Flight Training - December 2013 - 56

INSTRUCTOR REPORT»

»

PROBLEM: Pilot ignorance
LOCATION: Cockpit
SOLUTION: Continuing education
TIME FRAME: Unlimited
BENEFIT: Enhanced safety and enjoyment

not understanding the technology
in their airplanes. But in fairness
to those four curious but misinformed pilots, GPS technology
didn't exist when they were taking
flight lessons. And while the GPS
units they use are some of the
most sophisticated, cost-effective,
and reliable navigation devices
they have ever flown with, their
conversation made it clear none of
them had ever taken the task
of truly learning how the technology worked into serious
consideration.
The issue these pilots were
facing is one CFIs struggle with
routinely. How does a CFI teach
a student to use technology that
doesn't yet exist? At the same
time, how does a CFI teach a stu-

dent to use old technology like the
automatic direction finder that is
becoming less and less common?
The answer is deceptively
simple, yet vexingly complex.
The CFI has to find a way to
instill an attitude of professionalism and pride into each student.
The pilot of a Transport category
jet would never leave the gate in
an aluminum flying machine if
he or she understood only some
of the systems on board the
aircraft. The sport pilot should
accept that same mind-set. We
fly only when the weather is
acceptable, our health is good, the
equipment is in airworthy condition, and we understand how to
use it-all of it. And we need to
keep that attitude fresh and alive
throughout our flying career.
The key is found in training,
and training should never end
for a pilot. Unlike our initial
attempts to earn a pilot certificate,
our educational opportunities
have expanded exponentially.

OPEN-DOOR POLICY

An annoyance becomes an emergency
» By David Jack Kenny

FIXED-WING PILOTS TRAINING for the
multiengine rating are taught to do
detailed departure planning. They're
drilled to calculate accelerate-stop
distances specific to current conditions
(the amount of runway needed to reach
rotation speed, recognize a problem, close
the throttles, and come to a stop) and brief
every departure so they'll know exactly
what to do in an emergency. That briefing
might run like this:
"We'll hold the brakes until both
engines reach full power. Rotation speed
is 75 knots. If there's any abnormality
below 75 knots, we'll close the throttles
and stop on the runway. After rotation but
before we raise the gear, we'll close the
throttles and land straight ahead. Once

56 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

the gear are up or we pass 85 knots, we'll
continue the takeoff and treat any problem as an in-flight emergency."
When a twin loses one engine, the
asymmetric thrust and drag of a windmilling prop can render the airplane
uncontrollable unless enough airspeed is
maintained to preserve control authority.
Multiengine training, therefore, focuses
almost entirely on dealing with engine
failures. But other unexpected things
can happen, and an accident in March
2013 illustrates the need to be ready for
them-and quickly determine whether an
anomaly is really an emergency.
A student taking his first multiengine
lesson in a Piper Aztec reported that the
"uneventful" preflight and runup included

We can study at home or from
the office using online tutorials
and video-based content. We can
take short-duration classes at
flight schools or avionics shops
that might last no more than a
few hours. And we can always
book time with a flight instructor who has experience with the
specific piece of technology with
which we want to become more
proficient.
It does no good to have the latest and the greatest gadgets in the
cockpit if you are not sure how
to do any more than turn them
on and press the "go-to" button.
That goes both ways, too. If the
GPS quits and you find yourself
temporarily disoriented, but you
never learned how to triangulate
a position using the VOR, your
ignorance could turn a minor
inconvenience into a serious
problem.
Jamie Beckett is a writer and flight instructor living in Winter Haven, Florida.

testing the brakes and checking that
the door was latched. At rotation speed,
however, the door popped open. The
instructor told him to abort the takeoff,
"and he subsequently reduced engine
power to idle, and applied heavy pressure on the brakes." After a few seconds,
"braking effectiveness dissipated." The
Aztec went off the end of the runway and
into a ditch. The CFI couldn't help, as the
right seat of the 1965-model twin had no
toe brakes.
An Aztec flies perfectly well with the
door open; as in most singles, the accepted
procedure is to fly a normal pattern, then
close it after landing. Was the instructor simply following his own departure
briefing? If so, he probably wishes he'd
remembered that it was meant to simplify
decision making, not replace it.
David Jack Kenny is the Air Safety Institute's
manager of aviation safety analysis.
http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG
Flight Training - December 2013

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