Mental Fitness: The Preflight You Can’t Skip
You wouldn’t take off without checking your fuel, your oil, or your weather briefing. So why would you fly without checking in on the one thing that drives every decision in the cockpit—your mind?
Mental fitness is just as critical as physical health or aircraft airworthiness.
Fatigue, distraction, stress, complacency, even overconfidence—these aren’t just bad habits. They’re risk factors.
We’re taught the IMSAFE checklist early in training: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion. But let’s be honest—how often do we actually pause and run through it before we fly?
Recently, I heard a great analogy: red lights and green lights. When things are smooth—well-rested, focused, clear-headed—that’s green. But poor sleep? A fight with your spouse? A nagging distraction. That’s a red light.
One red light might be manageable. But start stacking them—fatigue, stress, distractions—and pretty soon you’re flying into a situation you’re not mentally ready for. Enough red lights, or even one major one, should stop you from flying that day.
We like to think that because we’re pilots we can tough it out. Shake it off. Power through. But the pros don’t think that way. In the Air Force, this kind of mental check-in wasn’t optional. It was a mandatory conversation between pilots before every single flight. Not because we were weak—but because we understood the stakes. We didn’t have to get into personal details, but we were expected to speak up if we weren’t at 100%. That way, the other pilots in the aircraft, or in the formation, knew they might need to keep a closer eye on us or be ready to take on a little more of the load.
Mental fitness isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being honest, slowing down, and making the smart call—even if it means delaying or asking for help.
