SharpeAero

The Instructors We Don't Forget
Every pilot has one.

The instructor whose voice still shows up in the cockpit years after the last lesson. The one who said the one thing that finally clicked — the thing nobody else had bothered to explain in quite that way.

Sometimes it was a phrase. Sometimes it was the way they pointed at an instrument and waited for you to figure it out. Sometimes it was the patience they had when you were struggling with something basic and couldn't admit it.

The instructors we don't forget didn't always say the loudest thing. They said the right thing at the right time, and then they got out of the way and let you figure out the rest.

If you've been flying for a while, you know who yours is. There's a good chance you haven't told them.

So we want to ask two questions in this post:

For pilots — what's the one thing an instructor said to you that you still think about, sometimes years later?

For instructors — what's the phrase you find yourself saying over and over to students, the one you didn't know would stick?

Tell us in the comments. Tag them if you can.

Illness. Medication. Stress. Alcohol. Fatigue. Emotion.

Every pilot can recite IMSAFE. We learned it in the first weeks of ground school. We can rattle off all six letters faster than we can find our airport diagram in the binder.

But how often do we actually run the checklist before a flight? And when we do — be honest — which letters get the real attention?

Illness, Medication, Alcohol, Fatigue. The "operational" four. The ones that feel measurable. The ones that feel like a flight check.

Stress and Emotion get a nod. A vague yeah, I'm fine. Then we go fly.
Mental Health Awareness Month is closing. Before it does, this is the quiet reminder: the S and the E aren't bonus letters. They aren't the soft items at the bottom. They're part of the same checklist as everything else, and they hold the same weight.

The standard doesn't change. Am I fit to fly today? If the answer to S or E is no, the answer to the whole checklist is no.

Run it honestly. That's the whole job of the checklist.

We all carry our own struggles. They don’t always look the same.

Sharing real experiences is what reminds others they’re not alone and brings clarity to the journey.

Aviation relies on communication, yet some of the hardest messages to transmit are the personal ones.

Burnout, stress, mental fatigue, and overwhelm can quietly affect confidence, focus, communication, and performance long before others notice. In aviation, mental health is not separate from safety. It is part of it.

Mental Health Awareness Month is a reminder that asking for support is not weakness, and resources are available.

Here are just a few Canadian resources available for pilots and mental health support:

• Canadian Pilot Assistance Program
888 FLY ALPA
pat-prp.alpa.org

• Talk Su***de Canada
Call or text 9 8 8

• Canadian Mental Health Association
cmha.ca

Support looks different for everyone, and help is available when needed. If you or someone around you may be in immediate danger, contact 911 or local emergency services immediately.

Earned in the moments no one sees.