Flight Training - August 2022 - 47

deviation indicator (CDI) into the scan,
the seventh instrument. And that one
sure is tempting to fixate on because it's
so much like the dual-cue flight director
on the PFD in the 737. HSIs are nice but
our old directional gyros still chug along
and do the job. When they fail, however,
they will almost certainly be replaced by
an electronic HSI. Same goes for the attitude
indicator in these airplanes.
So typically, when I scan, my eyes
ai165411578411_AOPA_FT Magazine_Jul 2022_bleeds.pdf 1 6/1/2022 1:36:26 PM
stop on that CDI with its display of localizer
and glideslope as I look for subtle
changes to prove how precisely I can fly
an ILS. Instead, there goes the attitude,
vertical speed, airspeed-oh yeah, what
are the minimums on this approach? Oh
shoot, now I'm a full dot high and more
than 1.5 dots off the localizer because
I haven't cross-checked my heading.
Ack! As the mistakes start piling up, the
corrections have to be prompt and sometimes
more drastic to avoid snowballing
into mandatory go-around territory.
Smoothness? Ha! I might achieve that
on the third approach when the cobwebs
have been swept off my scan technique.
I've found that three things help
me in IMC when flying my personal
airplanes. In the Beechcraft Baron, the
autopilot is a big help. Yes, I know I
should be proficient in flying without
it and I do, but only a fool would not
use the tools given to him. This Baron
doesn't have auto trim so the autopilot
can only fly the lateral portion of an
approach and it's by no means a coupled
approach. I still have to manage the vertical
portion, which is much more easily
accomplished as the autopilot flies the
RNAV or localizer course expertly. The
172 doesn't have an autopilot, although
it's on the wish list.
During an approach in one of my
airplanes I talk to myself. I'm pretty
sure if I did that at my day job, my first
officers might report me to professional
standards. Anyway, talking to myself
helps me stay in the loop with the need
to scan. Your results may vary.
Finally, a first officer I flew with
turned me on to chewing gum, which
he swore made him more engaged when
flying in challenging conditions. I tried
it in the 737 and I, too, felt more
engaged. So I tried it in my airplane
on an IFR approach into an unfamiliar
airport in an unfamiliar (to me) locale
in Montana. Sure enough, it worked,
and I flew a near-textbook, hand-flown
approach.
If you've learned on glass alone, I'd
have to say you've had it easy and the
technology is wonderful. But, by all
means practice a few approaches using
just the iron-gyro standby instruments.
Screens fail, attitude and heading reference
systems can fail, and if all you've
learned on is glass, scanning may not
be your strength. Try it, and maybe
you'll get humbled like I do at least
once per year. FT
PETER A. BEDELL is a pilot for a major airline and
is co-owner of a Cessna 172 and Beechcraft Baron.
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Flight Training - August 2022

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