A few weeks back, we had a pretty important conversation about what to do when in an emergency, why memorizing emergency procedures is so important, and what you can do to get started memorizing this stuff. One thing I kind of left out and want to address here on our Afterburner Club meeting for this month is the concept of “pushing the clock.”
What the heck is “pushing the clock”? What are we going race who can rattle off the emergency procedures the fastest?
No. Pushing the clock simply means that when you are in an emergency, it helps to step back from it for a couple of seconds (no more, you obviously can’t spare more that a couple of seconds and it’s all you need anyway) to see what’s going on around you so that you can implement and not be in a state of panic.
When you’re in an emergency situation, pushing the clock a bit is not only a good thing; it can actually save your life. Now, aviation accidents- particularly military aviation accidents- are not as frequent as they once were and part of the reason for that is because aircraft systems have gotten to be so reliable. Still, there’s something to be said for relying too much on automation.
So, when you’re in flight school training for that jet cockpit slot that you so desire, you’re going to be straight up memorizing a lot of emergency procedures. If you want a taste of what this is going to look like, go ahead and type up the NATOPS for your favorite jet aircraft on the google search engine. You’ll probably be scratching your head when you first look at it, but don’t worry…we’re here to answer any questions you have on the NATOPS and procedures of any aircraft that you want to get in the cockpit of someday. That’s what we do here on the Afterburner Club!
Any time you’re in a stressful situation, be it a problem at work, school, or in your personal life, I want you to think about this conversation. I want you to push the clock and take a little bit of time to accept that you’re in this situation, think about what you can do to correct it, and then implement that little plan of attack that you’ve come up with. And if that doesn’t work…do it again. Do it as many times as you need to make things right! It may sound easier said than done the first few times you do it, but by the time you’re ready to make that big leap to the cockpit of the jet of your dreams, it will have become a habit, and a good one that will serve you well in your career and in your life.
So don’t wait to start cultivating those good habits. Join us on the Afterburner Club and learn ahead of time the emergency procedures that will give you not only that inside edge I’ve talked about before, but also can save your aircraft and your life!
Semper Fi!