Sunday,
December 3, 2006
Vol. III No. 24 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Welcome
to the
Over the
Airwaves
aviation journal. This complimentary bi-weekly e-mailing
is being sent to pilots and aviation enthusiasts around the
world. Its aim
is to promote
flight safety, encourage students and new pilots, and to build
enthusiasm for aviation in general.
Dear Pilots and Aviation Enthusiasts:
Don't worry, I am not about to correlate GA fatal accident numbers with the level of our dental care . . . though it would make for an interesting comparison! I am, however, about to contrast advancements in dentistry with our initial and recurrent flight training methods of today. When I was growing up, mom would take me periodically to the dentist. He would look, x-ray, drill, and fill. A little later in life, the word "extract" would begin to appear in my dental chart. The bill for an x-ray, cleaning, and filling was about $35.00. I would not return to the dentist until I had a toothache.
My early dental experiences, though much less costly, left me with a mouth full of silver fillings, two root canals, the loss of two molars, and one bridge. Had I continued on that course of treatment, I'd likely be wearing dentures today. Fortunately, my original dentist retired about 18 years ago. This led me to a newer style dentist, only 10 years out of dental school. It required a major investment for my new dentist to re-work those silver filled teeth, fit the severely damaged ones with porcelain crowns, and install sparkling white veneers on my aging front teeth. He and his hygienist also devoted about 15 minutes in each visit demonstrating proper brushing and flossing techniques. Having spent the equivalent of four annuals for my T-210 in this restoration process, I wanted to be sure that my reconditioned teeth would out-live me. This would require regular six-month checkups, professional cleaning, and an occasional clinical tweak here and there. Well, it's been 18 years since that first visit with my current dentist. No more silver fillings. In fact, no cavities at all. There have been no more extractions either. Best of all, my dentist gave me a clean bill of dental health and did, in fact, confirm that my teeth will all out-live me! So what does dentistry have to do with flying? While the practice of dentistry has revolutionized itself over the past 30 years, our general aviation flight instruction process has not. We are, in fact, still following nearly the same practical test standards (PTS) that were used before the advent of the passenger jet. The initial qualifications to become a private pilot, e.g., 40 hours of dual/solo flight have been with us since the days of the the DC-3.
Guess what? Dentistry eventually changed. Moving aggressively from a treatment profession to a prevention profession, the number of "extractions" nose dived. Dental procedures changed. New techniques and materials were developed. Patient attitudes were changed and improved education led to marked reductions in drilling and filling. Ultimately, as more and more dental patients were convinced of the importance of proper dental care and regular six month check ups, the quality of our dental health skyrocketed. Yes, we can produce dramatic reductions in our chronic fatal accident rate as well! We CAN produce a dramatic reduction in our fatal accident rate, but first we must go through the same transitions that the dental profession did. This transition process begins with our flight instructors and our flight schools. For example, the practice of conferring CFI status on 19 and 20 year olds with less than 50 or 100 hours total solo time is ludicrous. Worse, employing these inexperienced pilots to instill proper aeronautical decision making (ADM) skills and an attitudinal foundation for safety constitutes cruel consumer abuse. Sure, there are exceptions, but we must not rely upon these exceptions to offset the abuses perpetrated by their less competent brethren. Agreed, instituting a 1,000 hour minimum flight experience rule to qualify as a CFI will produce operational ripples through the flight training community, but the quality of instruction will be improved dramatically. Don't believe it? We have many known cases here in the north where local flight schools hire brand new Florida flight school grads with no actual IMC or cold weather flying experience to teach instruments here in the winter. They hire them because they're available and they work cheap. Let's get real on this point alone! Another example. FITS (FAA/Industry Training) represents a wonderful way to prepare new students for the real world of flying in the 21st century national airspace system. Regrettably, FITS hasn't caught on with most flight instructors around the country. I'd be curious as to how many have actually heard of this approach to flight instruction! Instead, its the same drills, the same unimaginative practice area nonsense, and the same rote memory preparation for the knowledge, oral, and practical tests. Want more examples? View limiting devices and GA simulators are often the rule instead of the exception, for which they were intended. This practice of using these devices, alone, is likely responsible for many of our IMC accidents. Let's Follow the Dentists' Lead The practice of dentistry went through a metamorphosis in the past 30 years. They fixed a lot of gross ills in their profession that will soon put denture makers out of business. Regrettably, GA has yet to undergo similar change. Instead, we're still "drilling, filling, and yanking." Our chronic fatal accident rate proves this. Yes, there are some in the GA world who are moving us in new directions. Certainly our avionics makers are doing their share. Some in the aircraft manufacturing business are helping us to reduce our workload. For example, Diamond Aircraft's new DA-42 Twin Star is a jewel to fly. It makes the old Cessna 310 look like something out of a torture chamber, e.g., two power/prop/mixture controls versus of six. But then there is us, the GA pilots in the field. Many of us are still doing what the proverbial dark ages dentists told us to do, e.g., biennial flight reviews only. It is time that we hook up with the new age instructors who implore us to come in every six months for an "in-flight" checkup and workout, to participate in online flight training courses, to regularly attend flight safety meetings, and to actively participate in the FAA's WINGs program. Sure, this kind of recurrent training is more expensive than in years past (just like today's dental bills). But remember, we're talking tooth loss and fatal accidents here. How much are we willing to pay? Our choice, our teeth . . . our lives! Fly Safe!
Bob Miller, ATP, CFII
But what we do know is, he made a lasting impression on the neighbors! Witnesses reported seeing the airplane make several low-altitude passes over the backyard barbeque. On the final pass, witnesses said the left wing of the airplane collided with a tree located near the barbeque grill. The airplane then flew into transmission wires, impacted the soft terrain, and flipped inverted. Pretty exciting show, right? The pilot was well known in the local community. Many of his friends were present at the barbeque. They say he would often maneuver his airplane at low altitudes in the area. The guy held a private pilot certificate with airplane ratings for single and multiengine land. Records showed that he about 2,000 total flying hours. He was what you call, "a good stick." His friends likely marveled at his flying skills. Perhaps his flying skills were superb. Unfortunately, his judgment skills left much to be desired. Somewhere in his formative flying years nobody instilled the fact that alcohol and airplanes produce a deadly combination of risk factors.
Perhaps he was never convinced that the margin for
error in airplanes versus automobiles when alcohol
is involved is not even comparable. What he
might get away with in his car will never work in
airplanes.
Proper attitude formation
He said, "Bob, if ever you plan to drink and fly, know and understand that it will most assuredly be your very last flight." Then my instructor said, "And, in the unlikely chance that I should survive the flight, the FAA will likely cut my pilot's certificate into a million pieces." If that were not enough, he added, "If anybody else is injured or killed as a result of my drinking and flying, they or their estates will take possession of every asset that I have now, and forever more." I never forgot his words. This thing about "primacy of learning" really works. The real problem is . . . Proper flight training goes far beyond teaching maneuvers in the practice area and preparing students for the oral exam and checkride. Teaching somebody the eight hour rule or the 0.04 blood/alcohol content rule and hoping they get the message is a fool's folly.
Regarding alcohol consumption, whether or not this can be accomplished by a CFI too young to legally drink himself is open to serious question. Okay, so we cannot blame the flight instruction community for all of the social ills our students carry into the training process. But we can blame this training community for not recognizing these ills and then setting up training scenarios to deal with them. Remember, if the student fails to learn, it is because the teacher failed to teach
AGL, MSL, true altitude, absolute altitude, indicated altitude, pressure altitude, and our old favorite . . . density altitude. Each of these has its own meaning. Those meanings could spell the difference between clearing an obstacle and boring a hole through it. Knowing the definitions of each altitude is more than an academic exercise. It could save you life! Let's take a minute and review the various definitions of altitude
Finding the Density Altitude at your airport:
The table to the left provides a quick and easy way to determine the density altitude at your airport on a given day. First, calculate Pressure Altitude - The first step is to determine the pressure altitude. We do this by setting the aircraft altimeter to 29.92" in the Kollsman window. We then read the Pressure Altitude off the hands in the altimeter. Next, find the Outside Air Temperature- This is easy. Simply look at the OAT gauge. Lastly, go to the Density Altitude table Locate the diagonal pressure altitude line for your airport, then look at the temperature line at the bottom of the chart. Draw a vertical line from the temperature to the diagonal pressure altitude line. Then, draw a horizontal line to the left side of the chart to find the density altitude. Most aircraft performance charts are based upon pressure altitudes. We simply factor in the temperature, aircraft weight, and winds to compute runway takeoff and landing distances. While we flatlanders often fail to see the significance of density altitude, folks who operate on short fields in mountainous areas are keenly aware of this weather factor.
Ask any experienced CFI how he or she feels when the student fails to flair at the right time. Better yet, watch the CFI's hands. They are "spring loaded" to give a timely tug on the yoke or stick to prevent bashing the nose wheel through the pavement. Preventing the nose wheel bash
Since this high nose pitch attitude blocks the forward view of the runway, it also helps to instill the useful practice of looking out the side window for alignment and height above the runway information. In the process, the pilot learns how to ease the airplane onto the runway, sans bounces and balloons. Review the proper soft field landing technique on your own or with an experienced CFI. Then go out and watch airliners land. The above photo illustrates how the pilot of a JetBlue A-320 was able to keep his damaged nose gear off of the runway at LAX last year for as long as possible. Let's get into our head that the nose wheel is to be used for ground steering only. That is its ONLY purpose. It is NOT to be used for landing!
The red line in the illustration to the right depicts the declining pilot capabilities as a flight moves along from the preflight phase to the landing and taxi phase. The green line depicts the relative workload for each phase of flight. Note that the red and green line come closest during the approach and landing phase of flight.
Keep our gap between workload and our pilot capabilities wide. The best way to maximize this gap or margin of safety is to increase our pilot capabilities. While the workload itself is not likely to change, we can make ourselves better equipped do deal with this workload. Here are a few ways to widen the gap . . .
Human factors play an enormous role in the safe outcome of every flight. Sure, having sharp maneuvering skills is vital, but being up to the flying task mentally and physically tops the list of safety factors.
A classic scenario . . . The pilot's first approach to the runway was high and fast. He did the right thing. He applied power and went around for another try. On his second attempt, he landed long and he again added power for the go-around. Unfortunately, the second decision to go around came seconds too late. Menacing 30 foot high trees at the end of the runway caused the pilot to pitch to a high nose up attitude.
Yep . . . another fatal stall/spin accident (they happen about once a week in the United States). Tracing the accident chain This pilot made two unsuccessful attempts to land. In both cases, he was either too high or too fast . . . likely both. Anybody remember the "key" to a good landing? Yep, a stabilized approach!
The key to a stabilized approach is the use of proper power settings and consummate speed control in the traffic pattern. For example, on the downwind leg, we use our low cruise speed power setting. In a Cessna 172, this will be something close to 2,200 RPM and 90KIAS. Reaching the end of the runway, reduce power to around 1,900 RPM without changing trim. This should produce a 500 to 600 f/m descent rate. Turning on base with 20 degrees of flaps should reduce speed to between 80 and 70KIAS. On final, with 30 degrees of flaps and further power reduction to around 1,400 RPM and proper pitch control should result in our best glide speed as we come down the final approach segment. The touchdown should be within the first 1/3rd of the runway. Ahhh . . . the stabilized approach! Perfect practice makes perfect! We are all fond of going out to the patch on a sunny morning and practicing takeoffs and landings. To make this exercise really effective, we should be noting those power settings and speeds on each leg of the pattern that produces the most stabilized approaches and landings. Once known, nail those power settings and speeds EVERY time (adjusting for winds, of course.) So what caused this fatal accident? While landing long on the runway contributed to this accident, this pilot's undoing occurred at two different points.
The first point was his failure to initiate a go around when he first recognized he could not touch down in the first 1/3rd of the runway. This runway touch down decision point varies, of course, by runway length. The second point occurred when he pitched up for the go around. We must remember that it is full power airspeed, not pitch angle that determines climb efficiency. Had this pilot pitched to an attitude that resulted in a Vx climb, his chance of clearing the obstacles would have been greatly enhanced. Remember, climb rate is a function of airspeed, not climb angle. In this regard, lift increases in relation to the square of airspeed. Double the airspeed, left increases four times. Unstabilized approach, landing long, and improper pitch attitude on the go around each contributed to this fatal accident. That's a lot of mistakes.
You can see the Regional Office's Letter of Interpretation (LOI) by clicking HERE.
This letter also said that "known ice" does not require it to be either reported or forecast. Moisture, including high humidity at near or below freezing temperatures is all that is required (italics added). Anybody here ready to define "high" or "near." You can easily see why we pilots get busted? The rules are sometimes so vague that even a rule-compliant and cautious Philadelphia lawyer/pilot with an ATP can easily get caught in a violation! It should not be this way! Not accustomed to taking things laying down, AOPA's Director of Regulation and Certification Policy sent a letter to the FAA Office of Chief Counsel requesting that they rescind the Eastern Regional Counsel's letter of interpretation. Click HERE to see view this AOPA letter.So can we or can't we fly non-known ice certified airplanes in winter IMC?
Remember, the Regional Counsel's Office letter is just that, a letter! It attempts to "interpret" the law but it is NOT the law itself. As AOPA points out, the Regional Counsel's letter is not consistent with the AIM, AC 00-6A, or AC 0045E. Ultimately, the decision to fly in winter IMC remains with the PIC. I base all of my flying decisions on personal experience, unique meteorological conditions, requisite flying skills, the capabilities of the airplane, and the presence or absence of "solid gold" back doors. You may have a different flying decision matrix. Whatever your decision matrix is, choose it wisely, then abide by it. This is far safer from a risk-management perspective than second guessing desk-flying attorneys sitting deep in the bowels of government. Unfortunately, however, the Regional Counsel's letter places a big damper on the willingness of pilots to issue icing PIREPs. It seriously discourages any form of initial instrument training in actual IMC conditions during the winter months. It dramatically curtails recurrent instrument training from November though March. Lastly, it could precipitate ATC nightmares as aircraft on instrument flight plans request re-routes around puffy cold clouds, thin stratus layers, and suspected areas of high humidity. In short, the Regional Counsel tripped on his foreskin with this very dangerous interpretation and, as such, it is not likely to stand. Stay tuned!
We spend a lot time talking about the difference between the proficient and the nonproficient pilot here in Over the Airwaves. The big questions are, "Am I proficient?" "Are YOU proficient?" The AOPA Air Safety Foundation has put together a series of self-scoring quizzes covering a variety of aviation topics. Take these quizzes. You might be surprised where you stand. Click HERE.
As I pondered the possibility of any of my students actually taking delivery of these sleek airplanes, I wondered who was going to provide their instruction. So I asked the factory rep this very same question. He replied, "Oh, we'll give them two to three days of ground and flight instruction." I then asked, "Do you have a factory program for training us flight instructors in the field?" He replied, "Ah, no . . . not really." Okay, so what's the problem? What's the problem? From an aircraft production perspective, there is no problem. Diamond's Twin Star order book is packed, with over 300 buyers waiting impatiently for their new new airplanes. For us pilots, the problem can be stated in two words: speed and distance. The Diamond DA-42 Twin Star sips fuel at a measly six to seven gallons an hour (both engines combined) with all of the redundancy that two engines provides. This makes transcontinental, trans-oceanic flight easily possible for your average GA pilot. Imagine . . . Paris or Madrid for breakfast! Now the average private pilot can set out across the Atlantic for the proverbial $100 hamburger. Hopefully he or she has had more than the three hours of cross-country training required by private pilot curriculum per FAR 61.56! Ideally, he knows more about weather than is sampled by the 15 multiple choice weather questions on the instrument knowledge test! Moving up to the Diamond Jet?
Yep, you'll need a type rating, but type ratings focus on aircraft systems, not the advanced aeronautical skills required to operate safely in the flight levels. Here, the average dude with a private pilot certificate could be mixing it up with the big dogs on the Oceanic routes. How do we fix this problem? Enroute back from the Diamond factory, my student said, "Bob, while waiting the year or so for my Twin Star, I want you to teach me everything I need to know about flying. I'm yours . . . get me prepared for this wonderful airplane!" Okay, this guy can pay cash for 1/2 million dollar airplane. Money is not standing in the way of his advanced pilot training. Will we be working in the local practice area? Don't think so! Instead, we've scheduled our next lesson in his Beech A-36 to be cross-country flight from Buffalo to the Bahamas. It will be a high altitude day down, a day scuba diving, and a day back (at low altitude). We'll be doing this in December, so the weather will be challenging. This will be followed by additional long cross country trips, intensive weather study, and lots of flight in busy airspace. This guy is ready, willing, and able to learn! Unfortunately, not everybody is ready to pay the price of aggressive recurrent training to get ready for these next generation airplanes. The Ugly Alternative . . . If we are not ready and willing to engage in aggressive recurrent training before stepping up to these next generation aircraft, we may be faced with an ugly alternative. That alternative involves opening up FAR Part 61 and inserting regulatory language detailing the heightened aeronautical experience required to fly these advanced aircraft.
I'd like to dedicate the following video
to John (and his wife, Lorraine - who spent the war years
waiting for his safe return). Watch it. You'll
be impressed. Click
HERE.
There is no question that Cirrus Design is manufacturing one of the hottest new aircraft models on the market today. Like the Columbia Aircraft Corporation, Cirrus popularized glass composite airframe technology resulting in an airplane for the masses who have the need for speed.
In the hands of a proficient pilot, on the other hand, the Cirrus SR22 and Columbia 400 are wonderful airplanes to own and operate. The operative word here is "proficient." The recent string of Cirrus accidents, while tragic in their own right, points to an important assumption that many of us pilots seem to forget. That assumption is, those pilots who actively engage in recurrent training and who attend safety-oriented seminars are less likely to become a victim of their own ineptness. As Mike Radomsky, president of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) observes (see highlighted quotation above) that 87% of those Cirrus pilots involved in fatal accidents belonged to the 30% of Cirrus owners who do not belong to COPA. This is a powerful observation! For pilots not familiar with COPA, this aircraft owners' association is proactive in their efforts to promote safe piloting practices among its members. A quick look at their website reveals a myriad of training seminars and related resources to better equip its members with the skills to operate Cirrus aircraft safely. Radomsky is quick to point out that paying for a $50 membership in COPA does not inoculate one against the risk of fatal accident. But the data are strongly suggestive. Those pilots who do participate in COPA activities experience a substantially lower risk of fatal accident (insurance carriers . . . are you listening?) Pilots . . . are we listening?
There are some 600,000 licensed pilots in the United States. How many of us are seldom seen at a safety seminar? How many of us stopped receiving aviation magazines? Hey, how many of us are not reading Over the Airwaves? The data is clear. If we want to reduce our fatal accident rate, we need to reach the disconnected pilot . . . the pilot who, either through complacency or disinterest, is no longer in the flow of flight safety related resources. Fly safe,
Bob Miller, ATP, CFII
Click HERE to view what other readers have had to say about "Over the Airwaves."
Over the Airwaves
is not intended to be your typical training,
official news, or club-type social journal.
Instead, its intent is to stimulate thought,
enhance aviation critical thinking skills, to
encourage the strong pilot, and to disturb the
weaker pilot. With this breadth of scope,
Over the Airwaves will evoke a number of
reactions. Please feel free to share these
reactions with me by clicking
HERE.
Past Issues of Click
HERE
to open any previous issue(s) of Over
the Airwaves and to search for any past articles.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| `````````````````` | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ` |
That
was dentistry in the dark ages . . . 45 years ago.
It is a whole lot different today. I left the
dentist's office earlier this week. My billing
statement read as follows: periodic oral evaluation
- $35.00; prophylaxis - $68.00; panoramic film -
$87.00. Total: $190.00.
For
argument sake, let's equate a single tooth loss with
a single GA fatality. Back in the days
of "drill 'em, fill 'em, and yank 'em"
dentistry, tooth loss was as common as our daily
fatal accidents of today.
Tooth loss back then was as expected and accepted as
is a fatal airplane accident is today.
It
was a backyard party like everybody else's, except
this one included a private pilot. Whether
this pilot had actually attended the party or later
just flew by in his Navion
was not revealed in the
NTSB report. 
Like many of
your initial training experiences, my primary
instructor took me to the woodshed repeatedly and
explained to me the many aviation facts of life.
No . . .
proper flight instruction means getting into the
pilot's head and heart. It requires open and
frank conversations and lots of them about risk
assessment. 
Okay,
so hovering several feet above the runway with the
stall horn blaring in soft field landing
configuration is not comforting to
passengers, slight modifications to this procedure
can go a long way in preventing bounced landings or
worse . . . nose gear collapses.
Making
every landing a soft field landing is one one of the
best ways to prevent the nose wheel from bouncing
off of the pavement below. 
The
accident data clearly shows that more accidents happen
during the approach to landing phase than in any other
portion of the flight. While we may believe this is
due to the complexity of the landing process, the real
reason could due to pilot fatigue. 
Let's
increase the workload dramatically by adding an instrument
approach to minimums with ice building on the wings!
Here, the narrow gap between workload and pilot capabilities
nearly closes. This is when accidents occur.
Those
were the last words spoken into the microphone by the pilot
of this Grumman American AA-5 as he viewed the approaching
trees at the end of the runway. He and his two
passengers died in this all too common stall/spin accident
last year in Chesapeake, OH.
Exercising
one of its many valuable member services, AOPA recently
weighed in on the known icing debate that I precipitated
earlier this year in a letter to the FAA Office of Regional
Counsel. As you may recall, the Regional Counsel
rendered a new definition of "known ice." 
In
viewing this letter, note particularly where the FAA
says that high relative humidity combined
with near or below freezing constitutes "known ice."
High relative humidity????? 
It's
winter. There are no reported clouds.
The visibility is is three to five miles in haze.
The temperature is +1C. The dew point is -2C.
Can we launch? Right now, your guess is
as good as mine. 
I
recently completed my third tour of the Diamond
Aircraft Company's plant in London, Ontario, Canada.
Each tour brought with me a flight student
contemplating stepping up to either the DA-42 Twin
Star or the ultimate in affordable jet travel, the
Diamond Jet.
Every
so often we pilots should stop for a moment and offer up a
moment of silence for members of the "greatest
generation" who helped to make our skies free. One
such member is my good friend John Lipiarz of Buffalo, NY.
John spent much of WWII in Italy flying P-47s.
But
more speed comes with more risks. These
fast airplanes have precious little margin for pilot error.
A single moment of oversight, incapacity, or neglect can
turn a routine flight into a horror story. 
The
FAA often observes that pilots who regularly
participate in the WINGS program experience fewer
fatal accidents. Are we getting the message?
Sign
Up for "Over the Airwaves" 