Flight Training - June 2024 - 22

PREFLIGHT FLIGHT LESSON
BY JILL W. TALLMAN
STUFFED UP
OTC MEDICINE FOGS UP A LESSON
WHAT HAPPENED
I tried the key in the door several times
without luck before looking up and realizing:
I was trying to lock the wrong airplane.
airplane while the flight instructor went
into the office to prepare his post-flight
briefing. I noted the Hobbs time on the
airplane's log and put the airplane key in
its metal cannister, then trudged over to
the flight school to turn in the can.
As I opened the door, I realized I had
not locked the TB-9's doors. This was
standard procedure at the conclusion
of each lesson, along with tying down-
no exceptions. Nothing for it but to
trudge back out to the flight line and
lock the doors.
Except-the key wouldn't work. I tried
BETWEEN THE BAD WEATHER, THE FACT THAT MY
previous flight instructor had departed for the airlines,
and my brain that did not retain knowledge as
readily as it used to, it was taking me far too long to
get through the private pilot curriculum.
I got a new flight instructor eventually; and I
compensated for the bad weather by scheduling
two or three lessons per week in the hopes that
one of them would actually take place. Usually, at
least one did.
But I forgot about human factors. One miserable
cold day in October I woke up with a head cold. I was
scheduled for an afternoon flight lesson. I did what a
nonpilot would do-I took a decongestant.
Then I remembered: The FAA said something
about decongestants. I checked the FAA's language
on over-the-counter medications. Sudafed is considered
safe to fly with if you have experienced no side
effects within a 48-hour trial period. OK; I'd used it
before and didn't recall any side effects. After taking
one, I certainly felt alert enough to go flying with
an instructor.
The lesson itself went well, as far as I remember.
I was pre-solo, so the hour was dedicated to pattern
work in one of the school's three Tampico TB-9s. We
completed our lesson, landed, and taxied back to the
flight school ramp. I shut down and tied down the
22
FLIGHT TRAINING JUNE 2024
WHAT'S ALLOWED,
WHAT'S NOT
AOPA's comprehensive
FAA medication
database includes
the FAA's position
on prescription and
over-the-counter
medications. The
database information
is verified with the
FAA's Aerospace
Medical Certification
Division in Oklahoma
City. If you do not see
a particular medicine
in the database,
call the AOPA Pilot
Information Center at
800-USA-AOPA.
the key in the door several times without
luck before looking up and realizing: The
TB-9s were parked together on the ramp.
I was trying to lock the wrong airplane.
Flying with a known medical condition
like nasal congestion, on an
over-the-counter medicine, wasn't smart.
Even with a flight instructor in the right
seat to act as pilot in command, my
performance had been affected. What's
more, I'd thrown away the cost of an
hour's airplane rental and an hour's flight
instruction. And flying wasn't cheap then,
any less than it is now.
Ever since that day, I've applied the
IMSAFE recipe to every flight. That is,
before I fly, I check myself for illness,
medication, stress, alcohol, fatigue, and
emotion. If any of these is a factor-and
that goes for over-the-counter medications-I
do my research on what the FAA
says, but the result is that I ground myself
more often than not. Why take an unnecessary
risk when aviation is all about
risk management?
jill.tallman@aopa.org
TOP LEFT: ALEX WILLIAMSON ABOVE: STEVE KARP
Flight Training - June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - June 2024
