Do you want to be a better pilot?

[Hedley]

In a recent posting:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=71814&p=679013#p679013

I reviewed some recent accident statistics that showed that 60% of the serious light aircraft accidents occurred simply during taxi, takeoff and landing.

Here's some concrete advice on how to cut that huge number down, for you:

For the next year, fly once a week. Each flight will consist of 10 closed pattern touch and goes. Feel free to do some other flying, too, but once a week, do 10 landings. Initially, start off with only light winds and little crosswind component. But as the year goes on, tackle stronger and stronger winds until you can handle the 15 knot direct crosswind that Cessna claims an "average" pilot can handle, in a 172.

Strive to be an average pilot. Seriously. Middle of the bell curve. Half of the pilots in Canada will be better than you, and the other half will be less skilled than you. That's not too much to ask, is it? To attempt to strive for mediocrity?

At the end of the year, if you take my advice and fly once a week doing 10 landings a flight, you will have added 500 landings to your personal bank account of flying experience. You will not get an additional rating or endorsement on your licence, or even a gold star from your mommy or teacher, but you will be a far better and safer pilot, and you will have vastly cut down on your being caught by that 60% of all accidents.

So, the only thing that stands between you, and being a better pilot, is you. Take a little personal responsibility.

As . Yeager once said, the guy that flies the most, is probably going to end up being the best pilot. You aren't going to play Carnegie Hall without some practice.

Looking through my logbooks, over the decades I have consistently averaged between 200 and 250 flights per year, which works out to a flight every 1.7 days or thereabouts, which really isn't very much compared to the some of the young guys here who are flying 1,000 hrs per year on short legs.

Try flying once a week. See if it works for you.

[Cat Driver]

That's not too much to ask, is it? To attempt to strive for mediocrity?

Good question Hedley.

Be careful though as there are some thin skins on these forums and they get real defensive at any suggestion that their abilities are questionable.

I'm in a bit of conflict on another thread at the moment because I asked a simple question, which was why shouldn't all commercial pilots be taught to a skills level that they are capable of handling a Pitts without wrecking it.

However, I may be just an aviation heretic.

[Grantmac]

I've always been a fan of circuits, they give you immediate feedback as to how accurate your flying is.
Over the summer and fall I did lots. Now I'm using the plane to get places and I can see that I need to get out and burn more fuel in the pattern.

I belong to a flying club and I fly 10 times more often then the average member, I would have a difficult time maintaining currency on any less flying hours. The other day I departed with my aircraft in winds that were twice the club's maximum, small wonder they have those limits.

-Grant

P.S. Good to see you back again Cat, don't give up the good fight.

[Cat Driver]

-Grant

P.S. Good to see you back again Cat, don't give up the good fight.

Thanks:

I am thinking that I may actually go back to advanced flight training now that I am slowly recovering from losing Pene.

That was what she wanted me to do.

[Doc]

Oh yes, the "average" pilot.
Problem is, everyone I've ever talked to is "above" average.
This goes for driving skills, as well as piloting skills.
Everyone thinks they are an "above average" lover as well
And, NOBODY I've ever talked to, voted for Trudeau.
I totally agree with you Hedley, but with everybody already convinced they're above average.....it'll be tough.
I guess, the test would be, if you can think of as many pilots that don't fly as well as you as do, then you're average.
Our own personal waters are muddied here (Hedley, Cat, etc.) purely because of our experience levels. For us to be considered "average" would we have to compare ourselves to each other? You get to a certain experience level, you had better know more pilots with less skill than you?
I'm assuming we're using this "yardstick" (metre stick?) on fairly low time folks (these still think they're above "average"?)...too much Baileys in my coffee?
Yes Hedley's example of tackling ever increasing cross winds is a great idea. Try using ONE power reduction between top of descent to final power reduction for landing. Strive to be SMOOTH. Think of your passengers as "eggs". A pilot should be judged on the flight....not just the landing.
I'm not a huge fan of circuits. I don't think you're learning much....we can ALL "drop one in". I'll bet, even the Cat has the odd. shall we say, less than graceful landing in the litter box?

[Hedley]

I'm not a huge fan of circuits

I would be surprised if you were, because in your lifetime you have probably performed at least 30,000 landings. You really don't need much more practice, do you?

However, put yourself in the shoes of a 60 hour pilot. It's difficult for you to think back that many decades, but the worst thing a pilot can do, after getting his licence, is not fly for a while. Skills learned superficially perish fastest.

I tell pilots that anyone with less than 1,000TT needs to fly at least twice TODAY - and not necessarily just circuits - to develop their skill and increase their knowledge. It has been my observation that somewhere around 1000TT a pilot "gets it" - or never will. They can handle a little weather and a little wind, and they're starting to get comfortable in the cockpit. And, the shorter the time period that 1000TT is accumulated, the better.

1000TT in two years is excellent. 1000TT in 20 years, not so much.

[stick'n'rudder]

For the next year, fly once a week.

That's easier said than done.

As much as I do appreciate the fact that there are places such as this, filled by experienced people such as you, willing to offer advice and whatnot, but I must say that your logic is flawed. You seem to be missing the most important fact regarding 'us regular folks' - The expenses.

If you wanna go stand on the corner of a street and hand out free cash, I'm sure a lot more people would be "proficient" pilots.

[Hedley]

The expenses

Good point. I have a jewish friend, he's absolutely nuts about airplanes. He told me a joke one time: "Why did God invent gentiles? Because someone has to pay retail". btw, a gentile is a jewish term for a non-jewish person.

Anyways, yes, if you rent full pop from an expensive FTU at a large airport, it's not going to be cheap. However, not all aviation in Canada is performed by 406, 604 and 70x OC holders.

There are many airplanes at airports near you that don't fly enough. It's not hard to spot them. They're tied down outside, the grass grows up around them, and their oleos and tires are flat, and birds are nesting in the cowls and tails.

This sort of inactivity destroys the engine with internal corrosion. Here's an idea for you: write down all the registrations of all the neglected aircraft that you see, and look up the owners on the TCA registry, google their phone numbers and call them up cold and see if you can work out a deal where you fly their aircraft for MUCH less than full FTU retail. Good for you, good for them.

It's a bit like getting laid. I can't say it's always going to be easy, but if you don't try, it's never going to happen, is it?

There's a fellow with a single-seat Pitts at my airport. He is always offering it to me to fly. I've never even put a nickle of gas in it. I guess he enjoys seeing and hearing his airplane do aerobatics.

Another fellow, based at a distant airport, I checked him out on his snaky tailwheel homebuilt. A few months back, I met him at the pumps, he offered for me to take his pride and joy up solo, and I declined - I was in a bit of a hurry.

Point is, there are plenty of aircraft that need to be flown. But first you must develop some skill.

[Doc]

Hedley's correct. I am far removed from the 60 hour pilot. I've always been an advocate or "private" rentals, airplane "share" ownership etc. Saw an ad for half share on a 150, in Grimsby (I think) for 13K, plus 30$ an hour. That's totally affordable. Buy a 150, and fly it at lest once a week. The things can be had for less than the price of a full dressed Harley!
Hedley, I'm very seriously thinking to exercising the wee Bandit in your direction for some Pitts time this summer!

[ScurvyDog]

When I owned an FTU, I cringed at 80% of the rental pilots that walked through my door. Many of them walked out unhappy cause I wouldn't rent a plane to them. There seems to be a misconception that flying a plane is like riding a bike. In some ways it is. I use to race mountain bikes 15 years ago. I could navigate some pretty wicked wooded trails jump obsticals and never brake for anything. Last summer I hopped on my bike and went for a spin on some flat local trails (which I looked at as bunny trails 15 years ago) and ate dirt really quick. My point is proficiency is the only way a pilot stays skilled. Btw I stuck to road riding the rest of last summer!

[looproll]

Practice makes perfect! Oh, wait! Correct practice makes perfect!

[iflyforpie]

After doing my CPL and getting about 200 more hours before being out of work, I wound up working at a maintenance shop that always kept a light single on insurance for employees to use for fuel costs only. It was actually cheaper for me to fly places than to drive, especially if it involved going to Vancouver Island.

The trouble was, as much as I loved flying and as cheap as the planes were (AVGAS was $1.05), it was the time. I was working full-time 8-4 Monday to Friday, so in the winters there wasn't enough daylight during weekdays, and at the wet coast lots of days it was no good for flying. I only managed 25 hours a year and was pretty rusty by the time I started my current job.

But after you've done lots of landings, it sticks pretty good.

Today, half of our 75ft wide runway was covered in snowdrifts, and I'm not talking about the near or far half, it was the left or right half depending on which way you are going. I had no flights in Dec, one in Jan, two in Feb, and two today. But I had no problem keeping the aircraft on half of the runway when landing or setting it down smoothly.

I don't consider myself high time, with just under 1500 hours in the logbook in ten years of flying.

[Shiny Side Up]

For the next year, fly once a week.

That's easier said than done.

From experience with tons of low time renter type pilots, its really how often you fly which counts rather than how long you fly. I strongly encourage people to come out if only to do a couple of circuits. Guys who do this once a week are far more on top of their game than those who do it less often. A pilot who say flew half hour once a week is usually better than a pilot who flew one hour every two weeks and better than a pilot who flew say 2 hours once a month. Too many guys I see figure its not worth their time to get out for even a short buzz and fall prey to the "not enough time" trap of owning an airplane.

[Hedley]

A pilot who say flew half hour once a week is usually better than a pilot who flew one hour every two weeks and better than a pilot who flew say 2 hours once a month

+1

Many days, I just do a single surface level acro routine. 1/2 roll on takeoff with a push at the end of the runway. Entire flight is only 0.1 or 0.2 on the tachometer, and I am sweating and happily done for the day, at the end of it.

Skill does not always result from hours, rather from flights flown. I have spent many hours straight and level dozing away on auto-pilot, which I suppose looks good in the logbook but does not really appreciably improve my stick and rudder skills.

Twice a week, come out to the airport and do 3 landings. Do that for a few months, and you will really notice your skill and familiarly and confidence with the aircraft increase.

I like to fly every day, if possible. Generally I end up flying every second day or thereabouts, given wx and other stuff that happens in life.