Just for fun, if there was a test for IF pilots to show you’re a competent and/or respectful community pilot, what might the top 5 questions be?
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Quite an interesting question, by pilot do you mean a community member or just in game?
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Good question. I was thinking in game. So most directly related to piloting.
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Ah, well here are mine:
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How did your reach your current grade level, did you read at your own pace or farm stats
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what is most important to you: Grade or Knowledge? (Would you trade being grade two for a lot of experience, let’s say)
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You see a pilot not fully understanding how to use Unicom and struggling with to communicate their intentions. How would you handle this situation? (they’re forum name is connected and visible )
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Who according to you is more important, the pilot or ATC?
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What is the last message you send on a frequency? Do you thank your controller or do you communicate only what is important effectively?
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Thank you! I’ll avoid passing judgement on anyone. And appreciation for any responses!
I’ll just give a general example:
It could be purely key speed limits, most missed ATC procedures, and avoiding interference with others type questions, so packing in just the top of the top list of such things.
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That last one is kinda intersting :) dont know about you, but if there is lots of traffic in his/her area, then only important and necessary masseges. If not, why not thank them as well:)
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I’ll just throw a few initial ideas in, though I need a bit of time to decide on “my top 5.”
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Arriving at a controlled airport, do you come to a full stop before contacting ground?
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What is the most likely cause of stalling on climb out to cruise altitude?
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On climb out to cruise, what are some precautions to avoid stalling?
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During taxi, how much space do you maintain from the aircraft in front of you?
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How do you avoid a tail strike on takeoff?
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Im not sure about 4 other questions, but my NUMBER ONE question would be: when do you turn on strobe and landing lights? It is a big pet peeve of mine to see people with both of those lights on at a gate or on a taxiway.
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- How do you navigate/approach using VORs?
Just one question. This would not divide the pilots between good or bad, but in my opinion will make the true experts stand out. And I mean maybe top 2-3% of players.
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There’s a big difference between what people answer on text questions and how they behave in game. The number one question for me cannot be directly asked because it is ruined if people are aware that they are being tested, but it’s how a pilot behaves when they’re interacting with other pilots that may be slightly inconveniencing them. For example:
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Do you go around if someone is almost off the runway but has not cleared the hold short?
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On parallel taxiways do you push taxi speeds to try to get ahead of someone?
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Do you give way (within reason) to other pilots?
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Can you follow an ATC sequence that is perhaps slightly difficult to get in to?
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Can you perform special ATC requests properly and under pressure (expedite, immediate takeoff, etc)?
I think most people who have been flying for a while have enough technical skills to be competent but it’s sort of like driving. You can be great at car control and still be an insufferable individual to deal with on the roads.
Honorable mention: can you land the 717
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I certainly agree knowledge, skill, and behavior, while overlapping, are also different. And how does one transfer safety margin incentives irl to flying in IF?: Leaving it up to personal initiative in IF likely results in a spectrum of behavior. Your first three questions appear to be those problematic attitude type questions.
The final two being skill related - questioning sufficient ability to control the aircraft to produce the response upon request? Airmanship?
Attitude and airmanship both important and difficult to assess!
I was reading through your’s and @AndrewWu 's a few times to get a sense of how important the attitude type issues are. It’s a challenge to design a question where someone won’t just give you the answer they think you want. Maybe knowledge is the only thing that can be tested for?
So, for example, if the question is whether to stop before contacting ground, all you can really do is test for the rule. Whether they actually follow it is maybe not testable?
Just a thought.
edit: But on second thought, I can see rule based questions and an attitude survey being done side-by-side: maybe it’s hard to test for attitude, but such a test might act as a dialogue method for communicating attitude values (it might increase the uptake).
Does being grade 5 give you any authority in the real world?
True/false
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All I’m saying is that I put down my gear.
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Ok you know what, we can stop the slander
When entering controlled airspace do you suffer attitude sickness?
What do you mean by that?
Top 5 Questions, let’s go‼️
Have you ever read the PHAK/FAR-AIM in any capacity?
Do you understand the basic various methods of VFR and IFR naviagtion?
Do you understand basic aerodynamics?
Do you understand how to properly communicate with ATC?
What does the Infinite Flight gameplay experience mean to you?
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Here is one of mine:
- If you were a first time player on the expert server, would you go to a busy airport like Los Angeles with ATC, or a smaller airport without on the first go of expert server?
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It’s a failed joke.
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