Earlier this week I set out to fly with another instrument student. As a safety pilot, my job isn’t much more than to make sure the person flying doesn’t make any critical errors while flying without reference to the terrain. It was 97 degrees when we departed Austin. I enjoyed sitting in the right seat, taking a more casual and hands-off role than how I’ve been flying for the last year or so. The student was exceptionally proficient so there wasn’t much for me to do other than offer advice and reassurance from time to time.