Will I ever fly again?

by | Sep 1, 2021 | Mental Health

I am often asked if I will ever fly again? Here is my answer:

For those of you in aviation:

I would like to think the dream of ever calling Rotate again isn’t CANCELLED, but for the moment, I have just carried out an RTO and am diverting. There have been times in the last year that I have been tech, lost all SA, had a RAIM Failure and needed to Land ASAP. I have carried out more TDODARs than I care to imagine, but at present, my return to the flight-deck is Delay not determined with absolutely no sign of an estimated approach time. My journey since redundancy has taught me that I used to live with the A/P ENGAGED and was ruled by the Part A. I now know that life is short and frangible and I definitely need to be calling visual and hand-flying this thing!

My new line of work involves establishing comms, teaching CRM, and checking that other people’s Ts and Ps are in the green. It involves delivering UPRT whilst following through on the controls. It’s about easing the cockpit gradient and teaching people how to use their own QRH.

I am the PIC.

I have control…

For those of you NOT in aviation:

I would like to think the dream of ever getting airborne again isn’t over, but for the moment, I have just carried out an emergency stop and am going somewhere else. There have been times in the last year that I have been broken, lost my way, had a faulty SatNav and needed to take a break. I have carried out more life reviews than I care to imagine, but at present, my return to the flight-deck is unknown with absolutely no sign of it happening anytime soon. My journey since redundancy has taught me that I used to live on Autopilot and was ruled by the Rule Book. I now know that life is short and fragile and I definitely need to be taking control and doing my thing!

My new line of work involves talking to people, teaching them how not to be a douchebag and checking that they are ok. It involves training how to support recovery whilst giving them a helping hand. It’s about breaking down barriers and teaching people how to use their own coping mechanisms.

I am the Pilot in Command…

I have control…