Re: art

John Wiley (jwiley_at_atl.mindspring.com)
Sun, 20 Jul 1997 21:33:20 -0400


At 04:16 PM 7/17/97 -0400, you wrote:
>The discussions recently have trended toward a goal of defining every
>aspect of airmanship in one science or anot;her. The general assumption
>seems to be that every detail can be disected and then easily trained and
>evaluated. I think this work is useful but at the same time I think we are
>a long way from complete descriptions of every thing under t;he general
>banner of airmanship. Basically I believe there is still an Art as well as
>a Science to airmanship. The art is the vision necessary to fill in the
>gaps in science. Art deals with the less well understood. We are still
>responsible for how we practice our art, even though it is less defined.
>Any Thoughts? Gerry
>

Without an understanding of what light does, it is impossible to draw and
create art. Without some appreciation of color, it is difficult to develop a
painting. Without some one pointing out that while lines are parallel, they
also converge as they go into the distance when viewed. Without someone
pointing out that small changes early on final make for a better and
smoother approach, the approach becomes a series of jerking the nose up and
down while stabbing at power.

Masters of art and masters of aviation do not approach the "canvas" without
a wealth of study and knowledge. Just because an ice skater seems to glide
over the ice, it does not mean there is not a lot of work going on..balance,
practice, coaching, effort.

One of my teachers was the smoothest pilot I have ever flown with.
Everything seemed to "happen" rather than occur because John banked or added
a bit of power...but in talking to John, you came across a very analytical
mind that had dissected the maneuvers and merely blended one into another
making it all appear as effortless as a breeze fluffing a curtain on a
spring afternoon.

But behind the smooth effort was an aviator who was relentless in wanting to
do the best each time.

And, anyone can put paint on a canvas but is it art???<G>