Visiting the NTSB

I recently had a very sobering experience. I had the opportunity to visit the National Transportation Safety Board training facility in suburban Washington, D.C. In what it refers to as the "boneyard," there are pieces of aircraft wreckage that are assembles in various configurations to simulate accidents for their students, allowing them to practice techniques to determine root cause.

My specific purpose, along with others in my group, was to learn more about how the NTSB is using unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, technology to aid in accident investigation. It was interesting and enlightening, and, although, serious in nature, a fairly dispassionate session.

Break the Chain

I can't speak for where you are located, obviously, but here in the Midwest and through the Central Plains, this has been the longest transition from winter to spring that many of us can recall. Low visibility and ceilings, high winds, rain, snow, even blizzards have all contributed to a lack of flying time for me and for a lot of people I know.

Contributing to my somewhat bleak outlook is the rash of accidents of late. The deadly midair between two aircraft operated by a tour company in Alaska, a variety of General Aviation accidents I've seen reported around the country, and a government finding that last year's 737 accident in Cuba that killed 112 has been traced to a weight and balance issue are just plain depressing. After all, to borrow once again from Ernest Gann, no one wants to feel like they've been betrayed by something they love.

Drone Aviation Is Here to Stay

Last week, I attended AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019. For those of you who don't know, "AUVSI" is shorthand for Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, an industry group that advocates for unmanned and autonomous vehicles of all kinds and XPONENTIAL is the association's annual trade show, held this year in Chicago. Of course, with the explosive growth in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or "drone," industry, the event has a strong emphasis on that part of the industry. And, of course, that is why I attended.

Of course, when I attend trade shows like this one or AirVenture, NBAA, etc., it's to find out what is new and exciting on the market. That was a large part of the reason that I went, looking for new technology that would benefit my employer. And I wasn't disappointed - there have been a lot of changes and new and/or improved products that have appeared in just the last year. As I tell people, the growth and development of the UAV industry is very reminiscent to me of the PC boom of the early 1980s.

Don't Take Flying for Granted

287 days ... A little over three-quarters of a year. That's how long it had been between my logbook entries since I grounded myself last summer. When I wrote two weeks ago about having regained my medical, I thought that was the major milestone. I was mistaken. The real milestone was pre-flighting an aircraft for the first time in months, realizing that I would be flying it in a few moments, with a CFII who I had trained so I could regain my currency, but more importantly, ensure that any surface rust I had acquired while grounded would be polished off. It is wonderful to have a flight review, instrument proficiency check, and night landings now in my logbook.

This was my first encounter with an involuntary lay off from flying. Frankly, I was worried that July 11, 2018 would be my last time as someone who could be solely responsible for a flight. I'd always felt bad for pilots in that position, but never really felt empathy, because it hadn't happened to me. Now I know. And I've gained new respect and understanding for my late mentor, Rick, when he was grounded by cancer. It is clearer than ever to me how much he missed teaching students at all levels.

Reborn As A Flier

I had to look this up the other day. A normal human pregnancy lasts 280 days, or 40 weeks. In other words, roughly the classic nine months (9.3 to be precise) we talk about when a woman announces to her family and friends that a baby is on the way. Of course, I've always know that it's roughly nine months, but I wasn't sure about the number of days.

So, why my sudden interest in this subject? There's no one close to me that has a child on the way. And, why, you might ask, am I writing about this? I once did solo a young lady who was about six months along, but that's another story.

Volunteers Needed!

Flight Instructor Volunteers Sought at AirVenture's Pilot Proficiency Center
Volunteer flight instructors are needed to help staff the EAA Pilot Proficiency Center (PPC) at EAA AirVenture this summer.
 
During AirVenture 2019 in July the PPC will again feature VFR and IFR flight scenarios in Redbird Flight AATDs and "tech talks" presented by Jeppesen, with topics including procedures, use of various aviation tools, weather planning and chart use.  
All guest participation in the tech talks and simulator time are eligible for FAA WINGS pilot proficiency program credit.
 
The EAA Pilot Proficiency Center, located on the Four Corners at Oshkosh, is a skill-building and gathering area for those with a desire to increase their knowledge, hone their abilities, and network with other pilots.
 
A total of 38 flight and ground Instructors are needed to teach in the center each day.
Admission tickets to AirVenture and lunch may be provided for volunteers. Lodging is available. Early application increases your chance of getting the schedule you prefer.
 
Please click here for more information and to apply to teach in the 2019 EAA Pilot Proficiency Center.
 
The EAA Pilot Proficiency Center is made possible with the support of NAFI, Hartzell Propeller Inc., Jeppesen, Redbird Flight, Cloud Ahoy, Community Aviation, Mindstar Aviation, PilotEdge, Plane & Pilot and the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators.
 
NAFI Seeks Volunteers at AirVenture:

NAFI is also seeking member volunteers in several areas at its Professional Development Center at AirVenture.
 
NAFI's Professional Development Center (PDC) will feature a series of educational seminars specifically designed to enhance knowledge on a variety of topics relevant to flight instruction. Equipped with a presentation stage and a Redbird device, it will be located in the Main Aircraft Display area spaces 419 and 420.
 
NAFI seeks volunteers in the following areas for the PDC:

An Instructor's Joy

I've heard more than once from different sources that it's hard to teach millennials to fly, because they don't get the fundamentals. And I've seen a lot of conversation in social media from the current generation of pilots that they don't understand why they need to learn how to use things like E6Bs to learn how to fly an airplane.

Here's an example of the that comes to mind: carburetors. Virtually every modern gasoline powered automobile uses computer-controlled fuel injection to adjust the engine's fuel-air mixture. These lead to a lament that the younger generation doesn't know what a carburetor does, let alone what it is. How can they possibly understand an airplane engine? Yet, I was part of the baby-boomer generation, allegedly the ones (at least we males) that were supposed to love all things automotive, and I can assure you that I had no clue as to how one worked, let alone why fuel/air ratios were so important. And I know that many of my friends were in the same boat. In fact, because I helped restore steam locomotives in my college years, I knew more about how they worked than I did modern internal combustion engines.

Contributing to Safety

During the General Aviation Awards webinar this week, Greg Feith, former Senior Air Safety Investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, observed, sadly, that this has been a tough month for aviation. Unfortunately, this is true. Losses ranged from a California accident on Super Bowl Sunday that left a pilot and four people on the ground dead, to the Texas crash of an Atlas 767 flying cargo for Amazon a few days ago that left its crew of three dead.   All of these have been tragic and our hearts go out to the families of the lost.

The temptation is always strong to try to figure out what went wrong. That seems to be particularly true with pilots. Perhaps it is because we tend to be analytical or perhaps, to borrow a page from Ernest K. Gann, we try to understand why something about which we are so passionate has caused such grief. Or, most likely, it's a combination of both. I don't know for certain. What is certain, though, is that it is far too early in the investigative process to speculate. The NTSB and FAA will likely find answers and, hopefully, make recommendations that will help prevent future tragedies.

Teaching the World How to Fly

In both eMentor and Mentor magazine, I have gone out of my way to avoid telling you what my favorite products might be. I consider this both good manners and good business. Good manners because my opinion is just that - my opinion. I'm sure that in a group as large as NAFI's membership, someone will differ with me and I just don't see a reason to needlessly offend anyone. It's good business because we have many sponsors, some of whom compete for your dollars, and I don't want to be perceived as endorsing, or give the impression that NAFI is endorsing, one fine product over another. These are choices you make as individuals.

Because the exception often proves the rule, and because a headline caught my eye, I'm going to deviate from my policy. EAA recently issued a press release saying it would be honoring the Boeing 747's 50th anniversary at AirVenture 2019. I will say, without apology to anyone, and with all due respect to the fans of the Constellation, DC-3, L1011, Airbus, etc., that the Boeing 747, in all its variants, is the most beautiful transport category aircraft ever built, bar none. The only concession I'll make in this regard is the Dreamlifter - its beauty is on the order of that of the Super Guppy, mainly because their form fills a very special function.

Procedure vs. Technique

Like many of you, I perform stage checks for other instructors, helping them evaluate and validate their students' progress. I also ask other instructors to do the same for me. Doing this helps ensure that there is objectivity in the process, allows the student to experience flying with another instructor in the airplane, which will be beneficial during the practical test, and provides both the instructor and the student fresh perspective.

I was recently reminded of this when I conducted a simulator session with another instructor's student. Although an advanced aviation training device is not the perfect substitute for the real thing, it did allow me to observe and evaluate the student's procedures, situational awareness, and their ability to handle situations under pressure. This particular student did very well, with a minimum of suggested corrective actions, mostly about more efficient emergency procedures.

More Than Math

I recently read a great conversation in the Facebook group "CFI Discussion Group, Certificated Flight Instructor" regarding the use of the venerable E6B. The original poster stated that they had come back to aviation after an over 20-year hiatus and used an electronic E6B during his currency training. His CFI accepted it but admonished him to re-learn the manual "whiz wheel."

A lot of the resulting conversation revolved around the reliability of the manual E6B ("doesn't need batteries!") vs. the accuracy and ease of entering numbers into an electronic device. Being of an age where I can use both a slide rule and a high-end calculator, or, if you prefer, remember how to use a rotary phone while being comfortable with a smart phone, I find these discussions intriguing because I can see both sides. And, to be honest, I use Foreflight for my own charts and flight planning, because it is convenient, easy, and accurate.

Federal Bureaucracy Returning to Normal

It will be interesting to see how quickly things return to normal after the longest partial shutdown of the federal government shutdown in U.S. history. Throughout the shutdown there were many concerns expressed and solutions found for such issues as the expiration of temporary pilot and flight instructor certificates. Hopefully, most of that will be behind us soon, if not already.

Normal business with the FAA and other agencies was disrupted, of course. One example of such disruption was the postponement of the FAA UAS Symposium in late February, a major event. Those of us involved in that industry are still waiting the rescheduled date. Other, less dramatic examples are the inability to contact FSDOs, regional and national headquarters, etc. Fortunately, ATC was able to function for the most part, although there was a snarl on the East Coast most notably at New York's LaGuardia, when staffing levels at facilities fell below normal levels due to controllers calling in sick. Additionally, TSA facilities were strained, with some checkpoints closed at some airports, due to higher than normal sick calls. Fortunately, there were no incidents or air accidents related to the shutdown, as nearly as I can determine.

Do What's Right

I've just seen an accident report for something that happened near Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge airport a couple of years ago. According to the NTSB report, a non-IFR pilot descended through an undercast and, at 5,400 feet MSL, according to the radar track, hit a mountain with a 6,500-foot elevation. The pilot apparently had a history of flouting the rules and had been counseled about his behavior by an experienced instructor several times in the past. Sadly, there were two innocent passengers who also perished in the crash. You can read the report here.

This event caught my attention because I've been to that airport, spending a weekend at a time-share with my wife. We flew in when the weather was VMC and, although the Smoky Mountains don't have the high jagged peaks that characterize the mountains of the west, they are very impressive. The minimum safe altitudes for both airway and off-airway navigation highlight the need for being circumspect in navigating the area. A descent into an undercast is always fraught with risks that need to be mitigated, but doing so blindly without knowing why and how the IFR system works strikes me as foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst.

More About Waypoints

Even Santa Practices

We flight instructors encourage our students, regardless of their level of achievement, to stay proficient. Whether we want a new student to practice landings, encourage a more advanced pilot to learn more about the aircraft they fly, or ensure that the fundamentals aren't forgotten, we want those we touch to be better pilots. This usually results in a pilot spending a lifetime working to get better at their craft, not unlike a musician practicing pieces they have already played hundreds of times before.

Think of it. How many times have you flown the same instrument approaches? They're familiar, like a good book revisited, but, like rereading that book, we seek nuances and new enjoyment. Hold the course more precisely; maintain airspeed while staying on the glideslope, freezing the needles in the center while striving to land on the exact mark on the runway once we've completed the approach. What a great feeling of satisfaction.

You Might Save A Life

I had a biennial last week. No, not a flight review. Rather, I needed to complete my recertification in CPR and first aid, something that is required by my employer. This is a wonderful course that teaches us how to perform CPR, the proper use of automatic external defibrillators (also known as AEDs), and how to perform first aid. Like flight training, it's not necessarily easy to learn and remember these skills, but, once you know them, they stay with you.

Our instructor did bring up some sobering statistics, which you can find here, and where you can also find a course to take. There are more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the United States each year, 70 percent of which are in the home. There is a 90 percent mortality rate for victims prior to reaching the hospital. Effective CPR in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest can increase the chance of survival by 2 or 3 times. If CPR is not performed right away, the chances of survival go down 7 percent for every minute of delay. Fewer than 20 percent of Americans are equipped to perform CPR in an emergency.

Why Not Give a Gift Membership?

Giving Thanks: How You Can Help

The Common Good

One of the truisms of becoming flight instructors is that we learn more about flying and about ourselves than we ever thought possible. This is something I say to CFI candidates and inexperienced CFIs all the time, but it's easy to forget.

I was perusing a thread in the Facebook "CFI Discussion Group" launched back in September by a new instructor. He was musing about it being hard to let a new student touch the controls. And I think that was true for a lot of us.

LSA Changes, Source Says - Discuss

It doesn't take much to get a bunch of pilots, let alone instructors, engaged in a good healthy round of hangar talk. Recently, AvWeb published an article quoting a source saying the FAA is entertaining changing the Light Sport Rules. One of the ideas on the table is possibly increasing the weight limit of a Light Sport Aircraft to 3600 pounds.

The possibility of increasing the maximum gross weight of an LSA is what really caught the attention of the members of one of the CFI Facebook groups I follow. Opinions ranged from this being a good idea to stimulate new construction and/or pilot starts to this being way too much airplane for a beginner. As for "being too much airplane," the counter argument was that, if this is where a pilot starts, they wouldn't know any differently anyway. Another concern that was raised was that this might mean an influx of students that expect to fly Saratogas or Cessna 206s with only 20 hours of training. The response, as you might expect, was that flight training is performance-based and that no good flight instructor would allow a pilot to go on a checkride before they were ready.