Working as a flight instructor and charter pilot, I’d get my factor puckered on occasion (pilots know the real expression – pucker factor). It’s gender neutral, by the way. We all have puckers. That’s PUCKER with a U. “Pucker factor” started out as a military term, which refers to the tightening of the buttocks caused by extreme fear. The pucker is factored by how much fear is involved. If fear overcomes a pilot, he or she loses the ability to think clearly and rationally, and bad things can happen. That’s why staying cool as a pilot under stressful conditions is such ...