A Pilot Personality?

While I was training for my private licence, my instructor informed me that I do not have the typical pilot's personality. What he meant was, I was a scatterbrain: I rarely had my papers in order, I never carried a watch with me (and no, I was not breaking the law  by not carrying at timepiece, my instructor always had one not to mention the fact that I had my cell phone), and I usually had a "good-enough" attitude. When asked to do something, like maintain a specific heading, I took that as a general guideline. I mean, this was the Fargo we were talking about. It wasn't specific, so why should I try to be? And I didn't particularly care if my heading indicator went out, I had my compass. And who really needed instruments when you're looking outside anyway? Plus, I live in a remote town, far from any aviation supply place, so yes, I might have gone to Canadian Tire a few times to get screws. They looked the same to me, they fit in the holes, and they kept the cowling on. What's wrong with that? Apparently, plenty, not to mention the fact that pilot's don't think that way.

Lately, however, I've been flying with a few other pilots and I'm starting to think he was wrong, or at least a little confused. I believe he's mostly correct in that most pilot's don't think that way, they can't. They'd most likely never make it through the training required to become an airline pilot. And instructors couldn't think that way either, or their students would never pass the test. Not to mention a great deal of pilots do like their checklists and instruments and follow everything perfectly. But instead of suggesting I do not have a "pilot's personality," he should have said that I do not have the "nosewheel pilot personality." Because I think that is where the difference lies, in the nosewheel pilot versus the tailwheel pilot.

Now, before I go further, please do not take offense. This is simply an observation I've made and when you look a little closer, you'll most likely agree. Not to mention the fact that I am not the only one who's noticed this. My tailwheel instructor described planes like this: the personal jets were for the elite rich, the Cessnas and similar planes were for the business men, and the taildraggers were the redneck plane. And if you look on youtube, you'll find plenty of tailwheel pilots labelling themselves as redneck, so it's not just me.
Let me relate it to something else, because pilots aren't the only ones with this dichotomy. Take the car industry (or car hobbiest industry) for example. There are "car show" guys and "car" guys. The "carshow guys" (and girls, I'm not trying to be sexist here, it's just easier to keep it as one thing) have their vintage vehicle that has been immaculately restored and is perfectly street legal. Police officers smile and sigh when they drive by, quietly and slowly, enjoying their vintage vehicle on a beautiful afternoon. Now, "car" guys are a little different. They don't spend time restoring it to the original, they spend their time and money making it fast, powerful and badassed. And if they happen to have money left over for a paint job, well, great, but if not, the sound of it alone is enough to make up for the rust on the exterior. And while the car show guy may know the cops because they've talked about cars together, the car guy knows the cops because they stop them everytime they drive by for reckless driving, racing, and noise pollution. 

In the aviation industry, the nosewheel pilots are your typical "carshow guys" whereas your tailwheel pilots are your "car" guys. Just look at the nosewheel planes. They're nice and luxurious, with leather interiors and full instrument panels.Their engines are built for speed to get from one airport to another quickly and smoothly. They're usually fully certified and in impecable working order. On the other hand, your typical tailwheel probably has the interior ripped out entirely to save on weight for hauling animal carcasses. The engine is powerful to support the overly large tundra tires. And it's quite often put on owner maintenance because when you're flying into the middle of nowhere, it's pretty hard to get aircraft certified parts. It's a simple fact, the nosewheel is citified, the tailwheel is countryfied. One takes you to civilization, the other takes you away from it. And along with that comes the pilots who fly them. You've got your city mouse, going into the big airports and you've got your country mouse, flying into the middle of nowhere to hunt or fish away from the rest of the world. Checklists and procedures don't apply when you're landing on the top of a mountain or on a riverbed.

So, I'm sure there are exceptions out there, nothing is ever absolute. But in terms of pilot personality, there's definitely more than one. And what would the world be like without a little contrasting personalities. The moment you add a motor to anything you're going to have differences of opinions and airplanes are no different. Basically, your nosewheel is your sleek BMW and the tailwheel is your jacked up four-by-four. I just have to decide which vehicle best suits my personality.

Okay, I don't have to decide. I know. My airplane personality is definitely the jacked up 4x4. I'm sure the beamer is nice and luxurious, but I don't care, because it's just not cool to me, only expensive.