After seeking more information by trouble-shooting the problem and asking about the extent of the weather and suitable alternate airports, I decided to divert to an airport with an ILS approach and weather well above the minimums for this approach.
?WRONG!?
My decision was not what the examiner wanted to hear, and immediately I began to defend my decision, showing no signs of changing my mind. The examiner didn?t buy my decision-making process and eventually I suspected that the examiner was attempting to make me change my decision.
Was he looking for a weakness? Maybe I was wrong in my decision and sticking by it meant that I wasn?t going to survive the oral exam. My heart rate was probably running about 140, and I was sweating profusely. We never did come to terms over this point, but he allowed me to take the flying half of the ride and all ended well.
Our disagreement came from a difference in philosophy concerning aviation safety ? one that I struggle with to this day. My question is, ?Why don?t we train to the center of the circle?? The examiner?s position was that because of the pressures at hand, I should have continued to the destination airport with the gear down. My position was that I was flying an airplane that would not be able to maintain altitude if an engine failed, unless I could get the gear up.
The examiner?s thought continuing and completing the flight was well within the aircraft?s operational ability (limits). I, on the other hand, did not want to be flying anywhere near the aircraft?s ?limits.?
The examiner thought the airplane could offer numerous advantages for the user, and speed and dependability were two of them. Because the airplane wasn?t performing as advertised, I believed my primary goal had changed, to get my passengers (and myself) safely on the ground (even if it was not where they planned to go).
What does this have to do with ?training to the center of the circle?? Imagine a circle. The line that defines this circle represents the limitations of the aircraft, pilot, regulations, etc. From the beginning of our flight training we start learning these limitations and how to operate our airplane to its maximum advantage without crossing over this imaginary line (many call it the ?envelope?).
This is an essential part of our aviation training, but why do we purposely start in the circle (or envelope) and fly our aircraft toward the line (or ?push the envelope?)? Should our initial and primary training be to teach pilots that they must not lower the flaps until they reach VFE, or should pilots be taught how to plan their decent and approach so that VFE is not a concern, but that they should be aware of the VFE limitation? This is merely one small example of training to the center of the circle.
The concept is that instead of teaching pilots that it?s acceptable to operate an aircraft within the circle?s limits, training should teach pilots to think about how they can operate an aircraft toward the center of the circle!
It may appear that flying within the circle and flying toward the center of the circle are the same, but this is not the case. Training to the center of the circle includes knowing and understanding the aircraft?s limitations ? and using this information to design the flight to be as far away from these limits as is feasible. The applications for this are endless.
I have flown with students and pilots that exhibit this mind set naturally. ?Okay Kevin, you have reached the point that I feel you can fly safely in these weather conditions.?
?Well, Robert, I appreciate your vote of confidence, but I?ll continue with my current personal limitations as far as weather is concerned.?
Then again, I have flown with students and pilots who felt their limits were far beyond what I felt they should be. Teachers must always take into account their students? differences in personalities, and abilities to perform. The instructor should tailor the lesson to give the greatest benefit to the pilot. It should capitalize on strengths and minimize weaknesses, but it should always point the student to the center of the circle!
As pilots, each of us should constantly assess each flight and phase of flight to calculate how we can pilot our aircraft to the center of the circle. It is an attitude, a mind set, a way of life!
