Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 03.24.06

I was instructing in a high-end piston twin simulator, sitting in the control booth behind the pilots’ seats.  Up front occupying the left seat was my client, an experienced multiengine pilot. In the right was one of his employees, a nonpilot who often flew with the businessman-pilot.

My client asked before the lesson if he could fly it the way he normally did with this passenger, and I enthusiastically said yes. I saw no reason to artificially change the pilot’s habits, and frankly was curious to see what he meant. Once settled into "the box" long enough to buy into the simulation, the two worked surprisingly well together. Right-seater ran checklists when called by the pilot, tuned the transponder correctly and even handled communication radio frequency changes and audio panel manipulation when handed off by (me playing) Air Traffic Control.

I gave vectors for the ILS (Instrument Landing System) approach. The two set up and masterfully briefed for the approach. Inside the marker and sliding down the glideslope the pilot asked his passenger: "Let me know when you see it."

I’d set the ceiling at 400 feet and visibility about ¾ mile. That meant the "box’s" visual display grew dark green with surface detail as the flight emerged from clouds, but was still too far from the runway to see its details in the gray ahead.

"I see it," called the passenger. The pilot looked up, expecting the runway squarely in his sights, but saw a road slightly to one side instead. He nudged the simulated airplane in that direction and continued his descent into obstacles just as the runway approach lights became visible to his left.

Debrief

My client and his employee were emotionally crushed by the unexpected crash. I commended them for the obvious thought and practice they’d put into working as a crew to reduce the pilot’s workload. The failure was not one of cooperation, it was simple communication. When the pilot asked "Let me know when you see it," the passenger thought "it" was the ground. What the pilot meant was "let me know when you see the runway environment." This lead to a short lesson for both on approach lighting and runway markings, and more importantly, how to phrase questions and answers when working as a crew. I also cautioned the pilot not to become dependent on his passenger, because they didn’t always fly together. Afterward, they flew several approaches together using correct terminology, the pilot "soloed" a few good approaches as well, and went home a much safer flight operation.

Aero-tip of the day: You can dramatically reduce your workload by making use of a knowledgeable person in the right seat. It takes briefing and practice, but more importantly communication, to make this a safety benefit.

FMI: Aero-Tips