Premium on Safety - Issue 46, 2022 - 14

A MESSAGE FROM ASI
AVIATION'S TWO-MINUTE DRILL
BY RICHARD G. MCSPADDEN, JR.
I'm departing Frederick Municipal
Airport (FDK) in Bonanza N4GA,
AOPA's flagship aircraft. The weather
is low IFR, radios are popping at a
rapid cadence in busy airspace, the
Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules
Area to my left, presidential TFR around
Camp David to my right, and I'm
anxious to get the autopilot engaged
to help me through the intensity.
I'm in the two-minute drill-the critical time for pilots in the
first two minutes after brake release-and on the backside, the
last two minutes before touchdown. The AOPA Air Safety Institute
estimates that some 70 percent of all accidents and some 40
percent of fatal accidents happen during the two-minute drill.
In football, games are often decided in the last two minutes of
the contest. This period is so critical that teams develop specific
strategies for the last two minutes of the game. They work on them
in practice, emphasizing time management and quick-but-precise
action and reaction. Such practice sessions are known as " twominute
drills. "
The parallels to flying are obvious, except our two-minute drill also
occurs at the start of our performance, when we're just getting
moving-physically and mentally-establishing our rhythm and our
cadence with " teammates " like air traffic controllers, and co-pilots
or other crew. It's busy, and we're frequently working at full mental
capacity to stay ahead of the airplane. Our opponents are weather,
airspace, complicated clearances, and the laws of physics. Just like
in football, we are at our best when we're ahead of our opponents,
anticipating and taking initiative to control the situation.
Autopilots offer tremendous support in the two-minute drill.
Used correctly, they take over mundane tasks and free us mentally
to move ahead of the situation and anticipate our next moves.
Used incorrectly, or relied on too much, they become a detriment
and will fly us into problems. One such problem is lack of stickand-rudder
proficiency. I realized, reflecting on my departure in
4GA, that over-reliance on the autopilot was creeping into my
flying and could result in a loss of proficiency in a flight arena
where it was most needed.
A friend who flies a high-performance turboprop is a data
wonk. He downloads data from his flights, graphs it, tables it,
studies it, and occasionally contacts me with some interesting
observations about his flying. His latest work came after watching
an ASI analysis of a couple of accidents where pilots in highperformance
airplanes lost control while obviously hand-flying
during the two-minute drill in demanding conditions.
My friend began wondering about his own proficiency at handflying
in the two-minute drill. Aircraft performance graphs revealed
the exact moment he engaged the autopilot. He typically handflew
the aircraft straight out on departure up to a few hundred
feet, and then again on final approach a few hundred feet from
landing. The autopilot flew most of the maneuvering on departure,
en route, and through the approach and terminal phase. I confess
that my profile-flying 4GA loaded with the latest Garmin avionics
and autopilot-would mirror his data set.
Certainly, proficiency in working advanced avionics and using
the autopilot as a supporting tool is critical in aviation's two-minute
drill. Especially so when flying high-performance aircraft where the
tempo is fast and crisp. But we must also maintain our proficiency
in hand-flying the airplane so we are comfortable flying the aircraft
exactly where we want it. Ironically, autopilots may not be available
under the most demanding flying conditions: circling approaches,
go-arounds into visual patterns, or strong turbulence, for example.
As ASI accident analyses have revealed, if we don't maintain
proficiency at hand-flying in placid conditions, we will struggle to do
so in demanding conditions when the autopilot can't handle it.
Work on your two-minute drill. Maintain proficiency in hand-flying
the airplane through the departure, up to your final cruising altitude
and again starting descent, and through the initial approach fix,
on approach all the way to touchdown. The confidence you'll gain
may one day prove vital to success in a two-minute drill, in tough
conditions where one critical mistake could be devastating.
Fly safe!
Richard G. McSpadden, Jr.
Senior Vice President, AOPA Air Safety Institute
14
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