Our current pilot training process provides very little serious flight maneuvering. Most pilots never achieve an adequate level of maneuvering skill or aerodynamic understanding to be truly safe outside their “comfort zone.” The minimal amount of training provided and tested at the private level never solidifies with the rush into IFR training. Many new pilots … Continue reading ““Full Control Maneuvering” for Safety!”
The amazing lack of understanding of slip/skid/spin aerodynamics demonstrated by many applicants on flight tests is almost criminal. A simple rote recitation of “P-A-R-E” with no real understanding or experience is not going to save a pilot in an upset situation. Yet Loss of Control-Inflight (LOC-I) is the #1 fatal accident causal factor in aviation. … Continue reading ““Comfort Zone” and “Pathetic” Spin Training!”
CFR 121.423 requires “Extended Envelope Training” for all airline flight crews to combat Loss of Control-Inflight. Practicing outside of the “comfort zone” of ordinary, comfortable flying is good preparation for a surprise encounter with upset. Unfortunately, this training has not been implemented (or even suggested) for GA flying except by SAFE. But since the average … Continue reading “GA “Extended Envelope Training” (Required For Airlines!)”
Most senior CFIs have at least one story of forcibly taking over control of an aircraft from a locked-up, panicked learner. A SAFE survey of CFIs revealed that 65% had at some point forcibly taken back aircraft control from an irrational student! One CFI/DPE revealed a crash where he struggled and lost this battle resulting … Continue reading “Struggle for Control; CFI (Or YOU!)”
In a stalled condition, the nose of every conventional aircraft falls toward mother earth. This is physics and happens every time. And the natural human reaction is to pull back away from the ground making the control situation worse. Only high-quality flight training, both initial and recurrent, can overcome this deep human reaction of “panic … Continue reading ““Negative” Stall Training (Bad Habits!)”
There seems to be an increasing tendency in flight training to only fly on “blue sky” days; no clouds and little wind. Many schools claim this is “safer” but we are actually creating increasingly weaker pilots with degenerating levels of real skill. True, these pilots (and junior CFIs) could probably survive fine in the right … Continue reading “Beyond “Blue Sky” Flight Training!”
The FAA recently updated their advisory circular for professional pilots: “Flightpath Management.” Though directed at professional flight crews, this document provides essential ideas for every pilot. This guide recommends examining every flight through the lens of total energy and flight path management in both manual and automated flight modes: “planning, execution, and assurance of the … Continue reading “Managing Energy & Flight Path!”
If you study any safety statistics, the one solid correlation in every data set determining safe outcomes is “recency of (correct) experience.” This relationship continues as you drill down to include make and model and builds with all relevant conditions -night/weather etc. (until you cross the line into complacency). After the recent pandemic, we are … Continue reading ““Recent Experience” Rules Safety!”
A recent poll in the SAFE eNews revealed that a shocking 65% of CFIs, at some point, had to physically take control from a student who “locked up” on the flight controls. That is an astonishing frequency of student “fear paralysis” during training. Obviously, we are doing something dramatically wrong in flight training if this … Continue reading “Trust Not Trauma: “Student Lockup!””
We all start out “clueless” in a new environment. In a social situation, this deficit is commonly described as an inability to “read the room.” We all have different levels of situational awareness (SA) depending on our needs, aptitude, and environment. But unfortunately, in the high-consequence world of aviation “clueless is dangerous” so every pilot … Continue reading ““Clueless” is Dangerous; Teach Situational Awareness!”
