Redefining Airmanship is an impressive and thoroughly comprehensive book.
It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but then maybe my definition of “Airmanship” is too narrow (I think the definition of Airmanship varies from individual pilot to individual pilot).
This book covers everything! It’s CRM on performance enhancing Airmanship steroids.
Tony Kern is a former USAF Instructor Pilot who now focuses on CRM issues in the aviation arena. Much of the book is based on his experiences from his period of service with the military but he has obviously done a copious amount of research, as the commercial and general aviation sectors are also both well covered.
Throughout the entire book there are numerous case studies of actual military, commercial and GA instances of Airmanship, or the lack of it, to illustrate the point(s) in discussion. There are not only the bad examples that are typified with incident and accident reports but, refreshingly, good examples that we can absorb and try to integrate into our own personal brand of Airmanship.
This brand of Airmanship is a holistic, all encompassing form of CRM and Leadership and goes to roots of what drives you as a professional aviator.
It forces you to examine yourself to attempt to discover if you have the “right stuff” to be a complete pilot using his Airmanship model (which has been discussed previously in Airmanship Part 3 – this earlier article examines Tony Kern’s Airmanship model of Bedrock Principles of Discipline (see also his book Flight Discipline), Skill and Proficiency, the Pillars of Knowledge of Self, Aircraft, Team, Environment and Risk and the Capstone Outcomes of Situational Awareness and Judgement).
This is not the sort of book that you should read and forget about. Ideally it would fit in well with your six month study period before you commence your Command Course.
There is so much material in there that you really need to keep coming back to refresh and relearn specific items to do it adequate justice. And as it is so wide-ranging and expansive and has the potential to affect you right to the core of who you are as an aviator, it will require time to gradually incorporate the changes into your day-to-day operation.
The book is not just for Captains, it is for anyone who is an aviator and interested in becoming the best they can be. But there are heaps of lessons that you can absorb and techniques that you can store in your “Command Toolbox” for the day that you need them.
I borrowed this book from a library but I’m going to fork out some dollars and buy my own personal copy. There is so much really good stuff contained within the book. I want to highlight passages and scribble notes in the margins and pluck it off my bookshelf whenever I want to refresh, rejuvenate and remind myself to continually improve and practise this brand of holistic Airmanship.
One of the final paragraphs of the book sums up what the central theme of this entire Redefining Airmanship discovery and learning adventure is all about:
I think I should declare that I'm not involved with Amazon or Tony Kern and I don't receive anything for reviewing his books or using the Amazon links - these are just purely my personal opinions. I use the Amazon links because when you view their linked page it provides much more info and other reviews about the book so that you can make a considered decision about either expending effort to read the book, or expending dollars to buy the book.
I happen to actually think that Redefining Airmanship and Flight Discipline are really excellent books and that every professional aviator should read and apply the priciples in their operation.
It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but then maybe my definition of “Airmanship” is too narrow (I think the definition of Airmanship varies from individual pilot to individual pilot).
This book covers everything! It’s CRM on performance enhancing Airmanship steroids.
Tony Kern is a former USAF Instructor Pilot who now focuses on CRM issues in the aviation arena. Much of the book is based on his experiences from his period of service with the military but he has obviously done a copious amount of research, as the commercial and general aviation sectors are also both well covered.
Throughout the entire book there are numerous case studies of actual military, commercial and GA instances of Airmanship, or the lack of it, to illustrate the point(s) in discussion. There are not only the bad examples that are typified with incident and accident reports but, refreshingly, good examples that we can absorb and try to integrate into our own personal brand of Airmanship.
This brand of Airmanship is a holistic, all encompassing form of CRM and Leadership and goes to roots of what drives you as a professional aviator.
It forces you to examine yourself to attempt to discover if you have the “right stuff” to be a complete pilot using his Airmanship model (which has been discussed previously in Airmanship Part 3 – this earlier article examines Tony Kern’s Airmanship model of Bedrock Principles of Discipline (see also his book Flight Discipline), Skill and Proficiency, the Pillars of Knowledge of Self, Aircraft, Team, Environment and Risk and the Capstone Outcomes of Situational Awareness and Judgement).
This is not the sort of book that you should read and forget about. Ideally it would fit in well with your six month study period before you commence your Command Course.
There is so much material in there that you really need to keep coming back to refresh and relearn specific items to do it adequate justice. And as it is so wide-ranging and expansive and has the potential to affect you right to the core of who you are as an aviator, it will require time to gradually incorporate the changes into your day-to-day operation.
The book is not just for Captains, it is for anyone who is an aviator and interested in becoming the best they can be. But there are heaps of lessons that you can absorb and techniques that you can store in your “Command Toolbox” for the day that you need them.
I borrowed this book from a library but I’m going to fork out some dollars and buy my own personal copy. There is so much really good stuff contained within the book. I want to highlight passages and scribble notes in the margins and pluck it off my bookshelf whenever I want to refresh, rejuvenate and remind myself to continually improve and practise this brand of holistic Airmanship.
One of the final paragraphs of the book sums up what the central theme of this entire Redefining Airmanship discovery and learning adventure is all about:
Aviators come in all sizes, shapes, religions, sexes, races, creeds and degrees of airmanship proficiency. We fly different types of aircraft in different locations, from a grass strip in Mississippi to an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. We fly for different reasons. Some fly for money, some for prestige, and some just for fun. But regardless of what background we bring to aviation, what aircraft type we fly, or what our motivations are for doing it, we all have a moral responsibility to each other to practise sound fundamental airmanship. This obligation also extends to the public at large, over whom we fly and who often become innocent victims of our ineptitude. How we address this obligation is the subject of this book. The airmanship model is offered as a means for individual aviators to take a stand against poor airmanship at the only point at which we have total control – ourselves.Definitely a must-read addition to your Command preparation. If you are prepared to put in the time and effort it can totally change the way you approach the "job" of aviation - in a great way!
I think I should declare that I'm not involved with Amazon or Tony Kern and I don't receive anything for reviewing his books or using the Amazon links - these are just purely my personal opinions. I use the Amazon links because when you view their linked page it provides much more info and other reviews about the book so that you can make a considered decision about either expending effort to read the book, or expending dollars to buy the book.
I happen to actually think that Redefining Airmanship and Flight Discipline are really excellent books and that every professional aviator should read and apply the priciples in their operation.
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