Building While Flying: Lessons from the Chinook Days in Afghanistan

Two clients recently told me they feel like they’re “building the plane while flying it,” and the phrase took me straight back to Afghanistan.

Years ago, when the RCAF was developing the CH‑147 Chinook capability for conflict zones, we were doing exactly that—quite literally. Pilots were training. Maintainers were preparing. But the capability didn’t yet exist in Canada. We took possession of the aircraft in theatre, in real time, under real pressure.

High stakes. High uncertainty. No margin for distraction.

What carried the team through wasn’t heroics or perfection. It was a few simple, disciplined practices:

1. Stabilizing what we could control — clear priorities, tight communication, defined roles.

2. Building trust faster than process — relationships became the operating system.

3. Leading from calm, not certainty — modeling steadiness even when the answers weren’t fully formed.

And it worked.

Not because conditions were ideal, but because our actions were intentional. If you’ve ever lived inside the OPP (operational planning process), you know exactly what that feels like.

The takeaway is one I return to often:

We can build the plane while we fly it — but only if we anchor ourselves in intention and calm rather than urgency and panic.

What’s your version of “building while flying”?