10.2 Airmanship and Responsibility

10.2.2 Describe key features of good and safe airmanship.

Despite systems of licences and rules, the CAA has little control over what happens on any given flight.  That is up to the pilot.  

Most flights in this country, particularly in general aviation, occur without any direct oversight from CAA, or indeed any other regulating body or organisation.  

The pilot's decision-making, skills and discipline are therefore the key to the successful and safe outcome of most flights - in short, the pilot's 'airmanship'.

It is very difficult to get a consensus among pilots about what the term airmanship actually means.  

Ask three pilots and you will get four answers.  

If you ask a group of pilots to write down the three single words that represent airmanship to them, and then compare the lists, it is a near certainty that no two people in the group will write down the same three words.  

Some words do get used more frequently than others, like professionalism, awareness, consideration, experience, cooperation, knowledge or discretion.