7 Tips to Getting Over Your Fears Before Getting Your Private Pilot License

By Cris Cato

We all have fears. Some of us won't even admit to them, but we have them. Embarking on anything new, while being very exciting, can also be very scary. The reason, the main reason...fear of failure. You need to get over your fears not only of flying, if you have one. but of failing as well before you can be the proud owner of a private pilot license.

If you've taken a driver's test and didn't pass the first time, you remember what that was like when the instructor turned to you and said, "Sorry, you failed." If you looked up the word "down" in the dictionary, you would have seen a photo of yourself right next to the definition.
Nobody likes to fail, and fear of failure is one of the worst fears in the world.

Okay, great... now that we've established that... how do we deal with it?

Here are a few great ways of overcoming the fear of failure.

1. Consider The Missed Opportunity.
Imagine that you decide that you're too afraid to go through with learning how to fly and taking your exam. Now imagine what life is going to be like without being able to do this very thing that you love so much. I'm assuming that if you want to learn how to fly, there is a big reason for it. Focus on that instead of the fear and this will go a long way to alleviating that fear.

2. Research The Alternatives
Imagine what you will have to do without your PPL. You'll have to rely on commercial airlines. You won't be able to go where you want to go WHEN you want to go there. You'll be at the mercy of others. The alternatives to flying your own plane, if you don't want to rely on commercial airlines, are driving, train, bus and even boat. If that thought makes you sick to your stomach, focus on it. That'll get you over your fear of failure.

3. Put The Worst Case Scenario Into Perspective
Let's say you fail your PPL exam? What's the worst thing that can happen? They can't tell you that you can't take it again. You can still take another shot at it. It's not like this is a one time offer. If that were the case, there would be a ton of people not driving or flying planes. It's not the end of the world if you fail. At worse, you have to wait a little longer to get your PPL.

4. Understand The Benefits Of Failure
Believe it or not, you learn something from failure. You learn what it is you did wrong and get a chance to improve it. Would you rather that you didn't fail your exam only because some instructor took pity on you and ended up getting yourself killed because you really weren't ready to fly? I think you know the answer to that.

5. Make A Contingency Plan
If you do fail, have a plan. You should already be planning in advance on taking more lessons, getting more flight time and rescheduling. Failing doesn't mean that you give up.

6. Take Action
The best way to get rid of that fear is to just go ahead and do it. The more you procrastinate, the more afraid you're going to become until you reach a point where you're unable to take your exam at all.

7. Burn Your Boats
In ancient times, Greeks would burn their boats so that they had no choice but to move forward. They couldn't turn back. I don't know what you have to do in order to burn YOUR boat but do it. If that means picking up the phone and scheduling your exam, do it. Don't look back.

Hopefully, the 7 items I've gone over will help you get over your fears of getting your private pilot license

---

Cris Cato is an avid fan of aviation. If you are ready to pursue your very own private pilot license, head on over to my site for a special software that will help you prepare for the private pilot exam.
http://www.squidoo.com/Get-Your-Private-Pilot-License

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cris_Cato
http://EzineArticles.com/?7-Tips-to-Getting-Over-Your-Fears-Before-Getting-Your-Private-Pilot-License&id=3716029

11 Proven Study Techniques to Become a Better Pilot

Image via Wikipedia

By Amir Fleminger

Chair flying. Flight training involves learning new motor skills. You would do much better in the air if you learn those skills in a relaxed and safe environment, while on the ground. Airline pilots spend hours practicing procedures in a "procedure trainer" (a non-functional mockup of the cockpit) before they step into an expensive level-D flight simulator or into the actual aircraft. That way, they already know what to do. "Chair flying" is simply the act of pretending to fly the aircraft while seating in a relaxed environment. You can practice chair flying in a procedure trainer, in front of a cockpit poster, in a parking aircraft, or on your couch at home. Any of those locations work. Be sure to practice every procedure in your normal, abnormal, and emergency checklists. Reach with your hands to the approximate position of each switch, lever or knob required for the procedure in order to build "muscle memory".

Flash cards. Learning the huge amount of details for training can be very challenging. System descriptions, Aircraft limitations, regulations, SOPs, memory items are all required to be retained in your memory and put in use immediately when time calls. You can make flash cards to help you remember those items. Buy a pack of index cards from any office supply store. On one side of a card write a question such as: "what is the maximum takeoff weight?"; on the other side write the answer: "Normal cat. 2550 lbs. Utility cat. 2200 lbs." (for a c-172S). Make as many cards as you need to cover all subjects including: regulations, system descriptions, memory items, and aircraft limitations. Once you have a large pile of cards start using them. Read a question and try to answer it, then flip the card to see if your answer was right. Put aside all the cards that you answered right and keep reading through the ones you got wrong, until you answer all of them correctly.

Learn the "cockpit songs" for your aircraft. Sometimes you can be familiar with a procedure but still have difficulty performing it in a steady pace while flying. The reason is that your thoughts of "what to do next" are slowing you down. Practice procedures verbally, so when you later perform them in the air, you won't stumble. For example, recovery from a low nose attitude would be "reduce power, level the wings, slowly pitch up". By practicing this procedure verbally while "chair flying" you could easily recall it when needed in a checkride or even better, in an actual unusual attitude encountered in flight. You can take any procedure and build a verbal action list in this way.

Analyze "what if" scenarios. One very important (if not the most important) characteristic of safe pilots is the ability to make good and timely decisions. Luckily, this trait could be practiced and improved. Before, during, and after each flight consider "what if scenarios". WHAT IF the weather moves in over my destination while enroute? Where would I divert? Would I have enough fuel to go there? Or WHAT IF I have an engine failure on the takeoff roll? WHAT IF it happens immediately after takeoff? What would I do? You get the drift.

Take advantage of Group study. Studying with other people can boost your understanding of the material and help you gain new insights.
Highlight with a marker essential ideas in textbooks while reading them.
Use mnemonics and acronyms to aid memory retention. "Black square, you're there!" John and Martha King [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY0GxKRDBmk]repeat, referring to airport location signs. Although mnemonics often sound goofy, they can be very effective in helping you remember things better.

Visualization. Mental rehearsal helps us improve our skills and correct errors. Visualize each maneuver while on the ground prior to your flight lessons. This is a technique used by many pro-athletes to improve their game. You can use it to improve your flying skills.

Ask many questions.

Study the Practical Test Requirements for your rating or certificate level. After all, you have to know what's expected from you on the checkride so you won't be surprised.
Use a PC-based flight simulator or PCATD. Despite their many limitations, PC simulators provide you with free practice time. Although it cannot replace real practice time, it is still very valuable.

Amir Fleminger is a FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor and an airline pilot.

Learn more and read news stories, tips, and tutorials about flying at Pilotscafe.com Connect with other pilots, ask questions about flying or help others on the aviation pilots forums.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amir_Fleminger
http://EzineArticles.com/?11-Proven-Study-Techniques-to-Become-a-Better-Pilot&id=3099154

Instrument Flight Training - Old Analogue Or New Glass

By Jon Pickering

General Aviation in the twenty first century desists in pursuing the technology of it's larger heavier cousins. Affordable computers and new technology has now bridged the chasm between GA aircraft avionics suites and the glass cockpit behemoths of the sky, and to the private pilot, offers an exciting new dimension to flying.

There can be no doubt that such instrumentation offers extra safeguards with visual representation of terrain, moving maps and courses, you name it, it's all there at a glance. Everyone would agree that such instrumentation offers the VFR pilot a level of safety, never enjoyed before, and yet, some would argue (myself included) that the temptation of a glass presentation might encourage the pilot to push into an ever deteriorating situation that he or she may not have previously considered pushing had their aircraft been furnished with analogue gauges. We should not forget that a VFR pilot with a thousand hours, is still just a VFR pilot, and only trained to that level, and is required to have their eyes on the natural horizon. With the introduction of glass cockpits in GA, there will be a natural tendency for those pilots to start spending more of their time inside the cockpit. VFR pilots delighted with their new modern avionics will find themselves relying on it more and more and may result in getting into more trouble with it than if they were without it in the first place. Without the correct training and guidance, the outcome could be disastrous, as the pilot will be have been lulled into a false sense of security thinking that they are equipped to deal with situations that will likely spiral out of control.

There are many varied types of pilots, but we can reduce them to two kinds. Visual pilots and number pilots. Most of you will fall into the visual category, the remainder of us are number pilots, and then there are the very few who are adept at both. My friend and colleague is a visual pilot but is a very accomplished IFR pilot also. He uses a visual picture in his mind, but uses numbers to confirm his situational awareness picture. I myself am a number pilot, all the way, and do not use a visual picture at all, the numbers tell me everything I need to know. Number pilots I think, will make generally better IFR pilots than there visual counterparts. It is important to clarify however, whatever kind of pilot you happen to be, neither one way or the other is right or wrong, ultimately, your training should be tailored for the way your mind processes information.

And so, we have reached the point and subject of this article. Adding the IFR rating to your certificate, old analogue or new glass?

As most of you know, GPS, EFIS systems employ satellites to compute a position in space, and presents that information to you on a colourful logical display, complete with terrain, intersections, and all manner of numbers in the form of a tape, like headings, courses, altitudes and the list goes on. Essentially, your being presented visual and numerical information. The currant land based navigation system for pilots is usually in the form of V.O.R's and N.D.B's. Although N.D.B's are officially being phased out, the V.O.R system will be with us for the foreseeable future and most GA aircraft use this type of navigation coupled with Distance Measuring Equipment. (D.M.E) So, which system do you decide to use to acquire you IFR rating? Having spoken to a good cross section of people including D.P.E's (Designated Pilot Examiners), FAA inspectors, other CFII's it seems the general consensus of opinion is that it would be advantageous to the IFR candidate to learn the V.O.R based system first, acquire the rating and then transition to a glass system. If you happen to be flying an aircraft that has both the analogue system and a say a Garmin 530 also, you will have to learn not only the analogue system but also learn to use the GPS system also, the rule states that you must be able to use the equipment that is in the aircraft. This will add extra training hours to your rating. If your a renter, and wish to rent an aircraft that has analogue gauges, and you decided to learn on a glass system, odds are when you go to rent that aircraft, you will not be able to fly IFR with it. Simply put, you will be incompetent to fly that system. The final conclusion, you are, and always will be, so long as the old system is around, an incomplete, and sub-standard IFR pilot.

Case in point, an young airline pilot who visited Kona some time back, wanted to rent a Cessna 182, no GPS of any kind, could he file IFR, no he could not. Why? He learned on a E.F.I.S and was unable to fly IFR using the analogue gauges, he even admitted as such. He was however willing to give it a whirl, I won't bore you with the details, except to say he was not much better than a VFR pilot. The simple fact of the matter is, not to learn the land based V.O.R system of IFR puts you at such a disadvantage, it clearly is detrimental to your skills as an IFR pilot. It will be far easier to advance to glass systems than to learn on a glass system and then go back, who goes back to old systems when you have learned a new one? Remember, once you have your ticket in hand, you can transition at your leisure to any glass system you want to fly. In today's world, everyone is after instant gratification, ten day Instrument Ratings, bare bones minimum standards as stated in the P.T.S and bare bones minimum hours, as little studying as possible. If that's the kind of IFR pilot you want to be, good luck, fact is you will probably end up on a piece of government paper as another FAA statistic, because you just won't be prepared to fly real solid IFR when the time arrives, and it will some day. Any pilot with mediocre skill can fly IFR when all is hunky dory, it's when you have an instrument failure or two, it's night IFR, the weather is bad, visibility is nothing and the only company you have are the outside strobe lights and yourself, that's when the true test of your instrument training will be revealed. The simple fact of the matter is, your standard of IFR piloting will be considerably higher having mastered a analogue system first. One last note before I conclude this article, if you do have anyone else in the plane with you, you're responsible for their lives, get the picture?

Greetings everyone, Jon here, I am a CFII here in Kona Hawaii. I take flight training very seriously and in particular, the instrument rating. I am interested only in excellence and making you the best IFR pilot out there. Please feel free to visit my website at http://www.herculesflightservice.com for more information. If you have any questions, email me and I will be happy to provide you with an answer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Pickering
http://EzineArticles.com/?Instrument-Flight-Training---Old-Analogue-Or-New-Glass&id=3048971

Is a Private Pilot Considered an Amateur Pilot?

Image via Wikipedia

by Chet Val

The media is always on hand when an accident or incident involving a general aviation aircraft occurs. It seems that they watch like a hawk for anything negative news to promote. Be it for tv ratings, newspaper circulation, magazine sales, etc the watchful eye of the media has always been quick to carefully detail airplane crashes and near misses. The private pilot is always being scrutinized in the media and in many cases being referred to as an amateur pilot. The word amateur is defined in numerous ways. It can be defined as a person attached to a particular pursuit or study without formal training or pay. Another definition is someone who pursues a study or sport as an informal pastime or hobby. The definitions are similar and broad. The problem is that the term amateur pilot paints the picture of an individual who reads a magazine on flying airplanes, and then hops into the nearest cockpit and flies away. Acquiring a private pilot certificate and the legal means to fly an airplane indeed requires formal training as well as certain medical requirements as well as successful completion of numerous tests. So where does the word amateur come into the picture? In comparison, a private pilot flying for hobby and fun does in fact need substantially less training then a commercial pilot flying cargo or human beings across the sky professionally.

Flying for sport or hobby requires a private pilot certificate in the USA. There are also certificates available that require less training such as the Sport Pilot certificate. This certification carries with it certain stipulations due to the fact that it requires less training and is less costly to the student. The private certificate however provides the pilot with the ability to fly in controlled airspace which can be critical depending on where he or she lives or flies. Another difference between these two certificates is the need for a medical exam by a certified medical examiner specifically qualified and approved by the FAA. A Sport pilot certificate does not require the student to pass an aviation medical exam.

Future pilots must be able to understand, speak, and read English. Aircraft control towers and airports, use the English language for communication. This is actually true in most airports around the world, even where English is not the native language. Choosing a flight school is very important. Information is always available at your local general aviation airports. Training does not come cheap. A private pilot certificate requires forty hours minimum of actual flying time. This includes the time in the airplane with an instructor as well as time spent flying solo. Many flight schools recommend students seek a medical certificate from your local FAA certified physician prior to starting any training. Once the student has passed that, your flight school or private flight instructor will begin the process of both ground training as well as in-flight training. Ground school varies tremendously among students based on amount of time spent per week along with the rate of material absorption. Student pilots can acquire information through a variety of methods including the internet, training videos, and good old fashion books and manuals. At some point in your training beyond basic ground school, student pilots have to take a multiple choice written test, nowadays typically from a computer terminal, with software provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Upon passing the written FAA test, as it is referred to, you need to log in-flight training hours beyond the minimums required by the FAA. For a private certificate, students need to log solo time, night flying time, and demonstrate the ability to successfully compete cross-country flights which are flights from one airport to another. A check-ride, or final test, is then required with your local FAA designated examiner. The check-ride includes an oral test accompanied by a practical test where the student must demonstrate a variety of specific maneuvers and familiarity with the airplane. This is the point where the word amateur becomes skewed. With all the requirements met and tests passed, the student will be issued a private pilot certificate. Although a pilot's experience is measured over time in flying hours and new pilots certainly lack air time when compared to a pilot who has been flying for years or even decades, it still seems a bit harsh to label a private pilot as an amateur pilot.

Chet owns and operates Eye of the Pilot, a private pilot networking site dedicated to sharing the experience of general aviation and the adventure of being a private pilot. You can visit Eye of the Pilot to view general aviation pilot videos and aviation pictures submitted by members. Account signup is free for pilots of any rating.

Cost free flying? Worth considering...

Image via Wikipedia

What if I told you there was a way to fly as often as you like, in all weathers, in whichever aircraft you want, from wherever you want, with live ATC and it won't cost you anything. You'd like that wouldn't you? Of course you would. But you would also want to know what the catch was wouldn't you?

Well, I have one word for you: Simulation.

Flight simulation is a growing industry. Since the early days of the Microsoft Flight Simulator the state of the art has moved on in leaps and bounds. Whole industries have sprung up to manage the ancilliary markets with thing such as new planes, scenery and adventures. A whole host of forums, web-sites and communities have appeared dedicated to the art and science of flight simulation. I even heard about a guy who is building his own 747 flight simulator - with full motion control - in his garage!

The problem with a lot of this was always twofold:


1) Even if you get all the latest add-on's, up-to-date software and patches, it was still a case of sitting in your room staring at a screen and playing with a keyboard.
2) It didn't fully replicate the flying experience because it was missing one vital ingredient - proper Air traffic control.

Well unfortunately the problem of 1) is not going to go away soon. Even the guy building his own 747 simulator is still a guy sat at home - albeit with some sophisticated machinery. But the problem of 2) is more easily solved.

Flight sim manufacturers have included some pretty good ATC functionality in their packages. Each release brings more and more advanced settings and realistic situations. But at the end of the day it is all preprogrammed and cannot take the place of 'real' controllers. Back in the early days of flight simulator software there began a parallel movement to create and run a community of Air Traffic Controllers using ATC simulation software. The software was fairly rudimentary to start with, but as with the flight simulators it has increased in sophistication to the point where it can be very lifelike indeed.

Except that it is not, actually real life. It's computer controlled planes in a computer created environment.

So on the one hand you have the pilots wishing they could have ATC that was 'real' and on the other controllers wishing they could have 'real' pilots to control. It didn't take long for someone to make the logical connection and pretty soon VATSIM was born.

VATSIM is the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network which uses some sophisticated software to link pilots, planes and air traffic controllers together across the internet.

It works very simply:

With your flight simulator program you download a small piece of software which acts as a "squawkbox" to provide a transponder type functionality to your machine. This channels all your typical transponder type information from your flight sim to the web.

On the web are servers which monitor this data and pass it to other simmers who are running the same squawbox software as well as ATC's simmers who are running controller software.

The net result of this is that you fly your own simulation on your own machine, but - with the aid of the squawbox and a headset/microphone - you are connected to controllers who can both see your plane AND interact with you as a pilot, along with all the other pilots who are currently using the squawbox.

The beauty of this is twofold:
a) You get to fly your own planes in your own environment whenever you want, thereby increasing your flight time and experience (albeit simulated).
b) You get fully managed ATC cover - with ALL the appropriate terminology - which thereby increases your comfort level and experience when interacting with real ATC and flying real planes.

The whole process is very well thought through and it works like this:

• Once connected you file a flight plan. This can be VFR or IFR. You can fly long distance in a 747 or just do circuits in your Cessna, or any combination in between.
• You tune your flight simulator radio to the correct frequency and a real live voice greets you and issues instructions. (These folks, by the way have gone through some fairly extensive training and mentoring and are every bit as good as the real thing)
• When you fly you can both see other (non AI) planes in your sim AND hear their transmissions on the radio.
• Air traffic control will act in the expected manner providing directions, asking questions, giving clearances and providing flight following. It's pretty much as close to the real thing as you can get it. The system is even designed to download the real weather from the nearest airport to your current location and update your simulator.

In recent days I have flown my Cessna around the outer edges of the London CTR and been directed away from controlled airspace. I have taken a Dash-7 from Farnborough to Amsterdam, an Airbus A320 from Amsterdam to Gatwick and even flown circuits in a Cessna around Gatwick (It's not recommended in real life as the landing fees are so high and dodging the 747's can be tricky, but it is possible). This weekend I will be flying an A320 from Frankfurt to Hamburg as part of a 'Real Ops' exercise to simulate the real life movements around a major airport. There will be upwards of 400 flights arriving and departing. Should be fun.

Now before you look at this and say "It's not the same as flying the real thing because you would never be able to fly an Airbus without years of training" let me just clarify one thing. I fly all sorts of planes in the simulator, including the ones I was originally trained on - single engine propeller planes - and every time I fly one in the simulator it improves the way I fly them in real life. I can use this as an exercise to do all those things I would never want to do in reality - such as simulate an engine failure or something equally as nasty. It also allows me to practice my instrument flying (Which you will all have done some of in your PPL training) without worrying about really getting lost. Now imagine being able to do all this AND have some friendly controller watching over you - all for free!

I thoroughly recommend having a look at flight simulation and VATSIM. It can surely only improve your flying can't it? Even if it makes you more comfortable talking with controllers this is a great benefit to it.

Here are some links to help you get started:

VATSIM - The central hub for this. Create a free acount and log in
Squawkbox - The connection software (again free)
FSInn - An alternate connection software (A lot more functional but a bit too complex for my liking)

Listening to ATC transmissions - The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949

Image via Wikipedia

There are several great sites out on the internet that are streaming live ATC transmissions for all to hear. However one thing you won't hear on any of them are ATC transmissions from the UK.

It never occured to me to wonder why until I wanted to listen to a friend of mine as her flight left for Hong Kong recently. When I looked into it apparently there is legislation forbidding it. Section 5(1)(b) of the WT Act 1949 states that it is an offence if a person "otherwise than under the authority of a designated person,

either:

(i) uses any wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any message whether sent by means of wireless telegraphy or not, of which neither the person using the apparatus nor a person on whose behalf he is acting is an intended recipient;
or:

(ii) except in the course of legal proceedings or for the purpose of any report thereof, discloses any information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any such message, being information which would not have come to his knowledge but for the use of wireless telegraphy apparatus by him or by another person."

So for all those of you who like to use scanning equipment to listen to ATC you are all breaking the law by using the scanner. Owning, purchasing and selling a scanner is not illegal, but in order to legally use it to listen to UK ATC transmissions (and emergency service transmission) you have to be a licensed user of the frequencies in question. Any CAA or JAR certified pilots who are reading this will be fine because they will hold a Radio Operators license as part of their certification, but a normal 'man-in-the-street' is commiting an offence by doing this.

But only if you are based in the UK. So If I was listening from Holland, for example and I could pick up Heathrow ATC - or similar coverage from the UK - I could broadcast it legally. Also this law doesn't apply to Southern Ireland which means I can listen in quite legally to Shannon and Dublin. Nor does it apply to many of the European countries, Oceanic countries, Central and North America.

So why the UK?

Well, according to the Radiocommunications Enforcement Policy Unit this is because "No-one likes their private or business conversations to be listened to. Parliament has passed these laws to protect the privacy of radio users". So let me get this right: If you are transmitting using a commonly accessible, unecrypted, non peer-to-peer signal which is easily and readily receivable by consumer grade electronics, you are deemed to be having a 'private conversation'?

What's wrong with this picture?

The new ATC procedures outside controlled airspace.

Image via Wikipedia

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently announced a wave of changes to the provision of Air Traffic Control services outside controlled airspace.

Up until now the provision of ATSOCA waas provided by a variety of air traffic units and used by all airspace users - from General Aviation to commercial and military aircraft. On 12th March 2009 these services will change when a complete revision comes into effect. It is therefore vital that all controllers and pilots have a detailed knowledge of the change.

All the information about these changes is available at the airspace safety web site, but I wanted to give you a summary of the changes here.

Previously when contacting a LARS service (such as Farnborough) you could receive services such as FIS (Flight Information Service), RIS (radar information service) or RAS (Radar Advisory Service). Each of these was a different level of service providing different information and coverage. As a general aviation pilot flying in VMC you generally needed nothing more than a flight information service.

Under the new rules and regulations the services which can be provided are as follows:

Basic Service: A Basic Service is intended to offer the pilot maximum autonomy and the avoidance of other traffic solely relies on using the 'see and avoid' principle, to avoid other traffic.
Traffic Service: A Traffic Service provides the pilot with traffic information on conflicting aircraft. No deconfliction advice is passed and the pilot is responsible for collision avoidance.
Deconfliction service: A Deconfliction Service provides the pilot with traffic information and deconfliction advice on conflicting aircraft.
Priority Service: A Procedural Service is a non-radar service, where instructions are provided aimed at achieving deconfliction minima from other aircraft to which the controller is also providing a Procedural Service.

Each of these differs quite substantially from the current service provided by controllers.

The Civil Aviation Authority has produced multimedia CD's which explain and illustrate the different services. All registered UK pilots will receive this CD over the next couple of days. If you haven't received this CD (or if you are not a registered UK pilot) you can access the contents online at the Airspace Safety Website.

Learn about the new servies, take the Selftest and stay safe!

Is Flying For Everyone?

By Harry Cameron

As we at the beginning of a new year again a lot of people will want to do their private pilot license. Obviously there are many reasons for wanting to fly varying from achieving a long term goal, a life long dream, the start of a new career or maybe simply to be able to say:"I can fly". Whatever the reasons are I often get asked by a new student "do you think I'll be able to fly".

Maybe firstly we must ask ourselves what does it take from an individual in order to fly an airplane or helicopter for that matter? A certain amount of co-ordination comes to mind. In my opinion most people has what it takes although some has to practice and exercise this particular skill. Discipline I think plays an important roll as flying involves quite a bit of responsibility in some way or the other. My personal favorite is of course a person's attitude. The willingness to study, the way an individual handles criticism and the ability to handle stress but to name a few. These are just some qualities amongst hundreds.

I think every student should and can answer the question: "will I be able to fly?" for themselves. For some it might take longer than the minimum requirement but determination and will pull them through. Many a time students has told me that flying is not for them and I take my hat off to a person that can realize their own lack of ability or whatever reason they base their decision on. Your personal motive for wanting to fly plays a very important roll. So I personally think that it's not a simple black and white answer to be made by an instructor but rather a combined decision.

I think that in the beginning students base their abilities solely on the "stick and throttle" aspects of flying, rightly so because that's all they know but I often tell students that a good stick and throttle pilot is not necessarily the best pilot and that they must consider their other strengths as well when they make a decision whether to continue flying or not. In a lot of cases all it takes is a bit of a mindset change.

I personally think that almost any person can be taught to fly but I think the real question should be whether any person can be a safe pilot not necessarily the world's greatest pilot, and that's maybe where the instructor or flight school for that matter plays a very important role.

If ever you face the decision to quit flying or not maybe think what is your motive for flying, ask yourself whether you enjoy it or not, can you financially afford it to carry on longer if need be, do you need to change your attitude?

http://www.harry-helicopter-training-syllabus.com

http://www.askharryhelicopter.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harry_Cameron
http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-Flying-For-Everyone?&id=1859517

How to Walk Away From All Your Crosswind Landings

By Doug Daniel

I was recently asked about the possibility of a wingtip strike when landing in a typical light plane like a Cherokee or a Cessna 172. Specifically, I was asked about how far the aileron control could be deflected without hitting the tarmac when one or both of the main landing gear is on the runway after landing at near stall speeds.

I will admit that I have never tried to hit the runway with my wing tip and I don't know anyone who has. However, it certainly can be done. Perhaps a better question is: what landing technique will guarantee that the wingtip does not strike the tarmac in a crosswind?

I want to talk about landing techniques in a really strong crosswind before I tackle the issue of wingtip strikes. After all, wingtip strikes are not a credible issue except in crosswinds that approach the airplane's crosswind limitations.

To make controlled crosswind landings, you should master the skill of pointing your airplane in the same direction that it moves over the ground. If the airplane is pointed in some other direction when you touchdown, the best you can hope for is abrupt side forces on your landing gear followed with a swerve as the airplane swings in the right direction. The worst is loss of directional control followed with a trip off the side of the runway, possible ground loop, nose over, wingtip strike, or all of the above

Pointing the airplane it the direction it moves is the most essential landing skill. It is not as easy as it sounds. And it certainly requires practice before it can be mastered. In a nutshell, here is how to do it:

Point the airplane in the direction that it travels by turning the nose with your rudder pedals alone. Move the airplane from side to side by changing your angle of bank with ailerons. Control airspeed or height above the runway by changing your pitch attitude with your elevator. This lets you keep your wheels pointed in the direction the airplane moves and keep your airplane directly over the middle of the runway. This is exactly where you should be when you land.

Landing in a crosswind, you touch the runway while cross controlled. This is a steady state condition. Your airplane is not rolling around its long axis. That is to say that it has a steady angle of bank. In a general aviation, production light plane, you cannot cross control far enough to touch the wing tip.

The technique that works best is to try to keep the downwind main wheel barely off the runway as long as possible after you have touched down with the upwind wheel. To hold the downwind wheel off, you must continuously increase aileron control defection until it reaches its limit. Eventually, as the airplane continues to slow down, the ailerons lose power and the other main wheel will settle onto the runway.

Finally in any well executed crosswind landing, the aileron control will be pushed to its limit. An important point here is, that just like any other aspect of good airmanship, you should move your controls smoothly and with the purpose of changing the airplane's attitude. A snap roll is the only situation where I deliberately move the controls violently.

Now, back to the subject: how might you strike a wingtip? I can think of two ways.

Suppose you suddenly and violently slapped the aileron control all the way to its limit. Two things would happen: the airplane would no longer be properly cross controlled, and it would start to roll. Now it is possible to strike the wingtip. In other words, you would have just fouled up a perfectly good crosswind landing. You would have put the airplane in a very difficult situation, one that would require a particularly skilled pilot to salvage. I don't recommend it.

The more likely situation is that you land wings level in a strong crosswind. That is to say, not cross controlled. Here, the airplane is crabbed into the wind and the wheels are not aligned with the airplane's path over the ground. Because the airplane is not aligned with its path through space, the wheels will generate a very strong side ways force on the undercarriage when they touch the runway. With luck, this results in a sideways skid. Just like in a car, if the wheels are far enough apart, the airplane skids until it either stops or straightens up. If the wheels are not far enough apart, you're unlucky. The airplane rolls over, striking the ground with its wingtip.

The lesson here is: use proper crosswind techniques and you will not need to worry about wingtip strikes.

Doug Daniel, long time flight instructor, invites you to visit http://www.FlyingSecretsRevealed.com/flying_questions/ for more flying articles like this one. You may also feel free to contact Doug by visiting his website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Doug_Daniel
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Walk-Away-From-All-Your-Crosswind-Landings&id=1768506

(Image courtesy of pmarkham. Released under a creative Commons attribution share alike license)

Most anyone can become a pilot

By Chris Bridges

The quest to learn to fly is a lot easier than what most people think. You don't have to become a commercial or military pilot in order to fly.

You can be part of general aviation, or the area of aviation where pilots fly for the sheer enjoyment of flying.

Today there are thousands of potential pilots, just like you, who are learning to fly. They come from all walks of life and have various reasons for wanting to learn to fly. Some fly to expand business opportunities, while others seek to attain careers in the aviation industry. Some are even looking for an activity that they can share with their family.

Whatever your reasons may be, there are some basic requirements that you will have to meet in order to fly solo (which is a requirement to get your your license

In the United States, you must be at least 16 years old (to fly solo), speak English, and pass a basic medical exam.

In Canada, you must be at least 14 years old (to obtain a Student Pilot Permit, 17 years old to obtain a license), speak English, and pass a basic medical exam. In Canada we also offer a Recreational License which takes half the time to get as opposed to a Private License, therefore it is cheaper.

In the United Kingdom, you must be at least 16 years old (to fly solo, 14 years old to start logging your time, and 17 years old to get your Private Pilot License), speak English, and pass a basic medical exam.

In Australia, you must be at least 16 years old (to fly solo, 17 years old to hold a Private Pilot License), speak English, and pass a basic medical exam.

That's all. So, as long as you meet these requirements, you can take to the skies.

Please visit www.learning-to-fly.com for a lot more information about aviation and flying, including aviation history, aviation employment, pictures of airplanes, experimental aviation (kit planes or home built airplanes) and aviation weather.

I am an avid supporter of flying, with a Commercial License, Multi Engine Rating, and Multi IFR Rating. My time in the air has been few and far between as of late but it doesn't diminish my passion for aviation and anything related to aviation. I wish to pass that passion on to others so feel free to spread the word.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Bridges
http://EzineArticles.com/?Most-Anyone-Can-Become-a-Pilot&id=1496377

Three Most Dangerous Landing Mistakes Pilots Make and How to Avoid Them

By Doug Daniel

Over-shoot, under-shoot, loss of directional control, wing tip strikes ... are all symptoms of mistakes made BEFORE the pilot touches down. Mistakes that are easily to correct - but not necessarily in a way you might think.

I landed at the Nuttree Airport in a Cessna 172 in 1968. I felt pretty smug. It was a very smooth landing, one of those landings that you could hear but not feel. Then a wind gust picked me up and I landed a second time on a parallel taxiway. The pilot taxiing in the opposite direction was kind enough (or perhaps stunned enough or frightened enough) to hold short of a turn-off so I could move over to the parking apron. I couldn't look him in the eye as we went past. Red-faced, I mumbled some excuses to my passengers that I didn't believe. I had just made the three biggest (and most common) mistakes a pilot can make when landing.

Determined to never let that happen again, I spend a great deal of time in the intervening 40 years thinking about how to avoid these mistakes. The NTSB says that a full 45% of the weather-related accidents are caused by crosswinds and gusts. I believe it. It is time to introduce some little known techniques that help prevent these accidents. But first, we should look at their causes.
Landing too fast is caused by flying the approach too fast or trying to force the airplane on the runway before it is ready. The solution is to fly a consistent approach at the same airspeed, picking a safe projected glide point (or PGP), and controlling the PGP until you land. But hold the airplane a foot or so off the runway until the airplane nose has rotated up to the landing attitude. Hold that attitude until the airplane lands. That way you will land at the right speed.

Failing to cross control in a crosswind leads to ground loops, being blown off the side of the runway (the MOST common cause of accidents in the United States), wing tip damage, or, in my case, flying over the infield and landing on a taxiway. To put it simply, cross controlling is using the rudder to keep the long axis of the airplane parallel to the long axis of the runway and using the ailerons to keep the airplane positioned over the runway. This guarantees that you will keep the airplane moving straight down the runway after the wheels touch.
Quit flying the plane before the plane is through flying is one of the most dangerous mistakes that a pilot could make. Its cause is lack of concentration. Its solution is good flying habits.


I was lucky at the Nuttree. If the crosswind had been coming from the opposite side, I could have been blown into a canal. Remember that just because the main gear is on the ground does not mean that there is no 'fly' left in the airplane. Also remember that if you keep the airplane just above the runway until it absolutely, positively will not fly any more, then it will an unusually strong gust to put it in the air again.
It is easy to be lulled into the bad habits that lead to these mistakes. When the wind is gentle and the runway is long, all will be forgiven. So the question is: how to keep these bad habits from developing?

I want to tell you about two exercises that have helped pilots more that I could have ever imagined. They are the 'very slow Dutch roll' and the 'controlled projected glide' point. Neither is difficult or dangerous. Both simplify and strengthen any pilot's ability to land.

The very slow Dutch roll is a simple exercise done at a safe altitude. It teaches two very important skills. First the pilot learns to continuously move the stick and rudders to control the airplane as conditions change, and second, the pilot learns how to cross control the airplane in the most extreme circumstances.
Here is how to do a very slow Dutch roll. Pick a point on the horizon and hold it steady as you change the angle of bank, airspeed and flap configuration. Maintain constant altitude. Change your bank very slowly. Continue to increase the angle of bank until either the aileron or the rudder is pushed to its limit. This is the angle of bank for the maximum crosswind that the airplane can handle. The cross controlled airplane slowly accelerates to the side for a minute or two. During this time, the pilot must move the flight controls continuously as the airplane accelerates to the side - an unanticipated benefit of this exercise.

Let me tell you about the projected glide point or PGP. When you approach the runway your eye will naturally gravitate toward a point on the runway that does not move in your field of vision. The phenomenon is much like when you are on a collision course with another airplane: it stays still in your field of vision but just gets bigger. Well, there is always a point on the ground where exactly the same thing happens. This is the point that you would glide to if you never made that last little flair to land. This is an extremely valuable concept that can save you many hours of landing practice. I never heard another flight instructor talk about it but I am sure that many pilots use this technique.

You can control the PGP with power and drag while keeping the airspeed constant. To move the PGP closer to you, reduce the engine's power or increase the airplanes drag - usually with flaps. To move the PGP away from you, increase the engine's power or decrease the airplane's drag

Use the two concepts together to make consistent, safe landings. Once established on final, use the center line of the runway as your reference point for very slow Dutch rolls. Use the ailerons to position the airplane on the extended centerline, the rudder to keep the long axis of the airplane parallel to that extended centerline. Move the PGP to the same place every time. I recommend the runway threshold. Consciously continue cross controlling until the airplane slows to a taxi.

These two simple techniques will get you to the same place on the runway every time in a landing configuration that compensates for crosswinds or gusts until the airplane is going so slow that you can taxi to parking.

Doug Daniel, respected flight instructor and author, recently wrote Flying Secrets, an extraordinarily popular e-book, operates a website for interacting with fellow pilots. If you want to learn more ways to refine your flying skills and get a *free report* on how even a PC-based flight simulator can help you fly better, ask his experts a question or just get the free report, click here now => http://FlyingSecretsRevealed.com/flying_questions/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Doug_Daniel
http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Most-Dangerous-Landing-Mistakes-Pilots-Make-and-How-to-Avoid-Them&id=1510027

Landing a Plane - 10 Tips to a Greasy Smooth Touchdown

By Jonathan Money

It's said that any pilot is only as good as his last landing. Landing a plane on a runway is a complex process of maneuvers and control inputs that tests every student pilot to the limit. Even after flight training ends, a pilot will always aspire to make great landings - it's the one key part of flying where success can be definitively measured - either by a smooth, effortless touchdown... or by something entirely different.

When landing a plane, a multitude of things must be done all at once. And since your landing will depend upon outside factors (wind speed, direction, air temperature, etc...) as well, even the greatest pilot only has so much control over how the landing goes. No one makes a perfect landing each and every time, but with the following landing tips you can give yourself the best chance at impressing your passengers, yourself, and maybe even the tower operators too:

Make a Strong Approach - A great landing always starts with a great approach. On your downwind leg, already be at pattern altitude. Already be at the correct airspeed. Check your heading indicator, and make sure your plane is flying parallel to the runway heading. Doing these things in advance will free you up to really concentrate on your base and final legs - falling behind on these duties will have you playing 'catch up' with the entire landing process.

Concentrate - Flying with friends is always fun, but when it's time to land a plane the pilot needs to focus 100% of his or her attention on the landing process. All too often a conversation will continue all the way down to the runway, and the landing will always suffer for it. After calling your downwind, politely silence your passengers so you can give all of your attention to your altitude, airspeed, and position without any other distractions.

Stay Center - Learning to fly on a wide runway, staying on the centerline might not seem as important to you. As you visit smaller fields however, you'll learn that sometimes staying center of the runway is the only choice you have. After turning base to final, get lined up quickly. Concentrate on keeping the nose of the plane pointed down that center line, using small aileron and rudder movements to avoid drifting. When your touchdown comes, that's one less axis (yaw) you'll have to worry about, freeing you up to concentrate on the other two.

Use Flaps Correctly - Landing a plane correctly requires touching down in the right spot at the right airspeed. Getting to that position and speed is the hard part, but fortunately for you, you've got some friends to help you out: flaps. Make sure you're using your flaps correctly though, and not just automatically flipping them down at a specific time or point during your landing sequence. Learning to land requires drilling the pattern with constant repetition, and it's all too easy to just file flaps away in the back of your mental checklist as something "to do" on your base and final legs. The truth of it is, a pilot should use an aircraft's flaps in different configurations during different scenarios depending upon wind speed, wind direction, altitude, airspeed, and the length of the runway you're landing on. Setting your flaps too early will lead to a high approach, with you overcorrecting by dive-bombing the runway. Setting them late might keep your airspeed undesirably high. Don't feel you have to use all notches of flaps at all times either - in some situations it's best to land with partial or even (in very windy conditions) no flaps at all.

Experience is the best teacher here, and it will take flying time in that particular aircraft for you to grow accustomed to optimum use of flaps. Understand that it's not something that can be learned strictly from a textbook.

Use the Runway Numbers - When landing a plane the phrase 'aim for the numbers' is commonly heard, but seldom to pilots get to land on them. Most pilots are too busy watching airspeed and pitch to worry about where the numbers are, especially on longer runways with lots of room. Still, you can use the runway numbers to help get to your desired touchdown point if you spend some time watching them during your final approach. As your touchdown draws near, you should have a good idea if you're high, low, or right on target. If high, aiming toward a spot someplace before the numbers can help you drop a little altitude. If low, look a little further past the numbers to get your nose up. Adjust throttle where necessary to make the nose do what you need it to. This may seem like an obvious little trick, but if used during landing it can greatly help with your touchdown position.

SideSlip - An often talked about maneuver in any student pilot's textbook would be the sideslip. During landing, a sideslip can be used to bleed off unwanted altitude without increasing airspeed or having to divebomb the runway. By applying opposite rudder and aileron, the aircraft will slip vertical position without changing its direction of flight. If you're a student pilot, you're going to want to practice this maneuver a lot. It actually sounds trickier than it really is. As you advance in your flight training, you'll find yourself sideslipping during landings without even being conscious of doing it. Get comfortable with it though, because it's a good trick to have in your bag when you need to use it during a high final approach.

Attitude, Airspeed, Altitude - As the runway approaches, your focus will move to your primary instruments. Airspeed is critical here, as you want to avoid stalling at all costs. Make certain you maintain safely above minimum stall speeds for your aircraft's flap configuration, and also make sure you're not going too fast. Adjust the nose of the plane to keep the airspeed needle right where it should be, and use power to correct your height above the runway. If you monitored these three instruments during your base and final legs, you should be very close to your desired touchdown point when landing the aircraft.

Look Down the Runway - Looking down the runway when landing an airplane is another great tip to getting the timing of your flare right - it gives you a better reference to the true horizon than looking at the ground rushing up beneath you. It takes some practice, but eventually you can balance keeping your eye on the horizon, while peripherally watching your height above the runway. As you do this, your hands will be making subconscious adjustments to the control wheel that should smooth out your glidepath.

Flare, Float, and Throttle - Knowing when to flare is half the battle. Knowing how much to flare is the other half. Get both of those control movements right, and your wheels will grease the runway. During your flare, make smooth controlled movements with the wheel or yoke. You're very close to the ground now, and any large or jerky movements will be amplified with disastrous results. Once you do flare, you should know immediately if you're high or low. A low flare can be fixed by smoothly applying more back pressure to the control wheel. A high flare can be corrected by holding control pressure and applying slight power with the throttle. Never drop your nose suddenly or dramatically when landing a plane... if you flare too high, it's best to ride out the 'float' and apply power if needed to smooth out the touchdown. A good pilot always keeps one hand on the throttle during his landing.

It Ain't Over Yet - The last mistake made by some pilots is thinking their landing is over the moment their wheels touch the runway surface. To avoid that classification, remember to control the entire length of your landing. The rudder is key, as it now controls just about everything. Make your rudder adjustments small - especially just after touchdown when the aircraft is still rolling pretty fast. Also remember to turn your ailerons to adjust for wind direction, so as to avoid being buffeted around by crosswinds. Your landing isn't over until you turn onto the taxiway.

Landing a plane isn't easy... but landing an airplane smoothly and correctly is even harder. Just as you have good and bad days, you'll always have good landings and bad landings. Still, arming yourself with the right knowledge and practices can go a long way toward making great touchdowns. Using the tips above, you won't land perfectly every single time, but you should see yourself consistently make better landings.

Visit Student Flying Club for more flying tips including flight planning, aviation articles, and all kinds of flight training tools for the student pilot - including an online E6B Flight Calculator.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Money
http://EzineArticles.com/?Landing-a-Plane---10-Tips-to-a-Greasy-Smooth-Touchdown&id=1375513

Looking at Variable Pitch Prop Training

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of the things you can do to improve your general level of safety while flying is to get further training. Yes, it's usually expensive, but it is also your life you're talking about so it's probably worth it!

How many people, for instance, know what to do in the case of a complete radio loss? What Transponder code do you use? How do you approach an airfield to land without the radio? What do the signals mean? Something like this could save your life. (* answers in a later post - stay tuned!)

On the subject of training I'm looking at doing some additional training related to variable pitch propellers. I have managed to ingratiate myself into a group running a Cessna 182 Skylane and the guy running the group is an instructor (and Air Traffic Controller) who will give me the necessary training.

I went up to see the plane over the weekend. It's a 1972 Skylane with Autopilot, Garmin GPS (yoke mounted), redundant radio etc, etc, etc. Also, because it has the Continental VP prop there is the extra lever in the throttle quadrant (not that Cessna's have a throttle quadrant as such, just a line of levers sticking straight out of the panel)

Hopefully I should be able to get a couple of hours training to work out the peculiarities of VP props. In addition to that the training should also allow me work out the best way to land this big, heavy beast (remember I'm used to flying little PA28's around the sky, this is a big step up for me). According to the instructor, landing is achieved by remembering that 'The 182 is actually a two wheeled aircraft for landing - the nose wheel is there merely to stop the prop from striking the ground".

Having spent 15 minutes sat in the cockpit and looking at everything it does remind me how familiar I am with the PA28 layout and how alien some of the controls are in the 182 (There's a whole section of the panel that has the autopilot controls!! The circuit breakers are hidden behind my yoke!! What's this panel with the knurled knob's on it near my feet??) no doubt it will all become clear in time.

More updates as they happen

Fear of Flying

I got a note from a friend of mine in Australia recently. Regarding flying, he said.. "Would like to try it some time, though reading some of the other more recent posts makes me wonder how safe it really is!"

He was referring to posts I have written on this blog that mention accidents and incidents and, understandably it has raised a good deal of concern with him (and, no doubt, with other readers of his blog)


Let me tell you, there is nothing to be scared of when it comes to flying. Statistically it is still the safest way to travel. Statistically you are more likely to be hit by a meteor than be killed while flying (I'm not sure if that's true, but it illustrates a point!)

However: It is a well known fact that there are plane crashes every year. In fact there are quite a few plane crashes every year. A lot of them don't get talked about too much (small planes crashing in wilderness etc.). Some of them make the news, but not all (Colin McRae's helicopter crash last year and the Cessna Citation jet that crashed in Kent killing racing driver John Leslie). Mostly these get publicity more for the people who were on board than for the accident itself.

But there are, occasionally, large accidents that get coverage due to the sheer scale. The largest accident on record was the crash between two 747's on the tarmac at Tenerife in the 1970's. The Lockerbie bombing in the 80's and the 4 jets that went down on September 11th 2001 were terrorist attacks rather than accidents. TWA 800, the 747 that blew up over Long Island was an electrical short circuit.. the list goes on and on.

So let's put this in perspective. According to the National Safety Council, who have been logging US safety-related accidents since 1920, the odds of dying in an air or space related accident in the US in 2004 were 1 in 432,484. Compare this with the odds of dying in a car (1 in 19,216), pick-up truck (1 in 75,142) or as a pedestrian (1 in 49,139). What about "Inhalation and ingestion of other objects causing obstruction of respiratory tract" (1 in 91,340) or "Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances" (1 in 14,017) or "Assault by firearm" (1 in 25,263).

If you want actual data, 697 people were killed in aviation or space related accidents in 2004. That compares with 5976 pedestrians, 4018 motorcyclists, 15282 car occupants, 15494, 'Other and unspecified land transport accidents' and 17357 who were shot, stabbed or otherwise killed in an assault. And that's just the USA alone! According to the CAA in the UK, over the 1985-94 period, only 0.2 passengers were killed or seriously injured per billion passenger km flown by UK operators. This compares with 1872 on motorcycles, for example.

The fact of the matter is when you are in a large commercial plane the number of things that have to occur to cause a fatal accident are huge. It is very rarely a single issue that brings a plane down. It is usually a chain of events, missed items, mechanical issues and pilot error that all come to a point and cause the incident. Anyone who's watched National Geographic's "Air Crash Investigation' will know this. The Tenerife incident I mentioned earlier was caused by a combination of bad weather, no radar, tight crew schedules, an overbearing Captain who intimidated his crew, and a misheard radio communication. If any one of those had not been present the accident would have been avoided. Similarly, the TWA flight 800 crash was caused by the plane carrying an empty centre fuel tank coupled with decreased pressure from flying at altitude and a short circuit in a single wire (The empty fuel tank contained kerosene vapour which ignited when the spark from the short circuit met the lightly pressurised vapour). Once again a change in any of these circumstances would have prevented it (Standard operating procedure is now to keep fuel in the central tank to avoid the situation where vapour can form).

But when it comes to the smaller, general aviation planes of the type that I fly, the prospect of an incident is larger. The systems are simpler, but the pilots are less experienced (or more particularly they are less trained in all circumstances). This leads to situation where a single problem can cause an incident. In this years 'Clued Up' magazine from the CAA, Irv Lee talks about a carb icing problem he had which caused his engine to die and necessitate an emergency landing in a field. The cause of this was very simple: His student throttled back to start a decent without adding carb heat. As Irv himself says "That was the end of the flight". This wasn't a case of 3 or four things conspiring to cause an issue it was one simple mistake - a pilot error - as the student didn't follow his procedures correctly.

But again, to put all this into context, there were 14 fatal aeroplane accidents last year in the UK. The CAA believe that there were around 900,000 hours of general aviation flying in that time. That's not a bad ratio.

Of course a lot of the hoopla surrounding aviation accidents is causing many people to have a fear of flying. Most of this is to do with lack of control. But some of it is to do with not understanding how planes fly (I was on a long distance BA flight a number of years ago. As we rattled down the runway and the plane clawed it's way into the sky I shook my head in disbelief that 300 tonnes of metal, people and fuel could get airborne. The elderly lady seated next to me said 'Why are you shaking your head?"
"I fly upwards of 100 to 200 flights per year", I replied, "And I still don't really understand how it works. But it's not a problem as long as the pilot does" She smiled and leaned over to me 'It's OK", she said "The pilot know what he's doing. It's my husband").

One of the ways of combating this is to go on a fear of flying course. My mother took one of these recently. She used to hate flying, needed valium type pills to calm her down and remove the anxiety she was feeling. But she spent a day at Manchester Airport with British Airways and went on a 30 minute flight where the captain talked everyone through what was happening, and she nows flies 6 or 8 times a year to various destinations without any medication. It doesn't mean she likes flying, but it has removed her fear and anxiety.

So should my Australian friend be scared of flying in small aircraft? Absolutely not. They are statistically a lot safer than any other form of transport. Most occurrences are caused by pilots flying outside their comfort zone (into bad weather for example), and of the incidents that are reported, very few are fatal.

I'd rather be flying than in a car, personally!

(Graphic courtesy www.lumaxart.com/)
Technorati Tags: caa, GA, safety, aviation

The qualifying cross country flight.. (Or how not to get lost when there's no street signs)

(picture courtesy Les Chatfield)

For many student pilots, the qualifying cross country flight (QXC) is a daunting experience. It's your first long flight alone, you're visiting airfields you might be unfamiliar with and - on top of all that - you've actually got to do the navigation!

No wonder many students dread the experience.

But never fear, in a few moments I'm going to give you a couple of tips to reduce the stress and eliminate the fear. First want to tell you about my QXC

I did my QXC in Florida. Now for those of you who've never been to Florida let me try and describe the land.

Flat.

Featureless

Flat and featureless.

Sure there are some towns there (Orlando being the main one I was focused on) but outside of that it's just flat and featureless. Occasionally you'll come across a body of water (actually quite a lot of bodies of water) but they are so indistinct as to be almost unusable for navigation. (As an exercise, go to Google Maps and type in "Land o' lakes, Florida", click on satellite and see what the ground looks like.)

Needless to say this makes the QXC a bit of a challenge. The key in this case is to make sure you are flying on the right track and keep a careful control of your timing. For example on the first leg of my QXC (Kissimmee to Ocala), I knew that I needed to position myself just left of Magic Mountain and take a particular heading for a length of time. This would bring me to the edge of Eastlake Weir which had hwy 42 running South and hwy 441 running west of it. The key was knowing that as long as I kept the direction and distance I would arrive at the lake. It was big enough to act as a navigation point and I could correct any drift as and when the lake came in sight.

Remember the key thing about the QXC: It's not meant to check how well you can follow a line on a map. It's meant to check how well you can navigate from point A to point B. This includes making navigation corrections when you go off track. As an example, when I first flew the QXC route I did it with my instructor. We got to Crystal River (which is a lovely place on the Gulf Coast with a friendly little airport) and the next stop was back to Orlando. However, as we took off from Crystal River my instructor noticed that the Gulf coast was actually a lot of reclaimed land that had huge, expensive houses on them, so we went for a little cruise over the bay to check out the houses.

Then I started navigating back to Orlando.

Of course at that point all my calculations were completely hopeless. I was starting from the wrong place and on the wrong heading. My instructor knew this, of course, and said nothing. I just followed my original track and kept checking the map vs the ground below to determine where I was in relation to where I should have been. About 15 minutes into the leg I finally located our actual track and was able to make adjustments. We made it back to Orlando in time to circle the airport for 20 minutes waiting for the business jets flying into Disney for the weekend to land!

Anyway back to the tips:
Tip 1: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate
It's the old adage. Make sure you fly the plane first and foremost. Keep doing your FREDA checks. Ensure you're flying straight and level at the height you planned and the speed you planned. There is no excuse for not making sure your number one priority is to actually fly the plane.

Tip 2: Plan, Plan, Plan
The key to making a good QXC is to plan, plan, plan. Have your route plotted thoroughly before hand. Mark it in pencil on your map - heavy black pencil so you can see it. At the start of each leg write the heading and expected flight time in a box as an easy reference. Mark expected landmarks you wish to navigate by (river and road crossings, major arterial highways, castles, masts, odd geographical features etc). Consult Google Maps or Microsoft Maps in satellite mode to see what the landmarks look like from the air. Have all the appropriate radio frequencies to hand. Draw a layout of the destination airports to know where the runways are and what the joining instructions are likely to be. Be prepared.

Tip 3: Fly the route before hand
Nothing beats having flown somewhere before to give you a feeling of experience. Your QXC needs to be at least 150nm to 2 separate airports one of which is 50nm from the other. This sounds imposing but really, it's a flight to an airport in the distance, a second flight to a nearby airport and then a long trek back home. If you think of it in those terms it's not so bad. With your instructor, find the ideal locations to fly to. He or she will help you with the planning of your pre-QXC flight and this will make the actual flight itself far easier.

Tip 4: Chose easy airports to fly to.
Depending on where you're located, it's not always easy to find good airports to fly to. But for your QXC you need fields that are not too big (otherwise you end up paying high landing charges AND have to deal with air traffic control etc. This can generally cut out places like Shoreham and Bournemouth) but not too small that they are hard to see visibly from the air (Flying to Popham or Old Sarum, for example is difficult if you don't know what you're looking for or where it is). Find a reasonably sized airfield with a hard runway if possible: Bembridge, Blackbushe, Thruxton, Wellsbourne Mountford, Oxford, or Lydd are good examples down South. Also find airfields that are not close to controlled airspace (Fairoaks is a lovely field with a long hard runway, but is under the Heathrow Class A airspace: it's an added distraction you don't need on your QXC)

Tip 5: Read Jeremy Pratt's 'Navigation Meteorology' part of the Private Pilots Licence Course handbooks.
Apart from having a wealth of information and additional tips he has also added a section called 'Visual Navigation - A Practical Example' (pp nav83 to nav91) which takes you through a complete flight using map extracts and photographs of ground features to help identify navigation features etc. This is extremely useful as a means of focusing the mind on the correct navigation items and the correct mindset.

Navigation in itself is not difficult. Flying an aircraft along a straight and level flight in itself is not difficult. Speaking to ATC on the radio in itself is not difficult. The difficulty comes when you are trying to do all three at the same time. This is what makes the QXC flight so daunting. Follow the tips above and these will, hopefully, give you an added level of confidence to offset the trepidation.

Autogyro!

So here I am at a very busy Blackbushe trying to avoid a load of cub scouts waiting for a quick local flight over their house and I see this Autogyro.

It's something of a first for me as I've never actually seen one live. In fact the nearest I've been to one is watching "You're Only Young Twice" with Ken Wallis flying Little Nellie across Japan. So it's something of a rarity to see a real, live version!

Wonder what they're like to fly?

Bembridge - Everything you've heard is true

(Photo courtesy PhillipC)

I've read a couple of reviews from folks who've flown across to Bembrdge on the Isle of Wight and, without exception, they are all extremely positive.

Obviously I had to go and check this out myself, in that case. So last Friday I took a Piper Warrior II out from Thruxton on a quick jolly over the open water.

The weather was absolutely fantastic, CAVOK ("Ceiling and visibility OK") with a nice North-Westerly wind that helped us on our way down to the coast. In fact total flying time per the plan was 28 minutes.

On the way down I connected with Boscombe Down who held on to me for the grand total of 2.5 minutes before handing me over to Farnborough. They had me squawk a different code and held on to me for another 5 minutes before telling me to 'Freecall Bembridge and squawk 7000'. All this when I was still just a little South of Lasham! I tuned to Bembridge and listened to their tower for a while. Reception floated in and out as we passed over the South Downs at 2000ft heading towards Portsmouth and the Spinnaker Tower.

Passing over the Spinnaker Tower was great. I dipped the wing for a good look as we passed and headed out over the water.

I had researched the field at Bembridge quite thoroughly and knew the layout, the frequencies and the procedures, so it held no terror for me. However, the one thing I wasn't 100% sure of was the exact location. Sure, I knew where it was in relation to Bembridge the town, and the nearby coast. I had checked out the view on Google Maps to determine where it was in relation to other parts of the island. But when approaching over the Solent at 2000ft the perspective was different and, of course, distance was compressed. Nonetheless I headed for the general area that I knew the airfield resided in.

From the vantage point I had I could see a feature on top of a small hill almost directly ahead of me. I decided to use that as a navigation focus and head towards it. I believed the airfield was beyond that and to the right. Aiming for the hill gave me something I could use as a turning point to head inland to the field.

As we left Portsmouth I called Bembridge Radio who gave me the airfield information (Runway 30 Right hand circuit in use) and the circuit traffic (One on approach). The standard approach to Bembridge is a high pass along the runway with a break at the end (either left or right depending on which runway is in use) and then a drop down to circuit height on the downwind leg. Knowing that there was only one other plane in the circuit I requested a right hand base join instead. The permission came back 'No problem. Follow the C172 on finals'

About this time I was approaching the feature on the small hill when I realised that down below me (and about 3 miles ahead) was a C172 passing left to right. I followed its track and saw the airfield to my right this side of the feature I was using for navigation! I quickly made a left turn and dropped the plane down (using copious Carb Heat, of course) to swing in behind the C172 and make the approach.

Bembridge is a single, hard, runway a couple of miles inland from the coast. The coast at that point is steep and rocky and the land behind the coast rises and falls with small wooded areas between the coast and the runway. In addition to this there is a road that crosses the airfield just short of the runway threshold. Having researched the airfield I knew that this would cause an interesting approach. I was right. The hills cause the pilot to think he's lower than he is and start to lift the plane a little (even with the Bembridge PAPI lights), and the air current over the hills will lift the plane then drop it over the other side.

With a little bit of hill induced windshear and good reliance on the PAPI approach lights I planted the PA28 down past the numbers and casually braked to a stop about 2/3rds of the way down the runway.

"Welcome to Bembridge" came the voice over the headphones. "180 degree Trackback and take the first hard left to exit the runway". I complied, following the hard taxiway down to the HUGE field that serves as parking for visiting aircraft. I was given "Row Alpha" to park on and stopped the plane just in front of terminal building.

The landing fee was £10 which I paid at the cafe checkout along with my coke and Yorkie bar. Security were very accommodating and showed me where to sign in. I spent 2 hours in Bembridge sat on their decking area sipping a cold drink. Bembridge is home to the Britten-Norman aircraft company and they have several examples parked on the grass. They also service Cirrus aircraft and the mechanics were at work on one of them when I arrived.

Two things of note:

1) In the 2 hours I was there they flew two planes out for checks after servicing (a Cirrus and a B-N). I saw the whole of the Cirrus flight and I can tell you that approach he made was so low I swear he just missed a truck on the road before the threshold!

2) Bembridge must be a lot trickier in a Cessna than the Piper I flew in. For over 40 minutes I watched 2 Cessnas (a 150 and a 172, obviously pilots under tuition) doing circuits and almost without exception they came in high and fast every time, floating down the length of the runway before landing. In fact at one point the C172 was so high on approach that he missed the airfield completely and ended up going around. Everytime they crested the hill short of the Runway 30 threshold they would balloon up causing the pilots to drop the nose radically to lose height. I was convinced at one point I was going to see a prop strike because one circuit was so steep on final I was convinced he would bury the nose in the ground. Obviously the instructor recovered that one and earned his salary!

The return journey was pretty uneventful. I routed west from Bembridge over Cowes before turning back to Portsmouth and retracing my route North around Solent airspace. I was actually tempted to route directly through Solent controlled airspace to Thruxton but I had heard from an ex-controller that Solent hates in when GA planes do that. Can anyone confirm or deny that?

Just North of Portsmouth I contacted Farnborough for an FIS (Flight Information Service) only to be told to standby. It was VERY busy on the Farnborough LARS with it being a Friday afternoon/evening and I could hear the controller handling several planes and the traffic into and out of Farnborough itself. I waited for him to get back to me but he seemed to have forgotten about me so I kept a listening brief and made my own way back to Thruxton.

Flying time: 40 mins.

Ten tips for safer flying

The following article is slightly abridged and comes from Clued Up magazine, the CAA's free annual publication for pilots.

Ten ways to make your flying safer

(photo by egm757lover)

1) A flight with an instructor
These are various reasons why you may need to take a flight with an instructor. It might be for licensing reasons, for insurance, because you want to build a new skill or just because you feel a little rusty at the start of the year.

However if you're not thinking of flying with an instructor on the near future you might want to think again. Whether you exercise your skills or not, they can get blunted over time, and new ideas and even new regulations come along and leave you behind. Bad habits can form without you knowing and a flight with an instructor can identify and tackle these.

But make sure it's not a jolly. Tell the instructor exactly what you want from the flight, discuss with him how you might be able to use your airborne time for the best benefit and so that you can try out the things you feel need brushing up on.


2) Become more qualified
Expending on number 1: why not do some differences training or work towards a rating? Flying a new type, or leaning new skills - aerobatics, tail dragging, strip flying and so on - can improve your general awareness of flying as well as adding extra skills. Night flying can teach new skills which can be transferred to day flying.

More challenging would be to train for an IMC rating. The skills learned can be of immediate use to VFR flying.

3) Maintenance - get to know your aircraft.
If you are an owner you will, or course, have read the POH (Pilot's Operating Handbook) cover to cover, but how much else do you know of your aircraft?

Even if you're not mechanically minded, watching an engineer working on your aircraft can add tremendously to your knowledge of the your plane and how it works. More often than not you'll get some free hints on what to look for in the walkaround, as well as a few pointers on things to look for on your particular type. it's not always easy to see ow this might help you in a crisis, but sometimes it does. This could be one of the best safety investments you ever make.

4) Get yourself a weather subscription - and an AIS login
Weather is a factor in a surprisingly large number of accidents. Whether it results in a tragic controlled flight into terrain caused by unexpected visibility or a simple bent nosewheel because by windshear, the weather is often the cause.

So it pays to make sure that you are well up on your Met. There are a number of organisations offering Met courses for aviators, which will not only help you make a personal forecast of the weather and an assessment of the current situation, but will make you able to understand the effects of weather on your flight.

But you will, of course, need to get the weather from an official source before you go flying, so make sure that you sign up to one of the web-based services which are available, and make sure you make full use of them!

5) Evaluate yourself medically
It's thankfully rare for a pilot to be incapacitated while at the controls. but medical or human factors considerations can often lurk behind the other, more obvious causes of an accident. beware of them.

Are you on medication or have you drunk alcohol recently? The effects of alcohol are well known, but with medications it's not always clear. If there is any doubt either don't take the medicine or don't fly.

Obviously recreational drugs are incompatible with flying - despite some anti-heroic attempts to prove otherwise.

While you're in the air you still need to be aware of your body. The thinner air at altitude and the change in pressure as you climb or descend - and the way that they affect your nasal passages - may indeed be the first indications that you are going down with something.

Mental and emotional stress can also affect your flying and decision making - this can be a difficult call to make, as many pilots use flying as a means of relaxation, and it's not easy to tell whether the stress alleviation element will be enough to justify flying.

Also make sure you know the signs of hypoxia, hyperventilation, carbon monoxide poisoning (do you have an in-date detector in the cockpit?) and the rest, and have a plan about what to do of you realise you're suffering from them.

Finally think about injuries - mainly those you are recovering from. Broken limbs, twisted ankles and pulled muscles can all be put to the test in the flying environment and suffering pain and discomfort as a result is not a good thing.

6) Listen to your clearances
Runway incursions are a major issue worldwide, and have caused some of the worst acdidents in aviation industry (including what is generally considered to be THE worst accident, when two 747's collided on the runway in Tenerife, killing 583 people) So make sure tat you listen carefully to clearances. Don't just hear what you expect to hear: write it down, read it back and refer to it if you're in doubt.

It's not just runway clearances which need this care: every mis-heard, half-remembered or misunderstood clearance is a potential accident. So if in doubt, ask again. (In addition always check any runway or departure clearances you have been given yourself visually. I was cleared to take-off on a solo flight during my initial PPL training in the States and immediately told to hold short as a Piper was on short finals for landing on the same runway. it was a simple controller slip but it could have caused damage to two planes and fatalities to two pilots - Gary)

7) Go to a CAA Safety Evening
There was a statistic which said that nobody who had been to a CAA safety evening had suffered a fatal accident. Although that can no longer be claimed, the Safety Evenings are highly recommended as a way to improve your safety thinking. Cynics say it's because only safe pilots go to Safety Evenings. So make yourself a safe pilot and attend one. And don't just listen, participate. Ask questions, and use the whole evening to share experiences, techniques and advice with others.

8) Go on a ditching course
The UK is an island, so if you want to go anywhere else you'll have to go over water. In addition many flights over UK airspace cross water - the Bristol Channel, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland - even the Isle of Wight - all involve cross water flights. And, however unlikely, a cross water flight does involve the possibility of ditching.

Ditching is one of those thing that is so difficult to prepare for because there are so many factors involved, ad so few case histories to learn from. but there are things you can do to improve your chances of survival if you do have to make a controlled landing on water.

The most critical factor is to extend your survival time as much as possible. Wearing (and knowing how to use) a life jacket is vital. Knowing how to escape from the cabin is another. make sure you brief your passenger - even if there aren't any (because you'll also be reminding yourself of the actions to take in the case of an emergency and I bet you haven't thought about that recently)

All of these things and more will be explained in a ditching course at one of the many centres around the UK.

9) Check your height
Controlled flight into terrain can spoil your day. But experience suggests that FIT is rarely the sole cause of an accident - it's usually the result of other factors. Tiredness and lack of concentration, spatial disorientation, flight into poor weather, lack of communication, wrong pressure settings and poor planning can all contribute. Airliners have Ground Proximity Warning Systems and some light aircraft feature GPS units which can provide your height above terrain and warn you of approaching danger (make sure the data is up to date); if you don't have these, it's down to you.

Being aware of your surroundings, whether you're in VFR, marginal VFR or IFR is essential. Use all the tools at your disposal: your eyes, your ears, your altimeter (If you have two have you done a simple cross check?), your map with safe altitudes and so on. None of these is 100% reliable in every single circumstance, but together they increase your safety factor many times over.

10) Do your weight and balance checks
How long is it since you did a proper check? Not just "two people and full fuel should be OK because it was last time", but a real number-based exercise? Interesting academic research currently being done seems to show that changes in fractions of inches in the centre of gravity can make a big difference on the safety statistics on particular types - so make sure that you know that you are within safe limits and can clear the obstacles at the end of the runway!

11) Enjoy your flying
(Did we say 10 things? Well, we couldn't leave this one out...) A safe pilot is a happy pilot, so enjoy your flying and there'll be no excuse for not being safe.