooms, sweep the floors; stuff like that. The biggest
thing I dislike about this job is how they instructed me to clean the
bathrooms. I have to spray the toilet bowl with chemical #5, then
chemical #7, then after a few minutes, I have to scrub the inside of
the bowl with brush #1 soaked in bleach. The the outside of the toilet
with brush #2 in bleach. After that I have to wipe it down with a wet
rag, then with a dry rag. Then I have to do it all over again to the
rest of the toilets. After this whole process the toilets have the
exact same appearance they did before I started. It just seems like I
spent all that effort for nothing. I could have achieved the same
effect with a 30 second spray-n-wipe then be done with.

I sort of feel the same when I study for these knowledge tests. I
don't see any reason to go all out when a 70 is all thats required.
Thats not to say only 70% of all there is to know is only worth
having.

I don't see the written exam tests as the SAT. To me the only point of
taking the test is to pass. The grade is irrelevant. Heck, when I took
my PAR, I remember skipping questions because I just didn't want to do
them. They were mostly those calculating problems that use the E6B
which I knew how to do, I just didn't see the point in laboring over
the problem, when i could have as easily skipped it. I must have did
this a lot, as you all know I came close to not passing. Now, mind
you, if I was in the air, I would have done the calculation without
second thought. It's all about putting the effort where it belongs.

Looking back, I probably had too much confidence. I'm part 141, and
during ground school I never got below a 85 on all of my tests, so I
have no doubt in my mind that I was going to pass that test. When I
take my instrument knowledge test sometime in the next week, I'll most
likely use a slightly diffrent approach, but I'm still not going in
there with a 100% as my goal. My goal will be to pass.

Is it really important to concentrate on a perfect on-center smooth
landing every time, or to just focus on landing each flight safely?