Pilots in Command: Your Best Trip, Every Trip

Book excerpt: Pilots in Command: Your Best Trip, Every Trip goes beyond the requirements of flight training curricula into what is both a rarity and a necessity: sage advice from real pilots, for student and professional aviators alike, about how to be true leaders. Captain-candidates at air carriers go through a "captains class," an extra module in pilot upgrade training that helps them learn to operate each flight as a good leader. Yet not every captains class provides tricks of the trade or solid, experience-proven, leadership advice. Pilots know that when things go wrong, everyone looks to the captain -- the pilot in command -- to make things right. In an easy-to-use format, on a range of topics that all tie into the application of basic leadership skills, the author covers crew roles, crew briefings, flight attendants, crew resource management (CRM), threat and error management (TEM), ground services, dispatch, customer service, abnormal and emergency situations, layovers, crew dynamics, 14 CFR Part 117 rest rules, and a new model of transformational leadership and professionalism for pilots. Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license applicants must now complete a comprehensive ground school with instruction on leadership, professional development, crew resource management, and safety culture. This book is an excellent resource for the new ATP training requirements. Pilots In Command shares with you the insights and techniques typically gained only from years of experience and interaction with your fellow pilots and crew at 35,000 feet.