AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2011 - 26

WAYPOINTS

BY THOMAS B. HAINES
EDITOR IN CHIEF

Hurry up and slow down

Bonanza would have made the decision easier, even though its autopilot is much less capable. And, of course, the Bonanza does not rocket skyward the way a turboprop does, making the altitude management easier. While a busy few minutes, this flight was no great feat, but it did remind me that every flight is a flight—no matter how short or long. The same amount of care that is required on each and every one. The advantage to a long flight is that you have plenty of time to prepare for the approach don’t fly anywhere around the Washington, D.C., area VFR for fear of violating the complex airspace, and landing. Editor in Chief especially the special flight rules area (SFRA) around In his free email newsletter, Flying Lessons Tom Haines flies the capital. But this night, as I sat in the run-up area Weekly (www.mastery-flight-training.com/), flight his Bonanza A36 at Martin State Airport northeast of Baltimore, the instructor Tom Turner pointed out recently that for business and ground controller was telling me it would be at least these quick-and-dirty flights can lead to mistakes. pleasure. a 30-minute wait to get an IFR clearance because of He highlights an accident in which a high-time traffic saturation around the three airline airports in pilot in a nearly new twin turboprop makes a quick the region. What to do? 10-mile hop to a neighboring airport for some cheaper fuel and Martin State is outside the SFRA, but a straight line home to ends up landing gear up. Suddenly, that’s some expensive gas! Frederick Municipal Airport would put me within a couple of Turner’s comments: “The shortest hops, too, can sometimes miles of the airspace. In addition, Martin State is beneath the be the riskiest. Especially if we fly higher-performance, crossBaltimore-Washington Class B airspace complex, meaning VFR country airplanes, we’re used to a flurry of activity at takeoff and I would need to be careful of airspace restrictions as I climbed climb out, with a long period to prepare ourselves for approach out—solo, at night, in a turboprop with an aggressive climb and landing on the other end. If the en route phase is very short capability much greater than that of my Bonanza; a turboprop we can find ourselves behind the airplane, more likely to forget that I was still fairly new to, especially at night. something that might be vital.” With visions of NASA ASRS forms dancing in my head, I careHis advice: Use the checklist—and triple check the most fully considered my options. What I had going for me were a critical items! highly capable autopilot in the Meridian and a big multifuncManaging flights has to do with sensitizing yourself to nortion display that clearly depicts airspace. The Garmin GFC mal work load. When you begin to feel rushed or overloaded, 700 flies the airplane beautifully and makes coffee on the side. alarms should start going off in your head. The solution? Slow After carefully studying the altitude restrictions, setting up the down. Go around. Ask for a delaying vector or holding patmultifunction display to clearly display the airspace rings, and tern—whatever it takes to give yourself time to get ahead of the programming the flight director to show a level off just below airplane. That rushed feeling should be accompanied in your the altitude limit, I made the decision to go VFR and within min- head by the sound of a link in the accident chain snapping into utes was on my way home. Shortly after takeoff, I flipped on the place. Your goal should be to break that link. There are ways to autopilot and continued carefully monitoring the altitude as the reduce your exposure. One is to leave the gear down when doing airplane leveled off just as programmed. Pulling the power lever a go-arounds or touch-and-goes. Why risk forgetting the gear? back mightily to slow down the whole process, I soon passed Another is meticulous adherence to checklists, cockpit flows, into an area that permitted a slightly higher altitude and pro- or mnemonics. I use GUMPS (gas, undercarriage, mixture, prop, grammed the autopilot up a notch. safety—belts and harnesses) religiously when on downwind The miles and minutes whizzed by as I progressed westward and again on final, and have for 34 years since my primary and soon said good night to Potomac Departure as I listened to instructor told me about it. And I say it aloud, which tends to the Frederick AWOS and set up for a visual approach. Alert to amuse those who fly with me regularly. Even though I was flythe notion that it’s easy to skip a checklist step when things are ing a Cessna 150 with the gear securely bolted into place at the moving fast, I double checked each item on the before-landing time, he said the “undercarriage” reminder would serve me well checklist and triple checked the gear down on base and final. when I moved up. And it has. Feeling rushed? Take your time. After I cleared the runway and headed for the hangar, I assessed the flight and my decision making. No doubt, the work load on the quick flight was high, but I know the area well Email the author at thomas.haines@aopa.org; follow on twitter. and had a great autopilot to assist. Greater familiarity with my com/tomhaines29.
AOPA PILOT •

orty-five nautical miles— about a 15-minute flight in the Piper Meridian I was flying. Night, good VFR weather. How hard should this be? I typically

26 • AUGUST 2011

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2011

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