Good article.
https://www.flyingmag.com/aftermath-bet ... -instinct/
Familiarity with your airplane.
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rookiepilot
- Rank 11
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- Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 3:50 pm
Re: Familiarity with your airplane.
Good article, and good message - read the flight manual, and get a checkout! I've had many too many circumstances where my lack of familiarity with a new type caught me out. On the very simple side, I was delivering a Lake amphibian to a client in the US. The airplane had long range wing tanks, and I had filled them, as well as the main tank. Enroute, thinking ahead, I decided to use the wing fuel, so as to fly the last part of the trip with a more full main tank (logic from my C 310 days). Darned if I could find how to select the wing tank fuel, no control, no placard, no reference in the flight manual. I pondered this for an hour, before using the phone a friend option. The boss told me that the wing tanks just drain into the main tank on their own - pilot action necessary. Good to know! (and he'd checked me out in the Lake!)
A friend (more experienced than I) and I ferried a new Cessna 303 from Toronto to London England. Fully deiced, and FIKI approved (or so I determined by reading the limitations placard). I got into some ice in northern Quebec, not a lot - compared to my Aztec days, but, enough..... I selected all the deice systems on, and confirmed everything was working, my friend looked on from right seat, satisfied which what I was doing. Soon after, the plane began to behave as though it wanted to swap ends in yaw and/or pitch at cruise speed, and slowing down just about did swap it's ends! I sped up! I descended, and found warmer air. Approaching Schefferville, I planned a really long careful descent. It behaved perfectly the whole way down, and landing - what had happened?!? No more icing conditions for you! While my friend flew the Iceland to Scotland leg, I decided to pull out the flight manual for a read. My attention was immediately drawing to the only fluorescent pink page, to which was stapled a tiny zip lock bag, with a placard to be applied at the icing systems switches - "Flight into any icing prohibited, exit immediately." I went on with alarm to read the AD page, which explained that the basic design had a certification oversight, and ice could form at the intersecting leading edges of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, making them very much less effective. There had been three in flight breakups of the type due to this. We were very nearly number four, and would have certainly been, had I not descended into warmer air. It was an omission that the placard had not been stuck on the deicing panel, where I would have seen it, but also an omission that I did not read the flight manual before flying the plane!
My airplane has three distinct pilot actions to retract or extend the gear. When I was being checked out, and having forgotten step three (locking the mains down), my check pilot mentor simply grabbed my hand, and made me move that lever under his control, with no words - very memorable. Yet he described to me two pilots from France coming to pick up his buddy's airplane of the same model to take it to France after buying it. He offered them a check out - they declined. They should have said yes, as an hour later, the plane was sitting on it's keel at Bergen airport, closing their only runway. The gear had been down, but not locked, which they instantly discovered when they touched the brakes!
I tend to read flight manuals before flying a new type now, and get checkouts when I can.
A friend (more experienced than I) and I ferried a new Cessna 303 from Toronto to London England. Fully deiced, and FIKI approved (or so I determined by reading the limitations placard). I got into some ice in northern Quebec, not a lot - compared to my Aztec days, but, enough..... I selected all the deice systems on, and confirmed everything was working, my friend looked on from right seat, satisfied which what I was doing. Soon after, the plane began to behave as though it wanted to swap ends in yaw and/or pitch at cruise speed, and slowing down just about did swap it's ends! I sped up! I descended, and found warmer air. Approaching Schefferville, I planned a really long careful descent. It behaved perfectly the whole way down, and landing - what had happened?!? No more icing conditions for you! While my friend flew the Iceland to Scotland leg, I decided to pull out the flight manual for a read. My attention was immediately drawing to the only fluorescent pink page, to which was stapled a tiny zip lock bag, with a placard to be applied at the icing systems switches - "Flight into any icing prohibited, exit immediately." I went on with alarm to read the AD page, which explained that the basic design had a certification oversight, and ice could form at the intersecting leading edges of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, making them very much less effective. There had been three in flight breakups of the type due to this. We were very nearly number four, and would have certainly been, had I not descended into warmer air. It was an omission that the placard had not been stuck on the deicing panel, where I would have seen it, but also an omission that I did not read the flight manual before flying the plane!
My airplane has three distinct pilot actions to retract or extend the gear. When I was being checked out, and having forgotten step three (locking the mains down), my check pilot mentor simply grabbed my hand, and made me move that lever under his control, with no words - very memorable. Yet he described to me two pilots from France coming to pick up his buddy's airplane of the same model to take it to France after buying it. He offered them a check out - they declined. They should have said yes, as an hour later, the plane was sitting on it's keel at Bergen airport, closing their only runway. The gear had been down, but not locked, which they instantly discovered when they touched the brakes!
I tend to read flight manuals before flying a new type now, and get checkouts when I can.
Re: Familiarity with your airplane.
I once asked a very experienced friend what information he felt he needed on the ground, before checking himself out in a new type. Stall characteristics? Nope. Rotation speed? Nope - easy to improvise. Approach speed? Nope - easy to estimate from the air speed indicator. So what then? Gear extension speed limit, and a full understanding of the fuel system. Those were items 1 and 2. John Denver could have done with more attention to no. 2.PilotDAR wrote: ↑Sun Sep 18, 2022 4:07 pm Good article, and good message - read the flight manual, and get a checkout! I've had many too many circumstances where my lack of familiarity with a new type caught me out. On the very simple side, I was delivering a Lake amphibian to a client in the US. The airplane had long range wing tanks, and I had filled them, as well as the main tank. Enroute, thinking ahead, I decided to use the wing fuel, so as to fly the last part of the trip with a more full main tank (logic from my C 310 days). Darned if I could find how to select the wing tank fuel, no control, no placard, no reference in the flight manual. I pondered this for an hour, before using the phone a friend option. The boss told me that the wing tanks just drain into the main tank on their own - pilot action necessary. Good to know! (and he'd checked me out in the Lake!)
DId you hear the one about the jurisprudence fetishist? He got off on a technicality.
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Squaretail
- Rank 6
- Posts: 486
- Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 12:27 pm
Re: Familiarity with your airplane.
And #1 is likely to be placarded somewhere obvious in the cockpit. Useful though to know the mechanism at play, and where the bits you have to reach are. However, you're likely to survive not knowing #1. It might be expensive, but you will probably survive. #2 can be a killer. Its not always obvious what the "main" tank is and what all the functions of all the pumps are really for.
I'm not sure what's more depressing: That everyone has a price, or how low the price always is.
Re: Familiarity with your airplane.
I would say it's the stuff on the particular plane you are about to fly that is *not* mentioned in the flight manual that is more likely to kill or hurt you.
"Oh yeah we disabled the deicing equipment because we don't use it"
"Sometimes cable X is loose so the engine might surge a bit, do Y if that happens"
"Don't run the gear and flaps at the same time, that might pop a breaker"
"Oh yeah we disabled the deicing equipment because we don't use it"
"Sometimes cable X is loose so the engine might surge a bit, do Y if that happens"
"Don't run the gear and flaps at the same time, that might pop a breaker"
As an AvCanada discussion grows longer:
-the probability of 'entitlement' being mentioned, approaches 1
-one will be accused of using bad airmanship
-the probability of 'entitlement' being mentioned, approaches 1
-one will be accused of using bad airmanship
Re: Familiarity with your airplane.
I jumped into an old taildragger this week that I had not flown in years(except one brief flight as a passenger earlier in the year). But I had a fair amount of past experience in it and I have a bunch of quick reference notes to review. That seems to be what is best for me. Keep detailed notes of what I feel are the important items for review instead of plowing through the pilots notes(POH etc) on an aircraft that I am already checked out on.
If it is a new type, then I plow through the pilots notes and make my quick reference notes. With 7 other types being flown this year on occasion and a couple more to possibly go, that is what works best for me. They are fairly simple aircraft but the notes remind me of the basics, local procedures, and the quirks, many of which can be registration specific.
The reality is that one may not be that familiar and instinctive on the aircraft.
To be honest, the accidents in the article are really all just the usual mistakes that are made due to carelessness of pre-departure checks or foolishness. One is an old guy with few total hours deciding to do high speed taxis in a high performance aircraft that gets airborne. He doesn't have the skills to fly it. Get someone experienced to do the test stuff for you.
Another couple of pilots appear to mis-set their trim and then cranked the wrong way when a change of trim was suddenly needed. Set your trim properly and look at the trim setting guage to ensure it is in the proper position. Then double check it before takeoff. Admittedly, if you suddenly discover that the aircraft is out of trim once airborne, the familiarity of knowing which way to crank the handle is useful. Thinking about it......It might be more useful to remind yourself to use the electric trim only on the Comanche if trim is suddenly needed with the added benefit of that reaction allowing both hands to remain on the control column. I remember this issue from way back on the Aztec.
The mismanaged fuel selector guy was simply a case of not checking the fuel selector. I suggest using the checklist and a final check just before takeoff. That will save lives.
If it is a new type, then I plow through the pilots notes and make my quick reference notes. With 7 other types being flown this year on occasion and a couple more to possibly go, that is what works best for me. They are fairly simple aircraft but the notes remind me of the basics, local procedures, and the quirks, many of which can be registration specific.
The reality is that one may not be that familiar and instinctive on the aircraft.
To be honest, the accidents in the article are really all just the usual mistakes that are made due to carelessness of pre-departure checks or foolishness. One is an old guy with few total hours deciding to do high speed taxis in a high performance aircraft that gets airborne. He doesn't have the skills to fly it. Get someone experienced to do the test stuff for you.
Another couple of pilots appear to mis-set their trim and then cranked the wrong way when a change of trim was suddenly needed. Set your trim properly and look at the trim setting guage to ensure it is in the proper position. Then double check it before takeoff. Admittedly, if you suddenly discover that the aircraft is out of trim once airborne, the familiarity of knowing which way to crank the handle is useful. Thinking about it......It might be more useful to remind yourself to use the electric trim only on the Comanche if trim is suddenly needed with the added benefit of that reaction allowing both hands to remain on the control column. I remember this issue from way back on the Aztec.
The mismanaged fuel selector guy was simply a case of not checking the fuel selector. I suggest using the checklist and a final check just before takeoff. That will save lives.
