Flying is an apprenticeship trade. Connections between generations are essential to the passing-on of hard-won skills. But this chain of experience is vulnerable to well-meaning safety measures. Regulation, training, procedures, and automation can all have consequences unforeseen at their implementation. This is borne out by the accident history. But there is no need to repeat it. We can learn from those who paid the ultimate price. Even as I now leave my trade after fifty-five years, I am still learning to fly.

This book is my attempt to pass forward some of what I have come slowly to understand. I wanted to teach a class that was in effect a grad seminar for pilots who already had their Airline Transport Pilot Rating. But time was catching up with me, so I wrote this book instead.