Insights
?My instructor taught me one way, she does it another way, and the FAA guy has his own way. A corporate pilot says this, an airline pilot says that. I?m a new pilot, and I?m confused. Will someone please tell me what?s correct??
We?ve all been there, facing an information dilemma. We find ourselves balancing conflicting information as we try to learn the ?right? way to perform a maneuver, plan a flight, or learn a skill. When you hear conflicting reports from qualified sources, think about the operating mode of each source of information. Operating mode refers to the airplane flown and the crew complement. For basic general aviation flying, it?s one pilot in a single-engine, propeller-driven airplane. The procedures taught at this level are the prerequisites for advanced operating modes?multiengine airplanes, turboprops, jets, and two-pilot crews. But the same rule doesn?t apply in reverse, meaning that many advanced procedures and techniques are inappropriate for a basic operating mode. The information you have been given may have merit, but only if it works in your operating mode. Checklist procedures are one example. Two-pilot crews use the read-and-respond technique, with one pilot reading from the checklist and the second pilot responding as he or she checks the appropriate item. A single pilot should use the read-and-check technique, reading the checklist aloud and confirming that each item is correct. In both cases, the object is to ensure that nothing on the checklist is missed and that each item is actually checked in the proper sequence. The procedures are different because they are used under significantly different circumstances. Obviously, you can?t read from a checklist and wait for a response when you?re the only person in the airplane. So although the technique used by two-pilot crews is right, it?s not right for you. As an instructor, I try to teach my students maximum confidence, minimum workload. As a student, you should have confidence that the technique you have been taught will help you get the job done whether it?s following a checklist or performing a maneuver. Using techniques that are outside of your operating mode increases your workload and can undermine your confidence. Maximizing student self-confidence while avoiding overconfidence is a critical flight instructor responsibility. Self-confidence comes from the procedures and techniques that instructors teach and to a pilot?s proficiency in using those elements. Maximum self-confidence occurs when instructors teach the minimum number of procedures required for the current task. But each procedure must be complete enough and flexible enough to work in the worst possible situation that could exist. Procedures for approach and landing, radio navigation, and instrument scanning can provide good examples. Minimizing the number of procedures taught can increase training quality, because learning is easier and repetition increases. Instructors agree that repetition is the key to successful learning and the development of good habit patterns. It?s impossible to teach experience, so good instructors should never try to teach everything that they know. If they do, they just compound the information dilemma faced by students. By overloading students with information, instructors unwittingly dilute critical training material, reducing training efficiency. Minimum workload means that students are taught to maximize their free time so that emergencies and unusual situations can be handled without compromising basic flying priorities or flight safety. This means staying ahead of the airplane and maintaining situational awareness. Passengers watching a properly trained pilot at work usually think flying is easy, but we know this isn?t always true. A procedure or technique should not be taught until cockpit workload had been evaluated. Here?s an example: If two pilots perform the same procedure in 30 and 50 seconds respectively, the second pilot should adopt the other pilot?s actions. However, if both pilots perform the task in 30 seconds, each using a different procedure or technique, all is well. Individual variations are normal and should be allowed providing workload and flight safety are not compromised. Students, certificated pilots, and flight instructors can avoid the information dilemma by applying specific questions to whatever they read, see, or hear. What is the operating mode? Will the procedure or technique work in the worst situation? Will the procedure or technique minimize cockpit workload? If the answer to all three questions is ?yes,? then it?s probably worth trying o
Ralph Butcher
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