Avoid the information dilemma
At one time or another, we have all been in this situation. To resolve the information dilemma, you must consider two common denominators: operating mode and training philosophy.
Operating mode refers to aircraft and crew. For initial general aviation flight training, our operating mode is one pilot in a light, piston-powered airplane. The procedures taught at this level are the prerequisites for the advanced operating modes - piston-powered twins, turboprops, jets, and two-pilot crews. This evolutionary process, however, does not work in reverse. What pilots do in the advanced operating modes is seldom applicable to our situation.
The first step for reducing the information dilemma is to determine the operating mode for the pilot who is conveying the new information. If both of you are operating in the same mode, the information may have merit.
The second step is more difficult. You must understand the training philosophy under which the pilot in question was trained. There are many variations. The "pass the test" philosophy is the worst case - the pilot was prompted using actual written test questions and trained to pass an examiner's flight test, the details of which were well known to the instructor. Almost as bad is the cram course - proper mental and physical habit patterns are seldom established. Six months after course completion, proficiency and knowledge vaporize.
At the top end of the spectrum is the "maximum confidence and minimum workload" training philosophy that I developed years ago. Students trained in this manner can usually separate fact from fiction when confronted with the information dilemma.
Building maximum student confidence is a critical flight instructor responsibility. I do this by minimizing the number of procedures that are taught. In order for a procedure to qualify, it must work in the worst possible situation that a pilot will encounter when flying. Two additional advantages occur: Learning becomes easier, and repetition increases. Repetition is the key element for developing ingrained habit patterns.
One example of a worst-situation procedure is the constant-attitude-and-power, variable-airspeed approach developed years ago by Wolfgang Langewiesche, author of Stick and Rudder. Students who are taught this technique master forced-landing thought processes during presolo instruction, and later on, they have no difficulty with night landings, particularly when surface lighting causes optical illusions.
A fine line separates self-confidence and overconfidence. Self-confidence occurs when students follow procedures that will keep them out of trouble, know their limitations, and use good judgment. Overconfidence occurs when students make erroneous assumptions regarding their mental attitude, knowledge, or proficiency.
Minimum workload means that students are taught to maximize their free time in the cockpit so that emergencies, unusual situations, and distractions can be handled without compromising basic flying skills or flight safety. Passengers, watching a properly trained pilot at work, usually think that flying is easy. Unfortunately, they can�t see the wheels that are spinning inside the pilot's head.
If two pilots perform the same task in 30 seconds and 50 seconds respectively - this does not mean that one pilot is flipping switches as fast as he can'the second pilot should change his method. However, if both pilots perform the task in 30 seconds, each using a different method, all is well. Individual variations are perfectly normal.
You can avoid the information dilemma by applying common denominators in whatever you read, see, or hear. What is the operating mode? Will the procedure or technique work in the worst situation that you will encounter? Will the procedure or technique reduce the workload?
Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying for 43 years and has 25,000 flight hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.
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