what do you mean, he can't drive a boat?
Let me just state something, in case you have missed it: Steve flies a Boeing 737. According to wikipedia, which you know is truth, a 737-900 costs about $90 million. That is a lot of money...which my husband is in control of. My husband is so technically skilled that he can operate a $90 million machine. Seems kind of impressive, doesn't it?!
This past weekend we decided to go to the lake where my in-laws keep their boat. It is a Marinette 32.
It is 30 something feet, wait...does the 32 of Marinette 32 mean 32 feet?...and it has two inboard engines, which means it takes technique to drive this thing. It is aluminum, which means it is light, and it has a fly bridge, which means it is tall. Steve has yet to drive the Marinette by himself, and will not until he practices and practices and practices. Steve uses words like "muscle memory" to establish what he needs before he takes the boat out on his own. I think the biggest part in all this is that Steve is very cautious by nature. I suppose you want your commercial pilot to be cautious by nature. Now, if he HAD to drive the boat, he could. He just chooses not to do it until he is very comfortable doing so.
Now, let me establish something, for Steve's sake: Steve knows how to boat...that is, when he is comfortable with the boat. He knows all the boating rules, and gets all that stuff. His father used to have a SeaRay. Steve drove that boat just fine. The boat was a lot more simple and he drove it easily. The Marinette just drives that different from the SeaRay.
So, imagine the shock on someones face when I tell them "yeah, we are going to the lake this weekend, but we probably won't take the boat out because Steve can't drive it yet."
Their typical response is "you mean, he can fly a plane, but can't drive a boat?"
On one hand I get it, I actually get frustrated with Steve at times because he hasn't driven the boat yet. My frustration isn't because I compare boating to flying an airplane, but rather because I think that all boats should drive the same. As if I really know that, since I have never driven a boat before. So, when Steve says he won't drive it, I am all "but, you drove the SeaRay. Drive the freakin' boat already!" Wahhhh!
But, on the other hand, last time I checked boating and flying a plane aren't related to one another. So, it is frustrating when people give me the typical "but he can fly a plane" response. Yes, Steve is skilled at operating a multi-million dollar piece of equipment, but that doesn't mean that he can operate ANY piece of equipment. Hell, even if we keep within the flying world, just because he can fly a Boeing 737, it doesn't mean he can fly a 757/767, or a 777...or even a Cessna. Again, if he HAD to I am sure he could figure it out. But, they are all different machines, which operate differently. This is definitely a case where you don't want to be a jack-of-all trades, but rather a master at one.
I guess I should be impressed that people think Steve is superstar equipment operator...just don't bundle a master operator of one thing into a master operator of all things.
This past weekend we decided to go to the lake where my in-laws keep their boat. It is a Marinette 32.
It is 30 something feet, wait...does the 32 of Marinette 32 mean 32 feet?...and it has two inboard engines, which means it takes technique to drive this thing. It is aluminum, which means it is light, and it has a fly bridge, which means it is tall. Steve has yet to drive the Marinette by himself, and will not until he practices and practices and practices. Steve uses words like "muscle memory" to establish what he needs before he takes the boat out on his own. I think the biggest part in all this is that Steve is very cautious by nature. I suppose you want your commercial pilot to be cautious by nature. Now, if he HAD to drive the boat, he could. He just chooses not to do it until he is very comfortable doing so.
Now, let me establish something, for Steve's sake: Steve knows how to boat...that is, when he is comfortable with the boat. He knows all the boating rules, and gets all that stuff. His father used to have a SeaRay. Steve drove that boat just fine. The boat was a lot more simple and he drove it easily. The Marinette just drives that different from the SeaRay.
So, imagine the shock on someones face when I tell them "yeah, we are going to the lake this weekend, but we probably won't take the boat out because Steve can't drive it yet."
Their typical response is "you mean, he can fly a plane, but can't drive a boat?"
On one hand I get it, I actually get frustrated with Steve at times because he hasn't driven the boat yet. My frustration isn't because I compare boating to flying an airplane, but rather because I think that all boats should drive the same. As if I really know that, since I have never driven a boat before. So, when Steve says he won't drive it, I am all "but, you drove the SeaRay. Drive the freakin' boat already!" Wahhhh!
But, on the other hand, last time I checked boating and flying a plane aren't related to one another. So, it is frustrating when people give me the typical "but he can fly a plane" response. Yes, Steve is skilled at operating a multi-million dollar piece of equipment, but that doesn't mean that he can operate ANY piece of equipment. Hell, even if we keep within the flying world, just because he can fly a Boeing 737, it doesn't mean he can fly a 757/767, or a 777...or even a Cessna. Again, if he HAD to I am sure he could figure it out. But, they are all different machines, which operate differently. This is definitely a case where you don't want to be a jack-of-all trades, but rather a master at one.
I guess I should be impressed that people think Steve is superstar equipment operator...just don't bundle a master operator of one thing into a master operator of all things.
It's funny because my husband is a pilot, people just automatically assume he can drive anything. :)
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I guess we should consider it a compliment when people think so highly of our pilots :)
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