14I’ve been following a conversation in LinkedIn started by Randy Sarske in the AOPA and Aviation Network Groups titled “Are smarter airplanes making dumber pilots?” and was thinking about the parallels to social media.

I had to suspend my instant judgment (which is colored by my infatuation with the G-1000 glass cockpit) long enough to listen to folks who have been pilots much longer than I have:

From the AOPA discussion (mostly general aviation pilots and enthusiasts)

Some of the great comments from Ralph Forsythe:

  • A smart pilot will be a smart pilot in any plane they fly. For this group, the technology is just a better tool.
  • A dumb pilot will be in trouble either way. Technology can’t fix stupid, it just might delay the inevitable for a while longer and allow you to crash in style.
  • High-tech glass aircraft don’t necessarily make pilots dumber, but a dumb pilot will only have those traits reinforced by it.
  • Safe and competent flying is and has always been about the traits and flying values a pilot has, and no technology in history has ever altered this fact.

Pär Bergqvist added this comment:

  • I once saw a placard on some kind of heavy machine that read: “This machine has no brain, use your own”

Loren Herren said this:

  • No matter the system, once a pilot buys into the illusion that the equipment can and will do anything, the pilot has given up command of the flight, and has become a passenger at the controls, often with tragic and very avoidable results.

On the Aviation Network side (made up of career/professional/airline folks)

Bryan W. Johnston said:

Yes, the advancement in airplane technology has created a situation where the pilot skills of old are lacking in the majority of our newer and younger flight crews who have become dependent on the aircraft and its advanced flight controls and navigation systems. Good old common sense is not being used, and crews lose control in crisis situations.

Peter Capani added:

An experienced pilot with common sense is worth far more than the greatest CRM procedures manual in a glass cockpit environment.

Uwe (Rolando) Goehl remarked:

The challenge is to keep pilots from getting to the point where they would have to admit “I don’t know how to fly anymore . . . but I CAN type 70 words per minute!”

John Darbo said:

One airline I am familiar with made a pendulum swing too far to automation dependency and had a struggle to back in proper perspective.

Mark A. Gardner noted:

The biggest problem with Automation is it makes you lazy. Another important factor to consider is the possibility of mode confusion. Mode confusion can really be a problem if you are using a seldom used mode and have to do a lot of thinking to figure out “The Box.”

Joe Roman said

The problem is not with the technology it is with the mind set of the pilot. “Smarter airplanes” simply offer new tools. Learn the features, benefits and limitations of the tools. Then choose to use them or ignore them when applicable.

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This is all excellent advice, and not just for pilots and airplanes – and it expands beyond piloting skills.

The new online tools are making marketers stupid in the same sense.

People who may not know a good campaign plan from a bad one can send a tweet.  People who don’t know how to determine the competitive advantage of a product can build a fan page for it on Facebook.

But it’s vital to get the basics right. The tools are a wonderful extension to a well-planned campaign, but they provide only a huge waste of time and money for companies and business owners who don’t know what they’re doing.  They end up with wasted hours, misdirected budgets, and no results. And they come to the conclusion that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs are a horrible idea.

Well, all the new technology IS a bad idea, unless it’s used with a solid business model and a good product.

It’s like using a G-1000 if you have no idea how to fly the airplane.

Technology and tools of all kinds are great.  If you know how to use them!

That applies to all tools, including my favorite G-1000, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs.

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