by Ken Ibold

At various points in the careers of most pilots, there come times when the pilot attains mastery of the airplane and, therefore, mastery of the air.

Sometimes those episodes are fleeting, beaten back into submission by some kind of learning experience that convinces the pilot that he has not seen it all or that she has not “been there, done that.” Armed with a new humility, the pilot adds another notch to the pole of experience and soldiers on. …