user wrote:

...where did I leave my copy of The Zen of Gliding?

"noel.wade" wrote...

IMHO the best pilots are the ones who "detach" themselves and shift
their Point Of View to that of the aircraft itself. They aren't
thinking about the flight in terms of how they perceive it as an
occupant from their particular seating position or their control
stick. Thinking in terms of the aircraft and the air around it is
infinitely better than trying to act as a manipulator of levers and
pulleys inside a tube.


Noel's description is apt, though it won't fit everyone. It is probably
possible to fly fairly well without reaching that consciousness, but
it's more satisfying when you do. I suspect that fighter pilots in the
days before BVR fights reached that level or died, and probably still
need to do so. Don't knock it till you've had it.


Jack