June, 2008 Vol. V, No.
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Welcome
to the
Over the
Airwaves
aviation journal. This complimentary e-publication
is prepared monthly for 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.
Bring it on! Many experienced pilots have, at one time or another, looked trouble in the eye and had serious doubts about the outcome. Perhaps it was an encounter with severe icing, turbulence, or a thunderstorm. It may have been something simple, like a rough running engine, failed alternator, or declining visibility. Regardless of the kind of trouble, those who did the right thing at the right time lived to tell about it. Those who didn't likely suffered bad outcomes. Oftentimes the difference can be traced to either pilot assertiveness or resignation. Lesson from the courtroom
Her opposing counsel, an imposing veteran of many years of trial work, would walk up behind her and place his hands on the back of her chair as she was pleading her case. This behavior was intended to intimidate her, make her lose her concentration, and disrupt her thought process. At the end of the day, this young trial attorney . . . instead of succumbing to the intimidating practices of her more experienced opponent, walked up to him and said, "Bring it on, counselor. I'm learning everything I can from you!" She did and went on to become a very successful litigator. The lesson . . . Regrettably, far too many of us give up, give in, and surrender when things go wrong in airplanes. We resign ourselves to unpleasant outcomes rather than rising up and saying, "Bring it on, I'm ready." There is a mighty lesson for all pilots from this attorney's early court room experience. We can either succumb to the various in-flight threats that beset us or we can say, "Bring it on, I'm ready to deal with it." For the experienced aviator, this means methodically working through the problem and finding a solution instead of giving up and leaving our fate to chance. For primary or instrument students, it means pressing forward and overcoming the frustrations of learning a new and very challenging skill. Bring it on!
He allowed his airplane to enter a simple banking turn and an associated loss of altitude. Who knows what was going through Kennedy's mind at the time or how he chose to deal with the problem. The correct solution, however, was to simply level the wings. Keep in mind that Kennedy was piloting a very capable Piper Saratoga, which comes equipped with an autopilot. Another solution would have been to turn this autopilot on, which would have leveled his wings and likely saved the day for this famous family. Instead, and we can only surmise this from the accident record, Kennedy relied upon instinct to unsuccessfully resolve his worsening situation instead of saying, "Bring it on, I'm ready." There is powerful lesson in this for us flight instructors as well. We can provide the minimum training necessary to get our students through a two hour checkride. This is good in that it saves both time and money. Or, we can develop a "bring it on" attitude in our students minds by providing them with realistic training experiences similar to the ones they will encounter in the real world of flight. Aggressive stall training . . . Agreed, precipitating a load of airframe icing or flying through the heart of a thunderstorm is a bit too much realism even for the most eager students. But we can give them more than a docile maneuvers training. Incipient stall entries, for example, where we recover the airplane at the first chirp of the stall horn or gentle buffet, is no way to teach proper stall prevention and recovery techniques. Instead, the aircraft should be allowed to develop into a full stall break before recovering. Similarly, we can enter the stall from a 45 degree bank angle (accelerated stall) or mash on the rudder at the stall break (cross-controlled) to induce the first or second turn of a spiral before recovering. In other words, "Bring it on." Challenging weather flying . . . Curiously, there's no need to retreat to the classroom when the winds kick up or when the ceiling and visibility drops to 400 and 1, even for primary student pilots. Instead, embrace such weather as a unique opportunity to introduce new pilots to the real challenges of weather flying. Show them how to keep the wings level, how to maneuver to VFR conditions and, if equipped, how to use the autopilot. Again, "bring it on."
Good parents make good flight instructors! My good friend, Kenneth Condrell, Ph.D. (psychologist and RV-9 builder) recently authored a best-selling book titled: "Wimpy Parents: From Toddler to Teen - How Not to Raise a Brat." Ken's book suggests strongly that parents be more forthright and direct with their children rather than giving in to their every whim. Dr. Ken suggests that parents should set high standards for their kids and then stand firm in enforcing them. This is good advice to flight instructors, too, when dealing with their students. We CFI's should take our students beyond the FAA's practical test standards (PTS) and typical training syllabus. We should bring our students into the national airspace system far from the hometown airport and local practice areas. We need to expose new pilots to changing weather and more sophisticated airspace. Someday, I am going to write a book similar to Dr. Condrell's. I am going to title it, "Wimpy CFIs: From Students to Veteran Airmen - How Not to Raise Hazardous Pilots." Whether practicing law, raising children, or providing flight instruction, the message is the same. We must instill a "bring it on" attitude so that future pilots will not fall victim to the things that can hurt them aloft. We need to develop the mental fortitude and airmanship skills necessary to truly master the world of flight. Regrettably,
this is not being done as often as it should. As a
result, far too many pilots, as the NTSB accident files
confirm, are ill-prepared to meet the challenges that
often await them.
Bob
Miller, ATP, CFII
Anatomy of a thunderstorm Hands down, there is no greater weather risk to aircraft (ALL aircraft) than thunderstorms. Inside these beasts is enough energy to dismantle even the largest aircraft aloft.
As depicted in the illustration above, thunderstorms combine columns of lifting air with down-drafts, all caused by a combination of heat, moisture, and an unstable atmosphere. When caught in the middle of this boiling cauldron of atmospheric turmoil, airplanes of any size have little or no chance of survival.
There is only one defensive strategy when it comes to thunderstorms. That strategy is to avoid them . . . at all costs. Either remain on the ground or circumnavigate them by at least 25 miles. Failure to do this is nothing less than playing Russian roulette with more than one bullet in the chamber. A word about uplink NEXRAD weather Uplink NEXRAD weather offers a wonderful technological advantage to pilots. But it only shows precipitation. It does NOT reveal the location of thunderstorms. Adding to this risk is the fact that uplink weather is several minutes old before it arrives on our cockpit displays. Several minutes is a lifetime when it comes to the formation of thunderstorms. In short, we should not use uplink weather to navigate through a field or line of active thunderstorms. Only "live" weather weather radar combined with a stormscope is effective when operating near thunderstorms. In summary, thunderstorms kill. Stay far away from them! Learning the Glass! Learning the glass cockpit is another new feature to be included in this and upcoming OTA issues. Its purpose is to help pilots transition from "steam gauges" to state-of-the-art cockpit technology that is rapidly emerging on the GA scene. We will begin in this OTA issue by unlocking the mysteries of the Primary Flight Display (PFD). As you can see in the illustration below, all of the information typically found on conventional round gauge panels can be quickly found the PFD.
The major advantage afforded by the PFD is a far easier instrument scan. Proficient pilots can capture critical flight information with in a single blink of the eye!
Note, too, how all of the other critical instruments including tachometer, fuel gauges, radios, and other navigational buttons neatly surround the flying instruments. This eliminates the need to scan the entire instrument panel to monitor critical flying and aircraft systems information.
Unlike the round
gauges, the PFD provides the pilot with important airspeed
and altitude trend information. As illustrated below,
unique symbology reports at what speed and altitude the
aircraft will be in the next six seconds of flight.
Similarly, note the pink line on the heading indicator portion of the PFD displayed below. This pink line lengthens automatically as the rate of turn is increased. This makes it easy to roll into a standard or one-half standard rate turn.
This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The PFD contains a powerhouse of information. As for redundancy, if the entire PFD screen should fail, the press of a single button will transfer all PFD information over to the Multi Function Display (MFD) on the right side of the panel.
In summary,
conventional "round" gauges will be around for a long time,
but the steadily advancing technology is quickly changing
today's cockpit panel. The sooner we become
comfortable with glass panels, the more prepared we will be
to fly the new aircraft coming out of today's aircraft
factories. Fly high for smoother rides With summer now upon us, the uneven heating of the earth's surface can cause bone-jarring rides at altitudes typically below 4,000 feet (MSL). The effects of this uneven heating plus the influence of hilly or mountainous terrain are illustrated in the graphic below.
Flying high, as depicted in the illustration below, often results in dramatically smoother rides. Occasionally, depending upon unique weather phenomenon, flights up into the flight levels (made possible with turbocharged engines) are required to find the really smooth air.
New Pre-flight planning website The emerging world of pre-flight planning spins faster than our presidential candidates' views on the economy and the war in Iraq. For example, click HERE to view what NavMaster.com has come up with. This is arguably the easiest, yet most powerful pre-flight planning site on the web to date. Thanks to OTA reader, Mark Croce of Buffalo, NY for sharing this with us!
Radar Flight Following . . . insist on it!
Having this service, coupled with in-flight traffic avoidance systems and looking out the window, will help to keep us from running into each other. Keep in mind, however, that, mid-air collisions rank near the bottom of the aeronautical risk factor list. But when they do happen, the outcome is nearly always fatal. But mid-air collisions DO happen! Truth be told, most of us are not always compliant with FAR 91.113 (b), which reads as follows:
Sure, we look out the window to keep an eye on the weather or to navigate by pilotage. But my experience with pilots demonstrates that we're mostly busy talking with passengers, pressing buttons on the panel or, in the case of glass panel-equipped aircraft, remaining fixated on the shifting colors, moving course lines, uplink XM weather depictions, and dancing altitude and airspeed tapes. Believe it or not, some of us place the flying burden on our autopilots, then close our eyes for a quick snooze. Yep . . . this happens, too! So who's watching for traffic, anyway? Who is watching out for traffic? No argument here. When in VFR conditions, whether on an IFR flight or not, the pilot is command is responsible for maintaining adequate separation from all other traffic. Take the recent case of a Cessna 172, piloted by a 4,000 hour certificated flight instructor and a student, who collided in VFR conditions with a Beech V35B over Blue Ash, Ohio. The irony of this flight is that the Beech pilot had requested VFR flight following from Cincinnati Approach Control but was refused due to workload. Do you see a problem here? While the blame for this fatal accident lies squarely on the pilots for failing to look out the window, we must wonder just how busy things can get on an air traffic controller's scope to preclude him from providing flight following services. This is a fair question and deserves an answer. If you are denied VFR flight following services, don't debate the matter on the air with the controller. Instead, note the date, time, and radio frequency where this occurred, then telephone the facility supervisor or manager when on the ground. The matter will then be explored and, perhaps, prevented from happening in the future. One last item . . . we can make the controllers' job a whole lot easier if we have an operative transponder with Mode C turned on whenever aloft, regardless of airspace!
The old versus the new???
Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft authored an interesting book titled, "Business @ the Speed of Thought." In it, Gates explains how expanding technology is propelling the business world into an exciting new era. He goes on to say that "This new technology can unite all business systems and processes under one common infrastructure, releasing rivers of information and allowing companies to make quantum leaps in efficiency, growth, and profits." Curiously, this same new technology can make the little airplanes we fly far easier to manage and far safer to operate.
One of my recent VFR
training fligh The weather on that Saturday afternoon was spectacular and there was more air traffic along that tiny strip of airspace than I had ever seen before. We requested VFR radar services from Newark tower, who assigned us to a hard altitude of 1,500 feet. The multi-function display (MFD) on our G1000 glass panel-equipped C-172 displayed no fewer than 13 aircraft operating at various altitudes moving in all directions over the river. Each aircraft was tagged with an altitude and a direction of flight. As we maneuvered northward from atop the Verrazano Bridge into the NY harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, a female voice coming from deep within our instrument panel continually reminded us of any altitude deviations we made above or below our assigned 1,500 feet. The MFD was also alive with colors, with a narrow band of yellow depicting the narrow air corridor we were tracking. This yellow band was bordered by red, which depicted the towering buildings and other obstacles on both sides of the river.
So what's the point? The point is, general aviation aircraft technology is moving faster than the speed of thought. Today's newer cockpits, whether in a Cessna 172, a Cirrus SR-22, a Cessna (formerly Columbia) 400, and right up through corporate and transport category aircraft, integrates and displays more information faster to the pilot was ever even imagined as recently as 1999! Navigation, once the province of swinging ADF and VOR needles on traditional GA panels (see photo below), has become a snap in glass-panel equipped aircraft. When coupled with the autopilot, an entire flight can be pre-programmed, then monitored by the pilot with the same ease of watching a football game on a big screen digital television.
The point is . . . SAFETY. With proper training, the pilot of technically advanced aircraft (TAA) now has time to keep a close eye out the window while simultaneously being kept abreast electronically of critical flight parameters.
All of this, of
course, does not exempt the pilot from maintaining his or
her basic flying skills proficiency. Yes, even despite
remarkable redundancy built in to all of the technology,
things do fail. And when they
The future of aviation is now! Today's glass panel cockpit technology is to old fashioned round dials what the hand-held electronic calculator is to the slide rule. It's faster, far more accurate, easier to use, and sooner than we think, it will render the former obsolete. Sure, there are many thousands of very good round-dial equipped airplanes in the GA fleet (I own one), but nearly everything rolling out of the factory today is glass.
Pilots in training
should be aware of this fact and plan their flight training
options carefully!
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"REAL IFR Training" is the latest in a series of podcasts I have been doing with Aero-News.Net's Paul Plack. You can hear, or download for later listening, these 15 minute interviews and any of the previously conducted podcasts by clicking on the titles below: Podcast Titles[Click on desired titles - several minutes may be required to download.] Titles in RED are new since the last OTA. By the way, Aero-News.Net is a FREE daily online publication that is packed with aviation related news. It is the first thing I read every morning. You can log on to Aero-News.Net and subscribe for your free subscription by clicking HERE. Reader Travel Blog This new OTA section features fascinating destinations sent in by readers. This month's destination of choice was sent in by Mark Weissman, MD, a Bonanza owner from Buffalo, NY. Below is his recent travel experience:Amelia Island, Florida
From Buffalo NY it took my family 4.5 hours in our Bonanza A36, plus a fuel stop in NC. The resort is fabulous with many amenities, including Spa, heated outdoor pools, groomed beaches and many restaurants on the property to choose from. My 9 year old twins loved the sunken forest and turtle farm with a natural habitat to visit. My favorite spot was Falcon's Nest lounge, which is all decked out in an aviation theme. This is a must for pilots to visit and relax with friends and family. Thanks, Mark, for
sharing your Amelia Island, FL experience! Airspeed Control - The ultimate requirement for safe landings It makes little difference whether we are flying a J-3 Cub or a B-747, the ultimate determinant of a safe landing is our indicated airspeed as we cross the runway threshold. Arriving too slow could result in a gear-damaging stall just above the runway. Arriving too fast could produce a bounced or ballooned landing that will require more than the available runway length to stop. Sad example from Burnsville, North Carolina . . .
He had two passengers aboard, one of which was also a pilot. They were bound for the Mountain Air Airport (2NC0) in Burnsville, North Carolina. The pilot had previously logged a total of only 11 hours in this model aircraft, including the manufacturer's factory training. From all accounts, the flight was going along fine until approaching his destination airport. Winds at his airport were out of 023 degrees at 1 knot with gusts up to 6 knots. Weather was clear and the temperature was in the 70s. It was a perfect morning for flying. The pilot set up for the 2,875 foot long and 50 foot wide Runway 32. Then things turned sour The airplane first touched down nearly one-half way down the runway, 1,400 feet beyond threshold. Instead of going around for another try, the airplane veered left, ran off the runway and struck a parked Cirrus SR-22 and a Cessna 421. All three aircraft were consumed by fire. The occupants of the Lancair died in the wreck. NTSB accident investigators verified the continuity of the Lancair's control system. They also noted that its speed brakes were still in the retracted position. So what happened? As in most such cases, we will never know what the pilot was thinking or attempting to do in the final moments before the accident. Tire marks and paint scars left on the runway leave little doubt, however, that the pilot had landed far too long on an otherwise fairly short runway and had made no attempt to go around. The Lancair, like its Cessna 400 cousin and the Cirrus SR-22, is a wonderfully designed airplane. It is sleek, fast, and requires consummate speed control when transitioning from enroute, approach, and landing configurations. But this is no different than any other aircraft make/model. Things simply happen a bit quicker in this style of airplane. Had this pilot nailed the proper airspeed on the final leg of the traffic pattern, he would have likely landed on the runway touchdown zone and things would have turned out much differently. Arriving too fast over the runway threshold left him no choice but to apply takeoff power, pitch up and go around for another try. He didn't do this. What can we take from this fatal accident? The ultimate killing factor in this accident was likely airspeed control. Remember, at any given altitude, power + pitch + aircraft configuration, e.g., gear, flaps, speed brakes = airspeed. In trimmed level flight on the downwind leg, for example, a known power setting combined with a specific flap setting will give a predictable airspeed every time. Turning on base leg, a known power reduction will produce a predictable descent rate at the SAME airspeed . . . every time. On the final leg, a further known power reduction combined with a specific change in flap setting (and application of speed brakes in the Lancair or Cessna 400) will also result in a predictable airspeed . . . every time. Again, the same holds true in ANY airplane! Our job as pilots is to know precisely what power and airplane configurations produce which airspeeds. With this information plus some allowance for winds, safe landings can be assured every time. Do you know these settings for the airplanes you fly! Thanks to the Aviation and Space - Niagara Frontier Hall of Fame!
I, along with five other inductees (David Coe, Donald Coe, J. Russell Easter, Neil Nolf, and Darla Richter), was proudly enshrined with past Hall of Fame notables including Glenn Hammond Curtiss, Laurence D. Bell, and William C. Moog, Jr. The text of my Hall of Fame induction award can be found HERE. Photo by James Cavanaugh (Bob Miller, left; Walter Gordon, right).
Helpful Sponsors Please support OTA's helpful sponsors by clicking on the images below where you will find ordering information. Each is a first-class publication that can help the proficient pilot become even better!
Note: If you have an aviation-related product or service you would like to promote and help underwrite the continued publication of Over the Airwaves, please send an email to rjma@rjma.com.Crosswind landings . . . separating the men from the boys! Nothing strikes fear in the heart of the non-proficient pilot quite like the prospect of landing in a 30 knot direct crosswind.
It makes little difference whether you are piloting a Cessna 152 or an Airbus 320, the results are still the same. Apply the wrong control inputs and you could be taxiing through the grass! Leaning into the wind The first thing we should be doing when landing into a crosswind is leaning into the wind just as we pass over the runway threshold. This simply means banking into the direction of the crosswind while simultaneously applying opposite rudder to keep the nose aligned with the runway. The second thing is the "follow-through" Remember, the crosswind influences our directional control on the landing roll-out as well as in the air. Therefore it is important that we continue to "lean" into the direction of the wind by keeping the yoke or stick turned into the wind while, again, maintaining directional control with rudder pedals. Lastly . . . remember!
Finally . . . flight students: If your instructor will not provide you with crosswind training and experience in crosswinds approaching the demonstrated crosswind capability of your airplane, find another instructor!
50,000 Student Pilot Quit
Every Year!
Sad but true, current estimates suggest that nearly 60
percent of all student pilots (currently about 85,000 in the
United States) give up before attaining their private pilot
certificate.
Why?
Why would a person, filled with wonderment and excitement
about learning to fly, who comes out to the local airport to
begin flying lessons, decide to drop out before
receiving his or her private pilot certificate?
One person? Heck . . . nearly 50,000 people do this
very thing every year in the U.S.
Curiously, we see very little, if anything, written about
this sad fact in AOPA PILOT Magazine or in EAA's Sport Pilot
Magazine. Yet these same two very large pilot
membership organizations spend huge sums promoting programs
like "Be a Pilot" or "Young Eagles."
Perhaps it's time we fix the backdoor problem before
spending any more money on the front door!
There is a fix
There is one sure-fire way to fix this revolving door
dilemma. That way is to re-design our traditional 65 year
old primary pilot flight training curriculum.
Sure, this curriculum worked when we were fast-tracking new
pilots for World War II. These young air cadets would
endure any form of flight training abuse to get their hands
on a B-17 or a P-51 Mustang.
But this is not WWII today. Curiously, however, we're
using essentially the same primary pilot curriculum
today as we did in 1941!
For example, a student pilot, filled with joy and excitement
about flying, meets his or her flight instructor for the
first lesson. Out to the practice area they go for a
few inane exercises, e.g., climbs, descents, turns, a little
slow flight, then back to the flight school office for a
ground lesson on the aerodynamics of flight.
Slowly, but ever so steadily, the budding pilot begins to
lose his joy for flight as he struggles to hold heading and
altitude while his instructor sits impatiently by his side.
Before long, this future pilot says to himself, "I've got
enough frustrations in life. I don't need to endure
this as well!"
And that's the last we see of him.
So what's the fix?
We all know that cross-country flights are far more
enjoyable than maneuvering exercises in the practice area
and repetitive take-offs and landings at the same couple of
hum-drum airports. So let's put the fun stuff up front
in the curriculum.
Let's allow the student pilot to pick distant locations to
fly to. Suggest places where they typically vacation,
or where they grew up, or where their favorite friend or
relative resides. Permit them to experience the true
benefits of GA flight . . . . like covering long distances
fast.
Enroute, of course, the creative CFI can help the new
student maintain an assigned heading, altitude, and
airspeed. Yes, indeed, the student is learning
important airmanship skills, but not by design but, instead,
surreptitiously. They're having fun. Necessary
learning and skill development is a by-product of having
fun.
The key is to allow students to discover and unlock the
mysteries of flight.
Having fun is what keeps new students enrolled in the flight
school, not repetitive exercises in the practice area!
For
flight schools operating under Part 141, changing the
curriculum requires FAA approval. This takes time and
considerable work. Thus, it is far easier to simply follow
an existing pre-packaged, previously approved curriculum
than it is to design something new, original, and fun.
But it can be done and much of it can be accomplished within
the existing curriculum. Flight schools and CFIs -Be
creative! Pitot-Static System - Do you know how it works?
The crew of three, led by a 35 year-old captain with over 7,000 hours total time and nearly 2,000 hours in type, wondered why their airspeed was increasing as they climbed up through IFR conditions. They concluded that their climb rate was not steep enough, so the captain called for an increase in pitch attitude. Even with this, the airspeed continued to increase. They added more upward pitch and their airspeed increased even more. Eventually, the B-727 stalled, then entered a spiral dive. All three crew members were killed in the wreck. NTSB ReportWhat happened? The weather that day included sleet and freezing rain. Yep, you guessed it . . . a frozen pitot tube!
This is what happened on that fateful day near New York City. Unaware or not suspecting a frozen pitot tube, the crew addressed the apparent increasing airspeed by simply increasing pitch angle until eventually the airplane stalled. Do YOU know how the pitot-static system works? Study the illustration below. Note how the airspeed indicator, vertical speed indicator, and the altimeter are all connected together by several pieces of plumbing. Also note what happens when either the pitot tube or the static port becomes blocked.
Indications of Pitot Tube Blockage If the pitot tube becomes blocked, the airspeed indicator (ASI) displays inaccurate speeds. At the altitude where the pitot tube becomes blocked, the ASI remains at the existing airspeed and doesn’t reflect actual changes in speed.
Indications from Static Port Blockage Many aircraft also have a heating system to protect the static ports to ensure the entire pitot-static system is clear of ice. If the static ports become blocked, the ASI would still function but could produce inaccurate indications. At the altitude where the blockage occurs, airspeed indications would be normal.
The pitot-static system is arguably the most important aircraft control system on an airplane. That and a magnetic compass are all that is required to keep an aircraft under control when in IFR conditions. Let's be certain we know how this critical system operates!
It may come as a surprise to many that 1 out of every 7 pilots is a certificated flight instructor (CFI). Arguably, the vast majority of today's CFIs became such to satisfy their own career-building needs rather than to teach others how to become safe, proficient pilots. After all, what better way is there to build logbook hours than to have somebody else pay for them under the pretense of receiving flight instruction?
Just as soon as the requisite number of logbook hours are acquired, these self-serving instructors move up another rung on the career ladder and their graduating students immediately begin moving up the "food chain" as new instructors.
In the meantime, struggling students, still early in their training, are passed off from one instructor after another and another until they, too, pass their checkride and eventually become neophyte CFIs themselves.
Repeating cycle of flight instructor mediocrity
Whatever piloting shortcomings these instructors pass on to their students likewise get passed on to subsequent future students in a repeating cycle of flight instructional mediocrity that has been going on since grandpa returned from the Big War.
Traditional flight schools thrive on this "food chain." Fledgling flight instructors relish the opportunity to work cheap, build hours, and have their ego-needs fulfilled by holding sway over obedient students.
Enter the FAA
With such tools in hand, almost any pilot able to get his airplane off the ground can fake it as a flight instructor and eventually produce pilots who can scrape through a checkride. The trouble is, 6 out of every 10 students he attempts to train quit in frustration before ever taking that check ride. This amounts to about 50,000 future pilots a year who walk out of the flight school in frustration or disgust.
As for those who do go on and become pilots, a dreadful number of them will get seriously hurt (or worse) in the airplanes they fly, taking innocent passengers with them. In the process, they will help local radio and TV stations fill air-time with dramatic accounts of blundering pilots mashing through prohibited airspace or boring holes in tall buildings.
It's little wonder that AOPA's very capable Phil Boyer ever gets any sleep, particularly when the smoking hole in the building is produced by a major league baseball pitcher or the famous son of a former president of the United States! As for the rest of us mere mortals who fall from the sky, one wonders if the big GA membership organizations even twitch?
Really BIG changes are needed in the flight instruction community . . .
The first step in any needed change is building awareness of the problem. That awareness must first be promulgated by those in positions of leadership in the GA community.
Let's start with those like the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) who claim to represent the flight instructor community. Those folks need to stand tall and confront the problem directly simply because its roots are found buried deep within its membership.
NAFI's master certificated flight instructor (MCFI) program is a good start. More needs to be done, however, to resolve our 60 percent student dropout rate.
Air Safety Foundation
Second, I believe its time that AOPA's Air Safety Foundation affix blame on our GA flight training system for the fact that the same handful of causes, e.g., maneuvering, stall/spin, etc., underlie the vast majority of GA accidents. Let us not forget that over 80 percent of all fatal accidents are caused by pilot error.
Remember, "If the student failed to learn, it's because the teacher failed to teach." Let's find out why our CFIs are not teaching properly.
FAA
Third, it's time the FAA's 52 or so Flight Standards District Offices (FSDOs) tighten the screen through which they allow new CFIs to pass. There's enough room in the aeronautical decision making (ADM) and fundamentals of instruction (FOI) elements of the CFI practical test standards (PTS), alone, to prohibit any marginally qualified CFI candidate from being entrusted with members of the public.
NTSB
Lastly . . . the NTSB should perform a more broadened role in fulfilling its accident investigation mission. Let's have them look beyond the mechanical factors that may have contributed to the accident and report how and where the accident pilot was trained.
Goodness knows we have enough accident data to produce statistically valid correlations between type of training and type of accident. This broadened role just might send shivers down the backs of some big name pilot training mills and a host of flight schools around the nation. In summary, general aviation is arguably the only avocation or endeavor where the instructor comes from the least rather than the most experienced ranks of the organization.
Reporting in the June, 2008 issue of AOPA PILOT, Bruce Landsberg, AOPA's Air Safety Foundation chief, suggests that learning to fly is like engaging in an "apprenticeship" program. He says that being a flight instructor is one of the first steps in this apprenticeship program.
While sound in theory, this model relegates the vital responsibility for training new pilots to apprentice pilots who have not yet honed the fine art of their trade, much less the basic aeronautical decision making (ADM) skills to remain safe aloft themselves!
There is no question that if you want to learn something
really well, teach it. But using student pilots as
virtual laboratory animals as part of an apprentice program
to develop one's flying skills, at best, is a questionable
practice and, at worst, is largely responsible for our
unrelenting fatal accident rate! Bob
Miller, ATP, CFII 
Goings On About Town . . . Wednesday, June 11, 2008 6:00pm to 9pm
Grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, side dishes, drinks, and desserts. Join me and many of the best homebuilders and aviators in Western New York at this popular annual event and, not to mention, the lowest fuel prices in the region! Saturday, June 14, 2008 - 11:00am to 4pm
Past Issues of Click
HERE
to open any previous issue(s) of Technical Assistance
I would like to thank the following technical assistance
contributors for their valuable help in producing OTA every
month: Cameron Dunlop, Corning, NY;
Dan Maloney, Clarence, NY; Barry McCollom, Kerrville, TX; Thom
Riddle, Buffalo, NY; and
[Disclaimer: Material contained in this
e-newsletter is for informational purposes only.
It should not be construed as directive,
doctrinal, or instructive. Readers should
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One
of my primary students is an experienced trial attorney.
She recently related to me one of her first courtroom
experiences when fresh out of law school.
Many
of us recall the tragic airplane crash that took the
life of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his young wife, and
sister-in-law back in 1999. According to the NTSB
report, young Mr. Kennedy, with about 300 hours of total
flying time and about 1/2 way through his instrument
training, found himself in declining
visibility over the ocean at night while approaching
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
No
. . . I am certainly NOT encouraging bold flying habits.
Instead, we need to empower pilots to face squarely the
many challenges of flight and how not to resign when the
going gets tough. 
So what should we do?
Most of us
know by now the enormous benefits of receiving radar
services, either via VFR flight following or being on an
instrument flight plan. In either case, a professional
air traffic controller is keeping an eye on us . . . and
other nearby traffic.
ts
along New York City's VFR Hudson River corridor illustrates the benefits of new
cockpit technology.
do,
it is back to raw data from conventional round-dial
instruments tucked neatly away on the bottom of the panel.
Now
that the winter is over, pilots from all walks of life
can begin to venture to our old and new vacation spots.
One particular new place is Amelia Island's Plantation
resort in
Florida. This lovely property is located a few short miles from Fernandino Municipal Airport (55J). 
In
May, 2007, a 1,600 hour pilot with a commercial certificate took off from Albert
Whitted Field (KSPG) in St. Petersburg, FL in his personally owned
Lancair (stock photo left). 
It was a very special privilege and honor
to be inducted into the Niagara Frontier Aviation and Space
Hall of Fame during ceremonies on May 16, 2008.
More
accidents occur during the landing and roll-out than in any
other phase of flight. Crosswinds play a major role in
these nasty events. Those of us who are not genuinely
crosswind proficient should get out and practice them.
If
the fact that 50,000 future pilots quit before receiving
their private pilot certificates doesn't upset our general
aviation industry leaders, something is terribly wrong.
In
other words, future potential pilots are leaving out the
backdoor far faster than new candidates are coming
through the front door.
We
can fix the problem, first, by reversing our private pilot
curriculum. Bring the cross-country flights to the
beginning of the course and save the air work and landing
exercises until the end.
On
Sunday, December 1st, 1974, a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727
lifted off from NYC bound for Buffalo, NY to pick up the
Buffalo Bills football team. 
When
the pitot tube is blocked, the airspeed indicator acts like
an altimeter. The higher the airplane climbs, the
higher the airspeed indicator reads.
Welcome
to aviation's proverbial "food chain," where many of
tomorrow's corporate and airline pilots slog around in
today's practice areas with hapless students by their side.
Curiously,
the only way this archaic system is able to work at all can
be traced directly back to the FAA's efforts to standardize
flight training curricula and offer up neatly packaged
practical test standards for each pilot rating. 
