Pilots constantly do battle with the question of whether to push off into the gray unknown. But it's not the only time we've beat ourselves up because we can't decide whether to go flying. What about the time we got out to the airport and the wind was higher than we like? Or the time we nearly dozed off while driving to the flight school? How about the day we had the big blowout with the spouse and we decided to go flying because we were so distracted that we were useless around the office? Was it smart to go aviating?
It seems that for each time we point the airplane down the runway without a care in the world, there is another time where we have to question whether it's a smart idea to take off. And the longer we fly, the more aware we become of possible reasons to remain attached to terra firma. Part of that may be because experience teaches us so much more about the environment in which we're operating, and part of it may be because common sense increases with years.
Decision making
The concept of decision making is entwined with the concept of judgment, which is an amorphous concept at best. Exactly how do you define or explain judgment? Better yet, can it be taught? Is it something that can be developed, if it is lacking?
Judgment is the ability to look at a situation and make the decisions that will yield the best outcome. This is what gives an otherwise gossamer concept substance -- in aviation "the best outcome" means only one thing: the safest outcome. So, the go/no-go decision starts and ends with safety. Nothing else matters until the decision path leading to 100-percent safety is clearly defined.
Once you've looked at every aspect of the decision to be made from a safety point of view, you can worry about your convenience and personal wants.
The areas that need to be considered will vary with each situation. Weather may be a factor in one, but not in another. Sometimes aircraft performance will have to be analyzed more closely than usual; another time, passengers may be a primary concern. In general, however, the factors that affect the go/no-go decision fall into three basic areas: personal, weather, and aircraft.
Personal decision factors
As pilots, we most often home in on the obvious limitations that comprise a go/no-go decision -- weather or aircraft problems, for instance -- but we seldom put ourselves in the equation. We can't afford to forget that every aircraft movement starts in our brain and flows through our body to the controls and then to the airplane. If we fail to preflight the brain and the body, everything else is compromised.
It can be a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and the airplane can be perfect, but it'll still be a dangerous flight if you aren't physically or mentally prepared to make that flight.
Preflighting the brain
If we think the weather is changeable, it is nothing compared to the way in which our brains can swing from super efficiency to being barely able to function. We call these good days and bad days, and it's a good idea to know what kind of day you're having before you climb into a flying machine.
Fortunately, the brain generally plods along at a much higher level of efficiency than we really need. It's sort of loafing but still getting the job done. However, when we have those unexplainable bad days, the brain's activity can drop to a dangerous level. There are telltale signs that maybe our brain isn't up for the trip:
Distraction. We can't seem to focus on tasks at hand; we absentmindedly flip a switch or turn a knob without really thinking about what we're doing.
Muddled thoughts. When we've been sick or short of sleep our brain has a tendency to coast. It seems to struggle with things that we usually don't even have to think about.
Mental fatigue. Your body can feel perfectly fine but, if you've had an intense day, your brain will feel the effects. It's tired of thinking, and there's generally not much you can do to wake it up. A dose of caffeine isn't the answer, because the burst of energy generally lasts just long enough to get off the ground and into trouble. More important, mental fatigue is an insidious thief of your ability to think, and you don't even know it's happening until you start making obvious mistakes. The basic rule here is to understand that you can't judge your own level of fatigue. It has to be severe to be noticeable. If you have even an inkling that you're mentally fatigued, you're probably far worse than you think you are, and it's time to stay on the ground.
Emotional interplay. Critical areas of your brain are parked about a millimeter from your emotions. You don't have to be very emotionally upset for your thought processes to start paying the price. If you've just been served divorce papers, or there's been a death in your family, or your daughter eloped with that jerk, don't go flying. Emotional distress may be the biggest contributor to distraction, and no one is immune to its effects.
Apprehension. Don't underestimate the power of apprehension if you are being forced outside of your comfort zone. Even though it's necessary to expand your personal envelope over time, there are instances when it's smarter to simply stay on the ground. Say you're on a cross-country and the clouds are lowering -- and your anxiety starts going up. Don't push it. It may be legally flyable weather, but it's not flyable weather for you. Maybe with more experience you'll be fine, but not right now. The next step beyond anxiety is fear, which is just short of panic, and you don't need any of those feelings sharing a cockpit with you. We're flying to have fun. When it ceases to be fun, find an airport and sit it out until the situation changes and you're back in your comfort zone.
Preflighting the body
This can be a really short preflight -- if you don't feel good, don't fly. Even something like a common cold hammers your ability to think, plus it can result in medical complications. You don't know what real fun is until you fly with a cold and force it into your ears. Lots of discomfort for another week or two.
Any kind of pain -- a sprained shoulder, a toothache, a headache -- is going to impair your ability to think. And don't forget about physical fatigue. You brain may be smokin' but your body may be smoked, which means it's not going to cooperate for long, and you're just not going to have the fine motor functions that you usually possess.
There are also some legalities involved in flying when you're not fit. In theory, every single second you're acting as pilot in command of an airplane, you should be capable of passing a flight physical. Any time you don't meet the standards of your medical certificate, you are obligated to ground yourself until your condition improves.
Also, there are dozens of prescription and over-the-counter medications, including aspirin in large amounts, that can invalidate your medical during the period of time you're taking them -- or until you prove they have no adverse side effects on you. The FAA has specific requirements for each drug that may include no flying for a prescribed period after use, a statement from a physician, or simply no side effects. AOPA's Medical Certification Department has compiled a searchable database of medications that is available on AOPA Online.
Working the weather
The weather is often at the top of the list of all the reasons not to go flying. On the surface it would appear to be the easiest to evaluate, but the longer you fly, the less faith you'll put in projections. If you're a low-time pilot, the name of the game is to set your go/no-go decision bar somewhere north of conservative. You don't want weather to stop you any more than necessary, but until you get a feeling for what the charts are telling you, stay away from any weather situation that has even the potential of catching you.
A couple of rules of thumb fit here. Don't try to beat deteriorating weather or cut it too close. If the terminal forecast says the ceiling is going to be down to 1,000 feet by 4 p.m., make an assumption it is going to be that low by noon and get there way ahead of time. In fact, unless the ceiling is at least 2,000 or 3,000 feet with seven to 10 miles' visibility, a new pilot shouldn't attempt the flight.
An even better rule is to only fly into improving weather, not the other way around. And resolve not to fly in conditions less than 2,000 feet and five miles' visibility until your logbook is fatter. In some parts of the country that means you'll lose a lot of flying days, but you won't be pushing the envelope before you're ready.
Wind concerns
Depending on the season and your location, wind can be a major go/no-go factor, especially if you're new or your crosswind skills aren't up to par. If it's a local flight, the decision is easier: Either you're comfortable in the existing wind or you're not. But, if it's a cross-country, or you're going to be up for a while, you have to give some consideration to what the wind is going to do between takeoff and landing.
You could come back to land and find a 30-gusting-to-40-kt wind right across the runway. Then the decision becomes selecting which nearby airport has a runway that's more directly aligned with the wind. Go to an alternate whenever it's obvious you are pushing your personal limitations. The cure is to get some really good crosswind instruction -- and watch the wind forecasts more closely.
Evaluating the hardware
Airplane problems rank right behind weather for great reasons not to go flying. It's impossible to develop an all-inclusive list of mechanical things that will ground you, but here are some of the biggies:
- Excessive magneto drop (200 rpm), even after you've attempted to burn carbon deposits off the spark plugs.
- Rough-running engine.
- Visible exhaust burns anywhere in the engine compartment.
- Obvious stuff like cracked engine mounts or broken exhaust stacks.
- Landing-gear oleo strut bottomed out or flat.
- Big nick in a propeller blade.
- Excessive oil leaks.
- Inoperative radios, compass, or any primary flight instruments.
- Suspicious movement in any control surfaces.
- Worn tires with cord showing.
- Fluid on the bottom of the brake calipers, or a lack of pressure when you press the brake pedal.
- Seat that doesn't want to stay locked in its track.
Never overlook the aircraft's capabilities. Although your training airplane always performs well when you fly it alone from the long, sea-level runway at your home airport, it could act very differently if you load it up with two or three friends (and their baggage), and you attempt to take off from a short strip at a high density altitude on a hot summer day. In such a situation you may feel great, the airplane could be in perfect mechanical condition, and the weather inevitably will be perfect -- but performance limitations could dictate a no-go decision unless you lighten the load or reschedule your departure for early or late in the day when the density altitude is less.
Although it may appear that we've tried to make a case for not flying, the objective is to help you consider all relevant factors before you climb into the cockpit. If you've run through a quick mental checklist beginning with a personal evaluation, then progress through the weather to the airplane -- and everything looks as if it's in the green -- then reach for the aircraft's preflight checklist, and have a great flight.
Budd Davisson is an aviation writer/photographer and magazine editor who has written approximately 2,200 articles and has flown more than 300 different types of aircraft. A CFI since 1967, he teaches about 30 hours a month in his Pitts S-2A Special. Visit his Web site.
Want to know more? Links to additional resources about the topics discussed in this article are available at AOPA Flight Training Online.
Related Articles
