Doug talks risk management because flying is all about managing risks. And what are these risks? His big three are:

• Ceilings and Visibility - its not just about your departure but could you make it back if you had an engine failure on takeoff?
• Convective activity and thunderstorms - you can't always see these coming so we use all of our tools; radar, ADS-B and XM Radio.
• Icing - this can happen fast so you've got to pay attention to your SIGMETS, know where your freezing levels and warmer temperatures are located.

But wait, there's more:

• Turbulence and wind shear - this can be a deadly and invisible force.
• Runway conditions - this includes contamination, sloping conditions, lighting and size.
• Terrain - this is not only a physical obstacle, it can create powerful rotor winds.

And it's a balancing act. We might not mind flying an offshore victor airway if it saves us an hour of fuel, but to fly 25 miles off shore to gain five minutes, not worth the risk.

View from the pilot in training. What I learned...

"Prior to the ECIE my go / no-go decisions did not follow a structured sequence of information gathering. If we focus on the categorical threats that can prevent us from making a safe flight it becomes easier to quantify the risks."

BW