Sunday, September 5, 2004        Vol. 1 No. 9
Prepared by Bob Miller, CFII 
 rjma@rjma.com  716-864-8100

Welcome to the Over the Airwaves aviation newsletter.  This irregularly published e-mailing is being sent to members of the E-Pilots listserv.  The aim of this e-publication is to promote flight safety, encourage students and new pilots, enhance pilot awareness of upcoming events, and to build enthusiasm for aviation in general.

Air Traffic Controllers are Always Right . . . . Well, Almost!

It goes without saying that today's air traffic controllers  do their job, and they do it very well.  Anybody who regularly flies to distant cities knows that Buffalo's air traffic controllers are among the best in the business.  And by best, I mean they are technically competent as well as courteous and helpful.    Remember this, however.  They're good, but they're not perfect!  Realizing that air traffic controllers are not perfect may save your life someday.  Conversely, assuming they are always right could cost you plenty.

Here a couple of areas where we as pilots must remain particularly vigilant:

GPS Approaches:  Just as GPS approaches are new to pilots, they are also new to controllers.  Several months ago, I was conducting a night training flight when I heard Buffalo ATC clear a nearby pilot for the RNAV (GPS) Runway 28 approach into the North Buffalo Suburban Airport near Lockport.   Hmmm, I thought to myself, that approach is not authorized at night.  I shared my thought, as tactfully as I could, with the controller.  He asked me in return, Upon what authority is this approach not authorized at night?"  I responded, Upon the fine print in the approach plate!"  He instructed me to standby while he checked it out.  He was gracious enough to call me right back and acknowledge his error, following which he quickly cancelled the other guy's approach clearance.  I suspect the reason why this approach is not authorized at night is because of the power lines located at the approach end of this runway.

GPS approaches are so new that their final approach courses are not yet depicted on ATC radar screens.  These screens do display all of the GPS procedure fixes, but it is up to the pilot to use his own GPS equipment to remain on the published segments of the GPS approach procedures.   If you stray, ATC may not notice it as quickly as they could with existing VOR and ILS approaches.

Procedure Turns:   Many of us like to fly from the Buffalo area down to the Dunkirk Airport.  The heading from the Buffalo/Niagara Airport to DKK is roughly aligned with the published final approach course for the DKK VOR Runway 24 approach, e.g., 233 degrees.  Let's say that an instrument pilot was cleared, as filed, to the Dunkirk Airport.  About half way down, the pilot requests the VOR 24 approach.  The controller replies, Roger, Bugmasher 1234, your are 25 miles from the Dunkirk Airport.   Maintain 4000 feet until established on a published segment of the approach.  You are cleared for the Dunkirk VOR Runway 24 approach. . . "

Question:  Does this pilot join the final approach course and land OR must s/he fly the procedure turn?

I recently spoke with Fred Petersen, Buffalo ATC Training Department Staff Specialist about this and other local ATC procedures.  The answer he gave to this question was . . . it depends!

He correctly pointed out that if the pilot is receiving radar vectors to the final approach course, no procedure turn is authorized  [FAR 91.175(j)].   Go back and look at the wording of the clearance our pilot received.   Was he receiving radar vectors?  The answer is no . . . but the controller fully expects him to join up with the final approach course and land.  Again, would this be legal?  No!  But it routinely happens on flights from Buffalo to Dunkirk because of the relative alignment of these two airports.

So what is a girl supposed to do??

Here's a few suggestions:

• Become Proficient on All IFR Procedures:  If you're depending upon ATC to keep you safe and/or legal, without understanding the procedures, you could wind up in trouble - or worse.  Remember what the term PIC means.  Ultimately, it's your ticket, it's your life . . . it's YOU who is calling the shots, not ATC!

• Ask for Clarification:  These three simple words have saved more lives that we'll ever know!  Controllers are nice people.  They are paid to talk (and presumably to be friendly).  I've never encountered a controller who was reluctant to clarify his or her instructions.  Speak up, always.  "Do you want me to fly this thing straight in or do you want me to do the procedure turn?  It is as simple as that!

Technically Advanced Airplanes (TAA) Joining the Local Fleet!

Gone are the familiar steam gauges of yesterday.  No more mechanical, heading indicators,VOR/Localizer heads, or turn coordinators!   In their place (and in place of numerous other engine, vacuum, and electrical gauges) are two large multi-function screens.

I've logged about six flight hours to date in this wonderful setup, thanks to my instrument student and new C-182 G1000 owner, Hank Stockwell.  Hank took delivery of his new airplane about a month ago.  Another local aviator, Ron Grimm, took delivery of an identical airplane at about the same time. 

Both Hank and Ron own successful  businesses . . . and each recognizes airplane value and utility when they see it!   Ron also owns a Cessna 421 and recently sold his Cessna 206 to buy the new C-182 G1000.  Talking with another friend of mine, Ron said, I could really buy about any airplane I wanted.  I chose the C-182 G1000 because it offered me the best overall benefit in terms of a long-distance traveling machine and ease of flying.

The first picture, upper left above, shows the entire panel with the primary flight display on the left and the multi-function display on the right.  These displays are inter-changeable and each offers many different informational images.  The second photo shows terrain heights throughout the northeast U.S. 

Can you guess what the two rings are?  They are the computed flight ranges based upon remaining  fuel on board and current actual winds!   Other available images include uplinked Doppler radar, storm scope, and traffic collision avoidance.

Owner Hank Stockwell, left, and his flying partner, Jerry Felber, right, stand proudly in front of their new airplane. 

Both Hank and Jerry began their flight instruction with me two years ago at the Akron Airport.  They each moved quickly through their private pilot and instrument ratings.  The products of solid scenario-based training, Hank and Jerry are weather-savvy pilots who know their limits . . . but who are also comfortable flying instrument approaches to minimums.

For example, Hank, Jerry, and I were flying one dark night last week.  We elected to file for multiple approaches at both Williamson Sodus and Rochester Airports.  Why?  Because each airport was reporting a 300 foot ceiling and less than one mile visibility.  This put Williamson Sodus nearly 300' below their published minimums for a GPS approach to their Runway 28.  Rochester was just 100' above their 200' foot minimum for their ILS 4 approach.  Hank flew the airplane through each of these approaches flawlessly several times . . . both by hand and coupled with the autopilot.

Both Hank and Jerry agreed that you can't develop proficient instrument skills flying practice approaches under the hood.  It simply does not work, say Jerry. 

Instrument Pilots Beware:  If you have never flown a for-real instrument approach to minimums as part of your instrument training, don't try it by yourself . . . or even with a non-CFII safety pilot aboard.   Instead, go back to your CFII and have him/her take you through this critical maneuver - or find a qualified, proficient CFII who will.

Managing the Risks of Weather Flying

The last issue of Over the Airwaves described the FAA's interest in managing the risks of flying by conducting scenario-based training.  This approach, says the FAA, is a vast improvement over the time honored maneuvers training most flight students go through for their private pilot's certificate and subsequent instrument rating.  Also promoting scenario-based training is Richard L. Collins, pilot and long time senior editor of Flying Magazine.

In an article titled Risky Business [Flying, September, 2004, p.33], Collins acknowledges that dealing with weather is the greatest risk in general aviation flying.  He also notes that, Nothing in the FAA-mandated training, or most refresher work, helps much in managing weather-related risks.     Instead, most flight instructors teach weather risks by saying a lot of don'ts.

• DON'T fly when the briefer says, "Occasional icing in clouds and precipitation.
• DON'T fly when thunderstorms are in the forecast.
• DON'T fly when surface winds exceed 25 knots.
• DON'T fly VFR when the reported visibility is less than three miles.
• DON'T fly when the forecast ceiling and visibility at your destination is below IFR minimums.

Heck, if all the don'ts were heeded, there would be very little actual flying . . . particularly in WNY from December to March each year!  Collins observes that weather is too tricky to be addressed by a lot of don'ts.  No weather forecasts can accurately predict the presence OR ABSENCE of any specific weather event.  This is why most Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) contain lines beginning with the word TEMPO, meaning 40 percent probability of something different happening from the primary forecast.  Hmmm . . . this means that most forecasters assume their forecasts are only 10 percent more accurate than random chance!

So what happens to the low time, private pilot having little or no real weather experience who encounters unexpected freezing temperatures in the clouds, or an unexpected release of latent heat in the atmosphere that translates into an field of  thunderstorms, or penetrates a fast moving front that's generating severe turbulence, or experiences a sudden, unforecast collapses the temperature/due point spread, resulting in solid fog, or ceiling and visibility falling just below IFR minimums on an instrument approach?  All the DON'T training he received is of little value to him now.   Will his masterful turns around a point, S-turns over a road, slow flight, and soft field landing and take-off techniques help him here?  I don't think so.  Sadly, he'll likely be another negative statistic. Remember, the number one cause of all fatal accidents is continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. 

Also remember what Collins said above,  Nothing in the FAA-mandated training, or most refresher work, helps much in managing weather-related risks.

If I sound like I'm on a mission to remove the word DON'T from flight instructor's lexicons, I am!  Instead of telling flight students don't, help them develop essential WHAT IF skills;  teach proper risk management techniques; build aeronautical decision making (ADM) skills;  explain the concept of aeronautical backdoors and bolt holes;  take primary students into and above the clouds during their first month of flying so that they can see the value of the instrument rating, e.g., the principle of primacy of learning means they won't forget this! 

This can all be done through scenario-based instruction.  Here's a couple of examples:

• Icing:  From December through March in WNY, the following phrase is included in nearly every FSS briefing:  Occasional icing in clouds and precipitation.  This is NOT a forecast of known ice in a specific location.  It simply means that conditions exist for ice to possibly form in some areas.  Not only must pilots know how to manage the risks of flying in wintertime clouds, particularly here in WNY, they must also know and understand what decision options they have it they actually encounter airframe icing.  A scenario-based training exercise would be to conduct defensive ice strategy training on a day when the freezing level or cloud bases are above the local minimum vectoring altitude (MVA).  File for an IFR block altitude and go up in into the cold clouds.  If actual ice is encountered, make a quick escape to warmer temperatures or clear air immediately below.  This is safe, it is realistic . . . and it is an excellent way to impart risk management and decision making skills.
• High Winds:  Since weather forecasts are less than perfect, pilots often encounter surface winds at their destination that are far higher than predicted.  Older style instruction would say, DON'T fly when the wind are high.    Hmmm. . . . that's good in theory, but not very practical in the real world!  Scenario-based instruction would be to wait for a day when high winds (>25 knots) are coming right down the departure runway.   Take off into these winds, then practice low approaches and, eventually, landings and take-offs on a nearby cross-wind runway.  Allow the student to develop cross-wind risk management and decision making skills through actual experience.
• Low Visibility/Low Ceiling Operations:  Risk management and decision making skills regarding low visibility/low ceiling flying is one of the MOST important skills you can give to a primary flight student.  Scenario-based training would be to introduce primary students to actual instrument flight as early in their training as possible.  Let them see, first hand, what one mile visibility really looks like in flight;  permit them to see how quickly that one mile visibility can turn into 1/4 mile visibility!  Let them create their own risk management options.  The instructor's job is to keep the wings level and to comply with your IFR clearance.  The rest is up to the student to figure out!
• Thunderstorms:  There's a huge difference between visible thunderstorms and embedded thunderstorms.  Find a good VFR day when widely scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast.  Allow students to develop their see and avoid skills, to hone their thunderstorm risk management skills, and to learn when it might be necessary to locate the nearest airport and land as soon as practical.  Anybody who routinely flies summertime cross-country missions knows that thunderstorm cells can pop up anywhere, anytime.  T-storm risk management techniques must be allowed to develop.  This cannot happen if we close the hangar doors every day that the possibility of widely scattered thunderstorms appears in the forecast.
• Very Low Instrument Approaches:  CFII's who are not proficient in IFR approaches to minimums should NOT be conducting instrument training.  It is as simple as that!  If you are proficient, then give your instrument students an opportunity to not only experience very low IFR approaches, allow him or her to develop necessary risk management and decision making skills to perform proper missed approach procedures . . . for real.  There is no excuse for using a hood here in WNY.  We have more actual IFR days than almost any other location in the world!

The point that many well-intentioned flight instructors and flight safety organizations seem to miss is that the "DON'T" word fails to provide any solution to the pilot who happens, through judgment error or inaccurate forecast, to find himself in low visibility, high winds, thunderstorms, and icing conditions.  One cannot prepare a person to handle a risky situation by simply telling him to avoid it in the first place.  In aviation, everything involves a measure of risk, whether it's falling on a slippery ramp or trying to outrun a thunderstorm.  Again, if we took the word "DON'T" to its ultimate end, we'd never step foot in an airplane!

There are a lot of parallels between flight instruction and raising children in this very complicated society we live in.  No parent can possibly create a list of do's and don'ts that is long enough to cover every risky scenario their children can find themselves in today.  Instead, effective parenting advocates encourage parents to teach their children proper judgment and reliable decision-making skills. Provide them with the ability to make critical choices, evaluate consequences, and to recover from inadvertent mistakes.  In this regard, pilots deserve training at least equal to the training provided to their children!

As for maneuvers training, well . . . there is no away to avoid a certain amount of maneuvers training if your students are to pass their checkrides.    This can be accomplished as part of the scenario-based examples described above.  A couple of turns around a point and S-turns over a road, if they are to be effective, should really be practiced on high wind days.  There's no reason why steep turns cannot be taught and practiced when between cloud layers the same day you are conducting defensive ice strategies.  Actually, I find that beginning primary students develop basic attitude flying skills more quickly when they are taught it IMC conditions.  Think about it!

Remember, S-turns over a road skill deficiencies are not what is killing pilots today.  What is killing pilots continues to be icing encounters, high wind operations, continued VFR flight into IMC conditions, and poor instrument landing techniques close to the ground.   These factors, alone, are not killers.  Instead, the fatal consequences associated with these factors are often a result of risk management decision errors that probably were never taught to the victim pilot in the first place.

For more information on FITS [FAA/Industry Standard Training] and the FAA's position with regard to scenario-based training, click HERE.

Welcome to another new regular section of Over the Airwaves.  This section, titled NEW AVIATOR, will feature local pilots who have just received either their private pilot's certificate or any advanced rating.  Each new aviator included in this section has his or her own unique story to tell . . . about why they got into aviation, their flight training and checkride experience, and about their future flying plans.

Meet Gina LaMendola of Buffalo, NY, the first of hopefully many new aviators to be included in this section.  This 21 year old lady and her father, local attorney, Lee LaMendola, came out to the Akron Airport last February to discuss flight training options.  Gina had just finished up two years at Buffalo State College and recently transferred to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.  Her training goal was to secure her private pilot's certificate prior to beginning  ERAU classes this September.  And that's just what she did!

Gina and I began training in March and she finished up in August, well within the standard six month time it takes to secure the private pilot's certificate.  To make this time window work, there were several things she and I committed to do.  These were:

• Frequency of Training:  We trained every week, sometimes two to three times a week.
• Cancellation Policy:  There was no cancellation policy. As long as the weather was at or above legal minimums, we flew!   We flew in winds, snow, rain, low ceilings, and poor visibility.  Most of the time, we were able to punch up through the nasty weather into clear, smooth, sunny skies above.   In the process, Gina developed a healthy respect for the vagaries of weather, recognizing how quickly it can change, how forecasts are simply horoscopes with numbers, and how to determine when safe escape routes (backdoors) were and were not available.  And, most importantly, Gina learned when to stay on the ground AND when to turn and run rather than to naively fly into worsening weather, hoping it will improve!
• Scenario-based Training:  Gina mastered the Practical Test Standards (PTS) mandated maneuvers in the first three months of her training.  She spent the rest of the time perfecting her in the system flying skills with dual x-country trips into Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Class B airspace in peak traffic hours and, with proper ATC clearance, she flew into an active PFR (Presidential Flight Restriction) area .   She also logged high performance, complex airplane time as part of her training.
• Self-Motivation/Self-Study:  Gina's flight training success is attributable solely to her own very hard work.  Gina freely admits that she didn't know the difference between a sparkplug and a screwdriver when she first started training.  Her total previous exposure to flying was as an airline passenger in seat 33B reading Cosmo.  She hit the books hard, asked lots of questions, and stayed the course until she learned the stuff!

"I had a great flight training experience with Bob Miller.  He's so patient and understanding, and he made learning to fly fun.  Thanks for teaching me how to fly, Bobbo!"   Now that's a direct quote from Gina, reprinted here with apologies for this bit of shameless self-promotion.

Great work, Gina . . . now go and teach those sunny weather Embry-Riddle flight instructors a thing or two about defensive ice flying strategies!

Checklists . . . More Important Than You Might Ever Imagine!

Last week, CNN reported the tragic death of an infant who was inadvertently left in the back seat of a hot car by her father who stopped by his office for several hours.  How can such a stupid thing happen, you ask?  They should lock that father up and throw away the key.

Hold on.  Before we condemn this grief-strickened father, we should know that there is a preponderance of evidence, backed up by rigorous scientific study, that human short-term memory is highly volatile.  This means, it is highly unreliable.  Two decades ago, the NTSB reported on the crash of a C-172 owned and piloted by a 19,000 hour Eastern Airlines pilot who had forgotten to remove the control lock from the yoke column.  How could such a stupid thing happen to a professional airline pilot?  Stuff happens . . . particularly when in comes to short-term memory loss.

Insurance companies have been forced to double and triple insurance premiums for the owners of retractable gear aircraft because of the frequency of "gear up" landings.  How can pilots do something so stupid like forgetting to lower the landing gear before landing?  You know what they say. Regarding "gear up landings, there are only two kinds of pilots:  those who have and those who will!

Short term memory loss, brain fart, senior moment . . . whatever you wish to call it, happens.  And it happens everywhere and it happens a lot in aviation!  This is why proficient pilots use checklists for everything.  Proficient pilots recognize the volatility of their short-term memory, and they take specific steps to prevent simple oversights to become reasons for accidents. 

Here a couple of scenarios where pilots should, but often do not refer to checklists:

• Short field and Soft Field Landings and Take-offs:  One should never attempt a specialty landing or take-off without first referring to a checklist regarding proper flap settings and Vspeeds.
• Engine Fires and Failures: These events can cause the human memory to suddenly go blank.  Something as simple as switching off the fuel supply . . . which could instantly starve and extinguish an engine fire . . . can easily be overlooked in the panic of the moment.  The solution is - pull the checklist for engine fires.  And engine failures.  Your engine checklist tells you, among other things,  to pitch for best glide speed, trouble shoot the failure, declare and emergency, and look for an OPEN field to land into.
• Pre-Landing:  Nearly all pilots use a checklist prior to take off.  How many use a pre-landing checklist?  Is landing any less risky than take offs?
• Engine Shut Down:  Switches, Lean, Ignition, Master [S.L.I.M.] is a simple memorized checklist that describes the proper way to shut down your piston operated airplane. Many pilots simply start turning things off without regard to the potential damage an improper shutdown sequence can cause delicate electronics.

There are four kinds of checklists:  (1) paper checklists; (2) placarded checklists; (3) flow checklists; and (4) memorized checklists.  Get with your instructor to be sure you understand each kind.

NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on the Bill Law Crash:

Though it did eliminate several of the rumors and speculations regarding the cause of last month's crash that took Bill Law's life, the recently released preliminary accident report by the NTSB did not determine its actual cause.  You can access this report by clicking HERE.  [Thanks to reader John Hotchkin for sending us this link.]

Really Getting to Know Your Pitot/Static System

If you can't mentally diagram this system and explain this the pilot/static system in your sleep, you are at a big disadvantage when it comes to remaining safe in an airplane.  Despite its apparent complexity, it is eloquently simple in design and function.  When used in conjunction with your magnetic compass, the pitot-static system will keep a proficient pilot upright and safe in the clouds should you suffer a catastrophic loss both vacuum and electric!  The pitot-static system can even tell you the RPM of your engine (fixed pitched propellers only).  The operative word here is proficient.  It takes training and practice, but it can easily be done.  Learning to do this is an excellent example of scenario-based training.

This system is SO important that no certificated airplane is permitted to fly without one.  You can fly without a vacuum system, electrical system, and even without an engine (gliders), but you cannot fly an airplane without a working pitot/static system.

Troubleshooting the Pitot-Static System

Blocked Static Ports:  Very simple . . . if the static port(s) is blocked, none of the three pitot-static instruments will work properly.  Can this happen?  Sure.  Aircraft cleaning personnel will often place tape over the static ports to prevent wash water and soap from entering the system.  That's fine, but don't forget to remove this tape before flight!  Washing an aircraft with a pressure washer can have an opposite effect as one local pilot discovered recently.  He accidentally hit the static port on his Mooney with a high pressure washer and blew out his altimeter, airspeed indicator, and VSI.  That was a $1,500 wash job!  Most airplane have an alternate static air source on or under the instrument panel.  Know where it is and check it with each pre-flight inspection.   You can create an alternate static source by breaking the glass the VSI.  Obviously, this should be an emergency solution only!

Blocked Pitot Intake Opening (with unblocked drain hole):  If the pitot intake opening is blocked but the drain hole is still clear, airspeed indicator will read zero. Bugs and ice are the two culprits here.  Pitot covers and use of pitot heat are the two solutions. Calling Airspeed Alive at the first sign of needle movement on the take-off roll is a good precaution against becoming airborne without an airspeed indicator. 

Totally Blocked Pitot Tube (Intake and Drain):  Typically caused by an a fully iced-over pitot tube, this condition will cause the airspeed indicator to give dangerously incorrect readings.  With the pressure side of the sealed airspeed indicator blocked, and declining pressure on the static side (as the aircraft climbs), the airspeed indicator will act like an altimeter!  The airspeed indicator will display increasing airspeed as the aircraft climbs.  Since instrument pilots depend upon airspeed as their primary instrument for climbs, this false reading could precipitate an ever-increasing pitch up attitude . . . and a resultant stall.  This was experienced, with fatal consequences, back in the 1970s, when a B-727 freighter experienced a totally frozen pitot tube.

Flight Students Beware:  Imaginative CFIs have been known to temporarily disable the pitot/static system at the least expected time . . . and so do Designated Pilot Examiners!   Of course, this can be done without compromising the safety flight.

High School Flight Training Course Ready to Go at Akron Central

Final preparations have been completed for the launch of the first in-school flight training program ever to be conducted at Akron High School.  Pictured below are [left to right] Bob Miller, CFII, who will be conducting the course; Joe Lucenti, Akron High School Principal; and Larry Cummings, President, Christian Airmen, Inc. 

The course will begin with parent/student orientation session on Wednesday, September 15, at 7pm at the Akron High School.   Regular sessions will begin the following Wednesday and every Wednesday thereafter during Akron High School's 9th period.

Pre-enrollment is nearly complete with only a few slots left for this two semester course.  The cost of $250 per student includes the Gleim Private Pilot kit, necessary charts and supplies, as well as actual flight training.  The course will include field trips to the Buffalo ATC facilities, U.S. Weather Service, and the skunk works [the Akron Airport homebuilding hangar].  Christian Airmen, Inc., owner/operator of the Akron Airport is serving as the principle sponsor of this course.  They will be providing aircraft rental discounts for enrolled students and I will be donating my time as the course instructor.

"We are very excited about this course," says Principal Lucenti. "It affords our kids a truly unique learning opportunity.  I wish I could take this course!" 

Click on the thumbnail image on the left to view course description.

FAA is Closing the Pilot Knowledge Gap!

Having recognized that many flight students prepare for their FAA knowledge test by simply memorizing the questions and answers, the FAA recently stopped releasing its test question databank to the public.  Instead, they release only one actual question for each required subject area.  The remainder of these questions is a carefully guarded secret. 

Word to the wise . . . the publishers of FAA knowledge test preparation materials, including books, CDs, and online practice tests would like you to believe that they have the latest, up-to-the-minute FAA test questions.  This is not true.  This is not to say that these preparation materials are useless.  On the contrary, they do provide sample questions and answers much like the SAT prep materials used by high school students.  But they are NO LONGER the actual questions.  Thus, to score well or even to pass the FAA knowledge test for your next rating now requires that you actually KNOW the stuff!

This action on the part of the FAA is a big step in the right direction!  It demonstrates their aggressive attempt to reduce the accident rate throughout the general aviation community.  Major changes to the Practical Test Standards (PTS) are following right behind.  For example, effective October 1, 2004, the Instrument PTS requires the demonstration of circling approaches as well as coupled approaches for auto-pilot equipped aircraft.   We will likely be seeing many more PTS changes in the coming months due to the growing disparity between declining accident rates of the airline and corporate sectors and the increasing accident rates in the general aviation sector. 

Emergency Maneuvers Training:

There simply is no getting around the fact that weather cannot be accurately predicted at all times and in all locations.  The meteorological factors that influence specific weather phenomenon are simply to many and too complex, particularly in the Great Lakes region of the nation.  Certainly, the proficient pilot knows when to stay on the ground and when he can fly.  But what if this same proficient pilot flying at 8,000 feet finds himself quickly surrounded by unforecast weather that threatens the outcome of his flight?  What happens if the proficient pilot finds himself in the throws of a thunderstorm, nose down, with a 70 degree bank angle?  How does the proficient pilot recover from a serious upset created a sudden bout of vertigo in the clouds?

Most pilots believe they are too skilled, to knowledgeable, and too cautious to believe that such upsets could happen to them.  Sadly, the accident statistics disprove this theory.  Far too many pilots, particularly VFR only pilots, lose control of their airplanes due to upsets caused by any number of factors.   

I've learned that it is what I do not know that I fear, and I strive, outwardly from pride, inwardly from the knowledge that the unknown is what will finally kill me, to know all there is to be known about my airplane. I will never die. — Richard Bach, 'Stranger to the Ground,' 1963.

There is a well known hierarchy among pilots.  That hierarchy begins with the primary student pilot and proceeds upward through a series of ratings that ends somewhere around military or commercial test pilot or astronaut.  With each additional rating comes more learning, more understanding, more judgment, and more skill.  The pilot who is systematically moving up through his or her pilot ratings, whether a career pilot or a recreational pilot, is a safer, more proficient pilot. 

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Over the Airwaves is not intended to be your typical training, official news, or club-type social journal.  Instead, its intent is to stimulate thought, enhance aviation critical thinking skills, to encourage the strong pilot, and to discomfort the weaker pilot.  With this breadth of scope, Over the Airwaves will evoke a number of reactions.  Please feel free to share these reactions with me by clicking HERE. 

Past Issues of 

Click on any of the links below:

Vol 1, No. 1 -  May 28, 2004 Issue

Vol 1. No. 2 - June 15, 2004 Issue

Vol 1. No. 3 - July 9, 2004 Issue

Vol 1, No. 4 - July 15, 2004 Issue

Vol 1, No. 5 - July 23, 2004 Issue

Vol 1, No. 6 - August 10, 2004 Issue

Vol 1, No. 7 - August 18, 2004 Issue

Vol 1. No. 8 - August 26, 2004 Issue

Wonderful World of Flight Homepage

Safe Flying,

Bob Miller, CFII
rjma@rjma.com
716-864-8100