Reviewing the material in the relevant sections of FTGU for my PPAER re-write, I am amazed to see some of the questions I had written in the margins two years ago when I first attacked this text: In chapter one, next to a sentence about how the ailerons controlled the bank of the plane, I had circled “bank”, and written “what is this?!” In other parts of the book, I had simply written “I don’t get it” in the margin, and re-reading the same sections now, I realise, I DO GET IT!
That is a good feeling.
Of course, there are still many aspects of the text, and real life aviation, that continue to befuddle me, and there is no doubt that I have much to learn. Nevertheless, it is rather pleasant to discover that I am not as stupid as I once was about such matters.
If you are new to flying, and feeling overwhelmed by the immense body of knowledge and understanding required to successfully complete the task ahead, take heart – it will come, eventually. Honest!