Learning to Fly
- Gautam Godse
- Mar 19
- 3 min read
If you’re in product management—or building products—you’ve probably heard a lot about frameworks, methodologies, and best practices. But have you ever considered learning to fly as the ultimate crash course (😉 pun intended) in product leadership?
For the past three years, I’ve been training to become a private pilot, racking up 100+ hours in the cockpit. I am about solo, and along the way, I’ve picked up something far more valuable: an entirely new perspective on product building.
Here’s how the discipline, repetition, and sheer terror of flight training translate directly into making better products.
1. Checklists: The Product Playbook You Can’t Ignore
Aviators live and die by checklists—literally. Before you take off, a detailed preflight checklist ensures that everything is in working order. Miss a step? You might not make it back in one piece.
Product managers also need a solid checklist before launching anything new. Are we solving a real problem? Have we validated demand? Do we have the resources to execute? Every product launch should have its own preflight checklist, or else you risk “taking off” only to find your wings weren’t bolted on correctly.
As my instructor says:
“Do you know the fastest way to learn to fly? Do what I tell you!”
Apply that same logic to product management—listen to your data, your customers, and your engineers.
2. Repetition Until You Get It: The ‘Right Rudder’ of Product Management
If I had a dollar for every time my instructor yelled, “More right rudder!”, I could probably afford a new Cirrus SR22. The reality is that learning to fly means making the same mistakes over and over until muscle memory kicks in.
Product managers and founders go through a similar journey. Your first product roadmap? Probably a mess. Your first launch? Likely full of turbulence. But just like aviation, the secret is repetition. You keep iterating, adjusting, and improving until things click.
Also, just as a poorly timed rudder input can send your plane skidding down the runway, a miscalculated product decision can send your startup into a tailspin. Keep practicing until corrections become second nature.
3. Preflight and Weather Checks: Preparing for Market Entry
Before every flight, pilots check the weather, runway conditions, and NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen). A perfect flight plan can be wrecked by unexpected storms. The same goes for launching a product—market conditions, competitor moves, and user expectations can shift quickly.
As a product leader, your weather briefing is market research.
Who are your competitors?
What’s trending in your industry?
Are economic conditions favorable for launch?
Ignoring this step could leave you stuck on the tarmac—or worse, caught in a storm you weren’t ready for.
4. Traffic Awareness: Listening to Your Inner ATC
Flying in busy airspace means you’re always aware of other aircraft in the pattern, listening to Air Traffic Control (ATC), and making decisions accordingly. ATC might tell you to extend your downwind or hold short for traffic—just like the market might signal you to pivot, delay a feature, or rethink your positioning.
In product management, your “ATC” could be customer feedback, internal stakeholders, or external advisors. The key is situational awareness—are you so focused on your own roadmap that you’re oblivious to changes in user needs or market shifts? Stay alert, listen carefully, and be ready to adjust course when necessary.
5. The Humbling Reality: You Will Stall (and Recover)
Every pilot-in-training eventually experiences a stall—where the plane loses lift and starts to drop. The key is not to panic but to recognize what caused it and recover smoothly. There is a checklist for that too!
In product development, stalls happen when growth plateaus, customers churn, or a major initiative flops. The best product leaders don’t panic. Instead, they go to their checklist, analyze what went wrong, adjust their approach, and get back in the air.
As my instructor sarcastically puts it, “You might have stalled the airplane. Thank you for playing ‘Who Wants to Be a Pilot?’”
The same could be said for launching a failed product—learn from it and take another shot.
Final Approach: How Flying Shapes Product Thinking
The best pilots and the best product leaders share the same qualities: discipline, adaptability, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. Whether you’re navigating crosswinds on final approach or launching a new feature into a competitive market, preparation, awareness, and responsiveness are key.
So, if you ever get the chance to take flying lessons, do it—not just for the thrill, but for the invaluable lessons it teaches about risk management, execution, and leadership.
Until then, remember: More Right Rudder ! 😃
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