Aviation Ideas and Discussion!

Having personally been badly poisoned by CO several times, I highly recommend your careful attention to this article and the under-appreciated risks of CO poisoning! Aeromedical issues are also a traditionally weak area on all FAA Flight Tests.

To manage this silent killer, my personal recommendation is a pair of the new "Delta Zulu" Lightspeed Headsets (wearable technology). These literally saved my life. These headsets are especially valuable for CFIs climbing into so many unfamiliar aircraft! Manage risk: D.St.G.

Carbon Monoxide is a byproduct of combustion of fuels, wood, propane, and charcoal. All culprits we need to produce energy. One form of combustion in the powerplant is applied directly to the propellor in the form of thrust, while the other is in the form of heat. Lurking within the confines of these two is carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. Environmental carbon monoxide is a byproduct of incomplete combustion of any carbon-containing fuel. In an unventilated environment even on the ground, it is the cause of around 430 fatalities and 100,000 Emergency Room visits per year.

In General Aviation piston-powered aircraft, the cabin heating during winter or at altitude is done by ram air directed over the engine muffler (discontinued in automobiles years ago). Any poor-fitting components, cracks or holes, unsealed firewalls, and even poorly sealed wheel wells, will allow the carbon monoxide generated during the combustion process to escape and mix with the heated ram air and enter the cabin.

Limits

The established limit of exposure in most healthy individuals is 0 – 10 parts per million (ppm). Smokers carry a higher limit to 20 – 40 ppm. OSHA considers 100 ppm in unventilated spaces as unhealthy and/or prolonged exposure of 55 ppm for 8 hours or longer.

In 2022 based on 31 accidents of which 23 were fatal, between 1982 and 2020 the NTSB recommended to the FAA to require CO detectors in the cockpit. At the first instance of recognition, the pilot must use these common-sense recommendations; Turn the heat Off. Open fresh air ventilation to the cabin. Consider supplemental Oxygen if available. Land as soon as practicable. Advise ATC. If able run the engine Lean of Peak (to allow complete combustion of fuel). Seek medical attention upon landing and have the aircraft checked by a mechanic before the next flight.

A little Physiology

Hemoglobin is in the Red Blood Cells (RBC). It has two components; the oxygen transport protein (globin) attached to the iron (heme). The heme has an affinity for oxygen and sterically attaches and then dissociates to take in (oxygen from breathed air) and give out oxygen (delivered to the tissues) respectively. The hemoglobin gives blood its red color.

The Carbon Monoxide has a 200 – 300 times stronger binding ability to hemoglobin as compared to Oxygen. CO latches onto hemoglobin (selective binding) and that is called “carboxyhemoglobin.” This combination leads to a left shift of the “oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve,” which leads to less oxygen availability. In fact, at the 50% level of CO contamination, the Oxygen partial pressure is reduced from 28mmHg to 12 mmHg, hence the lowered oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. The reduction of this partial pressure reduces the transport of oxygen across the membranes to the tissues. (Akin to high-pressure water across a screen versus low-pressure water source). In general, 40% CO levels are not associated with coma or death, but they can have long-standing pathological neuro-psychiatric as well as disabling pathological effects on humans. The individuals most affected by such hazards of moderate CO exposure are those with heart disease and lung ailments. It is important to remember that the elderly and those in poor physiological state, even those with <30% CO exposure can develop insidious long-term neuropsychiatric disorders 3 – 4 weeks after the acute exposure and these can be permanent in 10-30% of the exposed individuals.

                        The CO effect on Oxygen Dissociation Curve

CO poisoning is stealthy and quite misleading in terms of visible signs. The exposed individual can have the physiological manifestation of moderate to severe tissue hypoxia (low oxygen level) and yet present with normal PaO2, headache, fatigue, cherry red lips, confusion, shortness of breath and even seizures. Due to the normal PaO2 levels although at much lowered partial pressure, the pulse oximeter is not a reliable means to detect CO poisoning. The pulse oximeter detects light absorption based on the oxygen content of the tissues, which can be hampered by nail polish, low blood flow states etc. Therefore, it is an unreliable method to detect the difference between Oxyhemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin! The only reliable means is a CO monitor with a functioning sensor.

A little Chemistry

The difference between oxygen and carbon monoxide binding is illustrated simply based on the angle at which the two molecules bind. Oxygen binds sterically at an angle to the heme (carbon – iron-binding), while the CO binds perpendicularly to the plane of the (porphyrin) ring via the carbon – iron-binding) and this favors CO for hemoglobin binding. The two oxygen atoms create a hindrance (steric) with each other.

One might ask, what about Carbon Dioxide? Interestingly Carbon Dioxide does not compete with Oxygen because as Oxygen binds to the heme, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) binds non-competitively with the protein structure.

A Little Altered Physiology

Acute CO Poisoning leads to a rash of symptoms that include the following:

1. Air hunger
2. Confusion
3. Chest pains (Angina) in compromised individuals.
4. Dizziness
5. Drowsiness
6. Fainting
7. Fatigue
8. Lethargy
9. Headache
10. Irritability
11. Palpitations (fast heart rate)
12. Nausea and Vomiting
13. Convulsions
14. Cardiovascular Shock
15. Coma
16. Death

Important to remember that a low-level long long-duration exposure can lead to symptoms mistaken for an influenza or viral syndrome without fever.

The organs mostly affected by CO Poisoning are the ones we depend upon the most. The Heart and the Brain. The Heart has cells called Cardiomyocytes that possess cardio-myoglobin or heart muscle cells that have a high affinity for carbon monoxide. This affinity pushes away the oxygen required by the heart muscle to function and leads to heart muscle fatigue, cardiac dysfunction, and erratic electrical transmission through the heart, leading to an errant heartbeat and sudden death. In the brain, a similar result occurs where lack of oxygen in the brain cells leads to cellular collapse and the resultant loss of cognition, confusion, convulsions, and death as a final consequence. Long-term low exposure states can exhibit, memory loss, personality changes, and disorders of movement (gait etc.)

A Little Treatment

Remembering that CO forms a permanent non-dissociative complex with hemoglobin called carboxyhemoglobin, and the binding is irreversible with its 200 – 300 times affinity it overwhelms and limits the oxygen transport to organs, therefore the treatment must be immediate and “overwhelming” in nature. The half-life of carboxyhemoglobin is 74 minutes (based on the red cell turnover), hence the treatment must be sustained with…

1. 100% Oxygen administration
2. Hyperbaric Oxygen along with Carbon Dioxide.
3. Intravenous Fluids
4. Electrolyte replacement
5. Arterial Oxygen level and lactic acid monitoring
6. Electrocardiogram
7. Chest X-Ray
8. Medicines to treat symptoms.

The 100% Oxygen sustained use is based on the work of Haldane in 1895 who kept mice alive with 100% oxygen (hyperbaric) along with CO exposure, thus proving that sustained Oxygen use can allow enough of it to keep oxygen transport to the tissues.

The future might be a little different if Jeffery Long at the University of Berkley has his way. He has developed a MOF a metal-organic framework – an amazingly porous material with a growing list of applications – that incorporates chains of iron atoms tuned to attract CO and exclude other chemical compounds. Embedding the material in the cockpit of an aircraft might be a solution for saving potential lives in the future.

We are flying in the cold part of the year. Have an astute mechanic check your engine compartment for leaks, Buy a good CO Monitor (or those “Delta Zulus”). Have your current detector checked or serviced (if needed). Carry a pulse oximeter if you fly at altitudes. Always remain aware of the invisible hazard that lurks quietly with you in your airplane.

Here’s to Safe flying and looking forward to the future in aviation.

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

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Read our February “SAFE Strategies” for great resources and ideas. See the special landing page on survival kits and techniques. There is also a dedicated landing page with extensive free CFI Resources.

 

REFERENCES:

1. Raub JA, Mathieu-Nolf M, Hampson NB, Thom SR. Carbon monoxide poisoning — a public health perspective.Toxicology 2000;145: 1-142
2. Department of Health, London. Carbon Monoxide: the Forgotten Killer. Letter from the Chief Medical Officer, PL/CMO/98/5. London: DoH, 1998
3. Haldane JS. The relation of carbonic oxide to oxygen tension. J Physiol (Lond) 1895;18: 201-7
4. Meaden CW, Nelson LS. Inhaled toxins. In: Walls RM, eds. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 148.
5. Hampson NB. Pulse oximetry in severe carbon monoxide poisoning. Chest. 1998 Oct;114(4):1036-41.
6. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry 5th Edition

During primary training, most learners want to get to landings way too soon. Similarly, during IFR training, pilots push to begin working on approaches before they have mastered basic IFR control (“Gotta get to my Airbus dude.”) In both cases, a CFI can get lured into this error of “teaching final form” before the basics are mastered.”Too much, too soon” reveals a failure to manage the pace of instruction; the most common instructional error.

Many CFIs rationalize this error as “motivating the learner.” But “too much, too soon” leads to dangerous excursions, and learner frustration (CFI burnout). Accelerating the training pace beyond learner comprehension and mastery prevents real learning. The secret to managing a pushy learner is to set challenging, but realistic, sub-goals that must be mastered before the next step is taken. “6X learning” occurs in this “struggle zone” where the educator provides “optimal challenge.” “Too much, too soon” leads to “flailing.” Read “incremental mastery” for a more detailed explanation of this process. One of the critical skills for every successful CFI is  pushing back with “pushy learners!” (That command authority thing…)

The other side of the instructional pacing problem is overly slow exposure of new challenges. This comes from insisting on perfection in every maneuver before moving further. Studies have shown that “interleaving” and variety of exposure “before ultimate success” leads to faster and more enduring learning. Remember, though perfection is a worthy goal that should always be kept in sight, “perfectionism” is a psychological problem! Initial pre-solo standards should have some grace as mastery is built. FIrst, get all the darts on the dartboard and then tighten the grouping. With “incremental mastery,” a learner’s personal standards will tighten up the tolerances with practice. Furthermore, the pursuit of excellence has to be internally embraced by your learner. Perfection enforced by the CFI in a draconian external manner is demotivating and counterproductive (yes, I spent some time in Catholic school)

Focus Forward!

Flight tests are often ruined by the self-sabotage of focusing on past errors. As soon as something does not go perfectly, a pilot can melt into a pool of self-doubt and pity. Though all good pilots strive for excellence, errors will happen; keep flying! Self-doubt and recrimination prevent effective performance and jeopardize safety. Savvy, well-trained pilots “Focus Forward” on the next challenge (positive mindset). Developing a forward focus brings your full energy and talent to the operation. This is true of both evaluations and high-workload flight situations. There is plenty of time after a flight for reflective analysis and resolutions for future improvement.

A critical part of a forward focus is a realistic evaluation of the current situation. The military calls a “sitrep: Situation Report ” This tool accurately calibrates resources: “What do we have and what is our current unbiased (non-emotional) status.” This is the “reality check” that lives in the real world, not where we wish we were or what might have happened. Here we are, and decision-making must be based on an accurate and realistic assessment of the current situation. At that point, the best path forward, given the current situation, has to be decided in a clear-eyed fashion. “The perfect” can again be the enemy, since we live in the real world, not Barbie Land.

“Satisficing”

This is a word coined by Dr. Herbert Simon, the original AI researcher, and a savvy psychological economist. As humans, we seldom choose the best but rather select “good enough” for real world survival. “Satisficing” is the psychological state of being able to accept “less than perfect,” in the interest of “the good” and forward motion. Perfectionism can often stop necessary action in its tracks. Satisficing is a choice or pathway that contains all the necessary elements to move forward and achieve success without the delay of waiting for “the perfect.”

Aligned with the “current situation”and “best available” solution (the first level of situational awareness) is a clear view of the “critical path” forward (level two). “Critical Path Analysis” is an engineering viewpoint that decides all the necessary elements on the path forward toward a successful outcome. It necessarily eliminates many “nice to have” elements to streamline a process for efficiency. In a high-consequence, time-critical world like flying, time and resources are always scarce. The “best choice” is not the “perfect choice” but satisfactory. Aeronautical decision-making starts with what we actually have on hand and makes “the best” choices.

SAFE @ Sun ‘N Fun (50th) in 2024

If you are a SAFE member headed to Sun ‘N Fun, please save Saturday evening, April 13th for a get-together (~17:00) at the Prop 74 building (next to the exhibit buildings). This is Saturday Airshow night and details are developing (TBD). This will be a light dinner with a couple drinks included for one US President. Lifetime SAFE members get in free and supporting members will be half price. More details soon. Fly safely out there (and often)!

 

The amazing Garmin 430 came out in 1998, but my first view of one in a plane was May 12th, 2001 at a Saratoga crash site. This confused pilot had loaded the ILS at KITH but forgot to punch the CDI button and enable “green needles” for correct ILS guidance. In the 20+ years since this has become known as the “$500 button” in flight training for the number of checkride failures it has caused. In the case of this Saratoga, it almost cost the owner his life. He had accurate lateral guidance on the approach with the wrong “nav source.” The centered glideslope needle was very misleading and drove him into the ground. (A similar historical problem with steam gauge CDIs is the ambiguity of “centered needles;” either “perfect” or “off!”)

Fast forward to last week, flying the latest/greatest Garmin iteration; a G-3000 avionics package in a new Citation M2 jet, and the same “green needle” problem caused my learner to fly right through the localizer at Newark on the ILS 22L. Obviously, pilots have still not gotten the memo on this issue: still common in with the GTN architecture avionics and even in jets. Personally, I think the problem is the rote-level training instructions; “push this button here, that one there and the ‘vector to final’ button only in certain cases.” To be competent (and safe) using these units, you have to understand the bigger picture of the GPS logic.

Most pilots stumble into the “Garmin Green Needle Gotcha” in a classic manner. They dutifully load and activate the approach while still flying on GPS guidance during the transition to the terminal area. Most typically pilots are flying to a fix on the final approach with GPS guidance get a vectored procedural shortcut – “fly heading XXX/descend XXX/ cleared.” Unfortunately, they seem to frequently fail to activate  ILS guidance (or “green needles”). Though this error is more obvious on a large pdf presentation than in the old GNS 430s, this is still easily missed. With only a rote understanding of what is going on some steps continually get missed. This is a “pilot problem.” It is essential to visualize the bigger picture of “how your GPS thinks!”

Start with the most basic “green needle” ILS approaches seen at all NYC airports. There are no legal “airway transitions to these approaches and radar is required for just about ILS.   This is an obvious “load/activate” and “vectors to final.” Outside the busy Bravo airspace, there are charted terminal transitions into an ILS approach. And though these ILS approaches can be flown separately on a “green needle” system (without GPS), they are usually navigated using GPS nav inbound. Once you get the ATIS, you load and activate an ILS approach with your GPS, and the system will nicely define all the legs and transition into the approach – so far so good.

The newer GTN logic will fly GPS guidance right onto final and automatically switch to “green needles” (if enabled in settings). This occurs at an unseen “sensor fix” 2 nm outside the FAF. It is essential that every pilot anticipate and verify this switch to ILS guidance (green needles) every time. Most CFI-Is get lots of questions about these setup issues: sometimes the GPS works automatically enabling the switch to green needles, and sometimes the magic fails- how come?

 

This has to do with how the GPS “thinks.” GPS is a “go to” navigator and draws lines between “path terminators.” If you shortcut a charted procedure, you have to inform the GPS (like a crew member). When an ILS requires vectors (LGA13), or the controller issues vectors and you fly a “heading to intercept,” your Garmin does not know to switch automatically to green needles. This has to be manually initiated by the pilot. Activate “vectors to final”  or your plane will fly right through the course (what my pilot did). Basically, the pilot has to inform the system about this “shortcut!” In autopilot operation, the mode controller “APR” function will not activate or annunciate on the pfd “scoreboard” in this case. Unfortunately, most pilots miss this in the heat of battle.

The best practice for all this button pushing is the excellent free Garmin GTN iPad simulators. Search for “Garmin GTNXi” (or TXi) Trainer on the app store. Super versatile trainer for practicing your “buttonology.”

When *Not* to Enable “Vectors to Final” (VtF)

There are many times when “vectors to final” is not the right button to push, and I think this creates doubt in a pilot and makes them reticent to activate the VtF function. If the approach is loaded and activated and you are flying a full procedure (still in NAV mode), activating “vectors to final” will draw a single straight line down the final approach. This will also remove your navigational guidance to that course.

Only when you are actually being issued “vectors to final ” – and you are in heading mode following radar control guidance – is it time to activate “vectors to final.” Basically, the controller is short-cutting the full procedure and that VtF button tells your GPS navigator to activate the ILS (green needle) guidance. (BTW, this can also be done “old school 430” with the CDI button on the PFD).

“Vectors to Final” Without ILS

And here is the real zinger that even experienced pilots miss. This same exact problem occurs on a totally GPS-guided  approach (usually LPV at a busier terminal) when you are “vectored to final.” This is less obvious because it is all on GPS guidance (no green needles). If the controller issues a vector to shortcut a charted full procedure, you also must also activate “vectors to final” to inform your GPS the procedure has been truncated. Any time you vary the charted sequence of waypoints, the additional “VtF” button must be pushed to enable the “heading/intercept” logic. Simple! Fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

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Read our February “SAFE Strategies” for great resources and ideas. See the special landing page on survival kits and techniques. There is also a dedicated landing page with extensive free CFI Resources.

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Some of the most celebrated human characteristics – hope and courage -dramatically overcome obstacles and make great biographies, novels, and blockbuster movies. Unfortunately, these same bold moves in aviation are the fuel for most NTSB reports. Hope is a very bad flight planning tool, which combined with “too much courage” creates an – *almost drug-induced* – disregard for obvious risks. The cartoons call this “hopium.” The related mental visualization of how unrealistic expectations can lead to great success is called “magical thinking.” The NTSB retrospective analysis always shows these failings in clear hindsight. Pilots project improbable success when optimistic brain chemistry clouds their better judgment.

Hopium is a portmanteau of the words “hope” and “opium” used to describe a fictional drug to help one stay hopeful in times of stress. It is frequently used in reaction image macros featuring Pepe the Frog hooked to an oxygen tank labeled “hopium”.

Every aviator must avoid hopium to be safe. Instead, we need to embrace a tempered pessimism the Greeks called “stoicism.” A good pre-takeoff briefing is a recitation of all the things that may go wrong, in a detailed fashion (the “pre-meditation of evils“). This recitation builds awareness and prepares for the actions required to handle emergencies.

Though most take-offs (thankfully) go smoothly, a good pilot works hard to avoid developing complacency and completely automating every action. A good pilot is aware and code-yellow for each critical phase of flight. By being aware that the take-off is the most statistically dangerous part of every flight, the “automatic” handles a lot of details, while the metacognitive evaluates and adjusts the master performance (ready for anything). For longer flight planning or less defined mission uncertainty, consult a good friend and ask “Am I thinking straight here?” Kill all the “maybes” or develop safe alternates before departing.

The related silent killer in piloting, often mistakenly worshiped,  is “automaticity.” Helpful habits are great, to a point, but real mastery requires habits completed with “aware execution” and subsequent “reflective improvement.”  This is a skill called metacognition. A pilot may survive 10,000 hours doing things wrong (this is luck rather than hope), and many high-time accidents reveal a history of disregard for risks. The key to real mastery is highly trained and automatic execution combined with metacognition. This is the sharp mental awareness of the event and our actions as they are occurring from an observer’s viewpoint (thinking about thinking). Metacognition is the first level of  Dr. Mica Ensley’s “situational awareness.” Failure in aware execution of tasks is where 72% of accidents occur. We have to be code yellow when we advance the power for take-off.

Lastly, the fat logbook, with lots of hours and ratings, all by itself is no guarantee of skill and mastery. The “10,000-hour rule” popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his 2008 bestseller, Outliers, does not just mean simple repetition and automatic execution (or every machine would be “masterful”). To improve in any skill, repetition must be combined with awareness and constantly increasing standards. Complex tasks in a high-consequence environment, cannot be learned by trial and error. They require “optimal challenge” through careful educational intervention – guided discovery in the “struggle zone.” This is why “practice makes perfect” is a compelling educational fallacy.” It works for simple tasks but fails miserably for complex learning!

Though perfection is always out of reach, a master pilot is always working to improve and get better, through metacognitive awareness in the moment and reflective analysis after the fact.  In the educational world, a master instructor provides this “optimal challenge” to each unique learner while also maintaining motivation (and hopefully fun). A good post-flight brief is a “reflective analysis” that should become a habit. The human dilemma of striving and constantly falling short of perfection can be frustrating – but also weirdly motivating too. Regarded correctly, the challenge of constantly striving for (unreachable) perfection also means there is always more to learn! Fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

Every new FAA certificate is a "license to learn," but the initial CFI temporary really approves a "student teacher!" (We all realize that looking back). CFI is a whole new role: "educator" and not "pilot!" Carefully transferring control to a person who may be a complete beginner and allowing them to experiment - and make mistakes - takes real courage. 
Most new CFIs are pretty terrified (even if they won't admit it) and consequently, they tend to micro-manage the controls (and radio). 
The first 100 hours is a real important learning experience! 

We apprciate Samantha Pennington sharing what she learned in her first 100 hours.

See also: Mike Patey answers that tough question: what would you look for in a CFI to teach a member of your family?

My First 100 Hours As A CFI

By Samantha Pennington

I am a CFI/CFII based in Arizona. Since becoming a flight instructor last year, I have gained an extensive amount of applicable information and experience on how to be a productive and safe educator. Just now passing 100 hours of dual given, I have gained an appreciation for the importance of teaching strong situational awareness to students, as this is an essential skill for any pilot. I have become more confident in my teaching abilities, and have also gained an understanding of how to tailor flight instruction to the individual needs of each student.

In my first 100 hours of instructing, I have learned that leading by example is one of the key factors that makes an effective instructor. Many essential items get left behind or swept under the rug in flight training, and it is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure that all subject areas and safety procedures are being met for each flight. For example, checklist usage, verbalizing tasks and maneuvers, actively looking for traffic, good instrument, and visual scans, and writing down taxi clearances are just a portion of the things that the instructor must be actively doing to lead by example. The instructor is the role model for the students and should be setting the standard for aviation safety. By actively demonstrating and verbalizing safety procedures and checklist usage, the instructor is teaching students the importance of safety in flight, and on the ground.

Being a new flight instructor comes with its own set of challenges. Some of these include building trust with your students. As the instructor is the role model, they need to show the students that they have a vested interest in their safety and success. Demonstrating to students that you are being diligent and aware of the safety of the flight can help to build their trust, while also leading them to become situationally aware on their own. As instructors, we are also actively learning, but primacy plays a major role in the overall success of your students.

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The “CFI Characteristics” Experienced Pilots Look For:

An interesting question was posed to Mike Patey: (Available here on YouTube) “What would you look for in a CFI that was going to teach a member of your family? Mike Patey stated very clearly he would seek out a CFI who was “not arrogant, preferably humble, and still ready to learn.“

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Add your comments below and if you are a new CFI and want to share your “First 100 Hours” learning, please get in touch. Experienced CFIs are welcome to join our Mentoring Website and help new (and learning) CFIs.

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

It is obviously critical for every CFI to properly limit their early students’ solo pattern work and cross-country flights to a clear set of safe weather (and currency) standards. But instead of imposing arbitrary ceiling, wind, and visibility limitations, consider a more collaborative approach. Involving your learner in creating their limitations builds an understanding of “personal minimums” that will become a lifelong process, very critical to their future safety.

I start this conversation by explaining that *every* pilot has personal limitations. Even the equipment we fly has fixed limits beyond which we do not fly. Every new pilot needs to be very familiar with Section 2 in their POH; limitations! This conversation builds the bigger picture that limitations (personal minimums) are an ever-present consideration and the most important safety tool we have in flying. The initial student solo limitations are just the start of a lifetime process, and your new pilot must be involved in this process. When created in this collaborative manner, limitations become a “learning opportunity,” rather than a resented short-term “baby gate!”

I introduce the question of personal limitations pretty early, way before the solo is even considered. “How much wind are you comfortable with today, at your level of learning?” This would be a time when your learner is achieving their first “acceptable landings.” Later add a larger view; “What kind of visibility would you need to safely fly to the practice area?” (I am always amazed when checkride applicants volunteer 3sm as their enroute minimums). The goal of this questioning is to transfer the authority from CFI to the learner pilot to build their internal personal safety standard. Imposing an external “baby-gate” type limitation that will later go away is often resented and builds an improper viewpoint. There will *always* be limits and this ultimately becomes the responsibility of the new pilot as they gain skill and experience. The unsafe pilot is the one who thinks they have no limits.

On the other side of the coin is the learner who is overly cautious and timid. This is an even harder situation to remedy. To me building courage is more difficult than limiting the unrealistic, over-confident learner. Achieving a balance of caution and courage is the heart of safety. Usually, this just takes time (and compassionate counseling). Find your learner’s “privileged

domain” where they are absolutely confident and comfortable (a personal sports success is useful here) and review the steps they took to get to that point of confidence. But some people are actually too timid to be safe pilots. These people often dwell too much on accident reports and all the horrible eventualities. Balance your caution and courage; fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

I think all educators appreciate the personal knowledge benefits of teaching. As we educate others, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of our subject. This phenomenon has an accepted academic name: the “Protégé Effect.” Whenever we coach, mentor, or teach at any level the educator benefits from greater retention and fluidity with the subject matter. Actively educating also leads to deeper research and understanding – as we struggle to answer those sharp questions that learners provide. Not surprisingly, most excellent educators are also passionate learners. The Protégé Effect was succinctly summed up by the famous Stoic philosopher Seneca thousands of years ago: “While we teach, we learn.”

“Learning by teaching” is not only a benefit for the educator, but can also be an effective tool for a  learner at any level. Use teaching to improve retention and performance on your oral evaluations. Leverage the protégé effect for greater capability and confidence. Just find a person who is less advanced in your subject area and deliver a lesson; verbalize and interact. You will immediately discover your weak areas and improve your delivery. Further Q&A interaction with any learner will uncover subject areas you probably never even considered and improve your ability to “think on your feet.” Just keep a careful record of your knowledge gaps and get to work improving in these areas. (a video is a simple, but ruthless, reveal).

Students enlisted to tutor others, these researchers have found, work harder to understand the material, recall it more accurately and apply it more effectively. In what scientists have dubbed “the protégé effect,” student teachers score higher on tests than pupils who are learning only for their own sake. Time

The most obvious, but underappreciated, deficiency demonstrated by most flight test applicants is their inability to verbalize what they thought was in their heads. Patient DPEs spend a lot of time trying to extract these precious factoids during an FAA test, but there is a limit obviously. This can be frustrating because the knowledge that seems to be available when you thought about it, disappears when you try to verbalize it; ouch! Get busy teaching for better performance on your evaluations.

In our modern accelerated flight training world, many new pilots will also soon be working on their CFI anyway; tune up your teaching! You can even earn a ground instructor certificate just by taking a couple FAA knowledge tests (a huge FAA loophole) Remarkably, you don’t even have to be a pilot. A ground instructor certificate will put you in a much better position when you are sitting for your initial flight instructor evaluation. You are *already* an instructor, just adding your flight privileges. Fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

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The New Year is a natural time for reflection and goal setting. But because those resolutions are quickly forgotten, many people just give up and fail to put in any effort for improvement. This is the “slacker approach” that separates ploders from professionals. Just because we sometimes fail is no reason to give up on excellence.

Every pilot with a certificate beat incredible statistical odds to gain that privilege; pilots are <0.02% of the US population! And though perfection is impossible, an effortful pursuit of excellence is what every pilot must maintain to be safe. Though many human activities offer forgiveness of a sloppy attitude, pilots operate in a high-consequence environment that requires a commitment to excellence. We are continuously pushing that stone up the hill.

No one is a super pilot, always doing everything exactly right, but don’t let that become an excuse for sloppy flying. Whether you are a student pilot just starting out or an airline transport pilot with thousands of hours; whether you are on a local flight just for the fun of flying, or on a trip across the country for business; ap­proach every flight as a professional, al­ways alert for any deviation from the de­sired parameters and ready to gently, but quickly, correct back to the ideal state.

Jay Hopkins “Striving For Perfection”

At the heart of this process is the starting point. We must approach every flight as a “motivated learner.” If we begin with an over-inflated sense of self, no improvement is possible – and we all know pilots tend toward “excessive self-confidence”🤣🙀. So take it down a notch and humbly do an analysis after every flight. Improvement requires reflective analysis and redirection. Take a moment in the chocks after every flight and ask the question: “What did I screw up and where could I have done better?” If we are honest with ourselves, there is always room for improvement; this is *opportunity!*  This is the basis for all positive educational progress. This is a learned skill that requires commitment and motivation. Habits take real effort to develop.

Every CFI should build this brief instructional post-flight reflection into their learners’ habit patterns: “We landed successfully, now what can we improve?” This is the essential skill that creates a “lifetime learner” (never accept “good enough!”) Education and improvement requires a “meaningful change in behavior” and cannot be an occasional event.

Perceive – Process – Perform, (the flight action part) always needs to be followed by Review- Reflect – Redirect (the after-action improvement part).

Write down 3 “after-action items” to improve after every flight – right in the notes of your logbook.

Our high-consequence environment does not tolerate “luck” for long. We lose good friends every year from accidents. When we reflectively analyze (post-flight) every flight, we are looking carefully for those “lucky moments” and we want to replace them with “thoughtful/skillful actions.” We all love luck, but we do not want to count on it!

To motivate your commitment to improvement, select professional role models to emulate that fly the way you want to. Who you model and hang out with is exactly who you will become. Though our human egos prefer superiority (“all the children are above average”), take it down a notch and assume the role of a humble beginner; we all have lots more to learn. This project of life at every level is an ongoing project. Fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

Thanks to Bill Ziesenitz (DPE >40 years) for his text this week motivating this blog. It seems many pilots are still unaware of the auto-on "envelope protection" built into Garmin autopilots 😳

Unlike older autopilots that a pilot manually turns on (usually >400 ft), the newer Garmin 500/600 series comes alive on its own at 200 feet agl. in Electronic Stability Protection(ESP)™ mode. In training, holding an extreme nose-up attitude in a plane equipped with the Garmin (ESP)™ will engage a “full nose down” autopilot command (> 10 seconds >15° up). The more you pull, the more it trims. It is critical that every CFI or DPE training in a plane equipped with ESP™ understand this feature and manually disable it for maneuvering. 

Electronic Stability & Protection (ESP)™ — The ESP function provides a soft barrier to keep the aircraft within the desired operating envelope when the autopilot is not engaged. When the GFC 600 senses the aircraft is near the defined operating limit in pitch attitude, roll attitude, high airspeed, or low airspeed, the ESP function will automatically engage one or more servos to nudge it back to the nominal operating envelope.GFC 600™ Pilot Guide

After 10 seconds the full autopilot engages (and annunciates) forcing the plane into the “Level Mode.” At this point, all the servos are actively working to restore that level flight attitude.

If an unprepared CFI initiates a power-on stall with a high nose attitude, the full autopilot will engage and trim full nose down to correct the unusually high pitch (restoring “level mode”). This could make a stall recovery pretty radical if you are unprepared. Additionally, if a pilot stalled with ESP™ not disabled and a roll ensued on recovery, this autopilot will aggressively roll in aileron control to lift the low wing (creating more drag and a perfect spin set-up). Disconnect ESP™ before maneuvering (a five-second press on the red button will turn it off):

So I (30 hr student pilot) was practicing power-on stalls with my CFI in a plane newly equipped with a Garmin autopilot – which was turned off. At 80% power or so in a 180HP 172, the nose is waaay up there (at least to my low-time nerves.) So I’m pulling back further, waiting for the stall to break, dutifully holding the nose with rudders and definitely not ailerons, having experienced one near-spin already and not caring to repeat that experience.

All of a sudden I hear “Autopilot Engaged” on comms and Mr. Garmin decides to put in heavy aileron input. Immediately a wing drops and we are most of the way into a spin which my CFI recovers.

This shakes me up pretty well – we pulled some G’s getting back to level flight and overall, I was really not into it. Redit

Garmin ESP™ is passively watching every flight all the time, and is designed to maintain a “normal flight envelope” within limited parameters, usually 45° bank, 15° pitch up and 12° pitch down (this varies with airframe). First, it nudges, then after 10 seconds (cumulative operation), the full autopilot engages and forces the plane back into that envelope (which will interfere with training and could even make it dangerous). You will feel ESP™ fighting your bank on commercial steep turns. Every CFI or DPE flying with these units should be aware of this feature and disable it in the pre-maneuver set-up. (below)

If flight maneuvers exceeding the normal ESP envelope are intended, the feature can be disabled on the Aux – System Setup Page on the MFD

Enabling/Disabling ESP (Garmin G1000 NXi
1) Turn the large FMS Knob to select the Aux Page Group.
2) Turn the small FMS Knob to select the ‘Aux – System Setup’ Page.
3) If necessary, press the SETUP 2 Softkey to display the ‘Aux-System Setup 2’ Page.
4) Push the FMS Knob to activate the cursor.
S) Turn the large FMS Knob to place the cursor in the Stability & Protection field.
6) Turn the small FMS Knob to select ‘Enabled’ or ‘Disabled’.
7) Push the FMS Knob to remove the cursor.
(ESP will be automatically enabled on the next system power up)

On twin-engine aircraft, this autopilot is also equipped with “Smart Rudder Bias” that will “assist the pilot in maintaining bank control by lowering the roll attitude ESP thresholds in the direction of the failed engine and pitch to maintain Vmc.” This feature is also continuously active in the Garmin autopilot and might need to be disabled for training. Again for quick disconnect: hold down the red disconnect button for > 5 seconds. Happy holidays to all who celebrate 🎉🎅🎄 Fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.

The subject of “common weak areas on flight tests” could keep me typing for years, but “IFR flight off the black lines” seems to be a new checkride mystery. Very senior IFR pilots are also often confused on IPCs about the rules and safe procedures for contact and visual approaches. Along with circling approaches, these operations allow for “creative IFR” that have huge safety implications for pilots who misunderstand the rules and risks. Let’s dig into the FAA guidance for visual and contact approaches for some common sense cautions.

Safety is maintained in the IFR system by flying on FAA-surveyed routes. Unlike the freedom provided in VFR flying, IFR is most commonly stabilized “on the beam” and largely regulated from start to finish. We are safe if we “stay on the black lines” of terminal and approach charts (and avoid nasty weather threats). Consequently, accidents – and scary near misses – often happen in the transition times from IMC to VMC – especially when solid nav. guidance is not provided. “Creative segments” like visual, contact, and circling provide huge risks we need to respect and carefully mitigate.

Many recent high-profile IFR accidents involved “unguided flight segments” like the 2017 Lear at TEB, Challenger at Truckee, or the Lear 35A at San Diego (the list goes on…) Additionally, in daily IFR flying, flights most often terminate with a visual approach or by canceling IFR early on approach to a non-tower airport. These procedures are not explained well in training and seem to be *never* flown for demonstration. Additionally, flight academies seldom expose learners to the FAA AIM where most of the guidance for these procedures is written. We need to regularly review the procedures and risks.

A visual approach clearance *requires* VFR conditions at the landing airport. A recent CFI-I candidate did not know that and even forgot that in addition to 3sm viz, terminal VFR requires a 1000 ft ceiling to be VFR. This candidate was focused on what a pilot has to do to stay VFR (91.155 cloud clearance). Remember, that even with no airplanes in a Delta, Charlie, or Bravo airspace, a ceiling below 1000 at the airport becomes IFR and you cannot be issued a visual approach clearance. Frequently the clouds also have to be above the minimum vectoring altitude for controllers to issue a visual approach.

AIM 5–4–23 A visual approach is conducted on an IFR flight plan and authorizes a pilot to proceed visually and clear of clouds to the airport. The pilot must have either the airport or the preceding identified aircraft in sight…Cloud clearance requirements of 14 CFR Section 91.155 are not applicable.

The visual approach is a segment on an IFR flight plan, assigned or requested, that is flown visually when conditions allow. And though the airport must be VFR, the usual VFR cloud clearances don’t apply. This is not an IFR cancellation; the flight is still on an IFR flight plan (pilots forget to cancel at non-towered fields). An IFR pilot bouncing through a low broken layer of clouds can request and be issued a visual to an airport that is VFR, as long as they are currently clear of clouds and have the field (or preceding aircraft) in sight. This clearance allows an immediate descent at the pilot’s discretion (terrain permitting) and also a shortcut right to the airport. This saves time for both the controller and the pilot but must be conducted carefully since the usual obstacle protection is no longer required to be provided.

The “contact approach” must be requested by the pilot (cannot be assigned) but can be a useful tool when the weather has deteriorated below VFR (down to the basic Class G 1sm CoC). Many professional pilot operating rules prohibit this procedure due to the high risk involved. A scary wake-up call is that the field does not necessarily even have to be in sight. All that is required is a “reasonable expectation” that you can continue to navigate in “Golf-level VFR” and find the field.

AIM 5–4–25 Contact Approach is for “pilots operating in accordance with an IFR flight plan, provided they are clear of clouds and have at least 1 mile flight visibility and can reasonably expect to continue to the destination airport in those conditions, may request ATC authorization for a contact approach.

A contact approach in low weather is truly “creative IFR” (legal scud running) and comes with a huge dose of risk if performed at an unfamiliar airport. This operation might be acceptable for flying into a familiar field with local knowledge of the terrain and geographic landmarks. I have used a contact only in the case of a “stale ATIS” where the weather has moved out and is quite a bit better than advertised – a fast-moving cold front or clearing fog. In one case the tower was solid IMC and the runway was in the clear. Remember, if your airport is non-towered below the 700/1200 Echo transition, you might be operating in Golf airspace with *everyone* operating 1 mile CoC!

The critical threat to mitigate in both the visual and contact approaches is that there is no nav. or vertical guidance either to the field or for the missed approach in case you re-enter IMC conditions. The AIM recommends using “supplemental navigational guidance,” so keep the airport as the active waypoint. The immediate fallback for penetrating clouds is to power up, climb, and turn toward the field (or lower terrain) for safety. I personally keep a current terrain map active with obstacles displayed for any visual (or night-time VFR) approach.

The more modern GPS systems include “visual approach” guidance on their systems now. These electronic “visual approaches” were first available on the old Chelton systems and are lately available on the newer Garmin G1000 NXi and Garmin’s GTN units. These can be selected like any other approach (and most annunciate within 10 miles of the field). These can be useful tools to avoid selecting the wrong runway in good VFR. but although they resemble every other approach, no terrain protection is provided. These “visuals” only present a geometric algorithm to a 2.5-mile final on a 3-degree descent path. If the weather is at all questionable,  I suggest loading a real approach as “plan B.” Weather is always changing and having an approach – and missed procedure – at the ready is a savvy back-up. Fly safely out there (and often)!

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See “SAFE SOCIAL WALL” For more Resources

Join SAFE and get great benefits. You get 1/3 off ForeFlight and your membership supports our mission of increasing aviation safety by promoting excellence in education.  Our FREE SAFE Toolkit App puts required pilot endorsements and experience requirements right on your smartphone and facilitates CFI+DPE teamwork. Our newly reformulated Mentoring Program is open to every CFI (and those working on the rating) Join our new Mentoring FaceBook Group.