Airplane, avionics, and area
In that sense pilots are like big-time athletes. We practice to perfect our skills, techniques, and procedures. We spend a lot of time practicing, so that when we do make a flight for some specific purpose--a business trip or family vacation, for example--we do so confident that we can handle the airplane and conditions by executing what we've been practicing.
Along with practicing for perfection, there's practicing for proficiency. A lot of pilots devote a high percentage of their flying hours to practice missions simply to stay current and proficient. If you don't have a compelling reason to fly regularly, it can be tough to achieve and maintain a level of proficiency that allows you to feel comfortable and confident in the airplane. Practice takes care of that. Regular practice keeps you in the game.
What is regular? Depends on the three As--the airplane, the avionics, and the area. The more complex and high-performance the airplane, the more there is to do, and thus practice. While climbing out after takeoff in a sophisticated single, you'll be concerned with flap and landing gear configuration; fuel pressure indication and fuel pump switch position; power setting--propeller pitch control, throttle, and mixture control; engine and oil cooling; and cowl flap position, among other checklist items. That's a lot, and it calls for a lot more practice than does a relatively simple fixed-gear, fixed-pitch-prop single.
It's the same with avionics. A simple panel with one communication and navigation radio has a far different proficiency requirement than does a fully electronic Garmin G1000 setup. Once learned, the simple panel is easily managed. Little practice is needed. The G1000, on the other hand, demands the kind of formal study, recurrency training, and practice once reserved for the most complex of aircraft.
As for the third A, area, if you fly in a busy terminal area where Class C and/or B airspace is a fact of life, you must be proficient at communicating with air traffic control and following clearances. That's best achieved through regular practice. Not so if you stick to nontowered fields and uncontrolled airspace.
One of my airplane partners has been buried in business matters, and has had little time or inclination to fly. The project that has kept him busy finally is finished, and he's looking skyward again. He called the other day to say he had booked the airplane for some local practice flying, and would I mind being his safety pilot? Love to, I said.
He had plenty of motivation to practice. We recently spent some cash on upgrades, and he wanted--needed--to put in some time getting familiar with the fine points of the new equipment. We have a new two-axis autopilot with GPSS roll steering and vertical speed control. We've upgraded our GPS navigation system with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) and TAWS (Terrain Awareness and Warning System). And we have a new Mode S transponder that displays traffic on our GPS navigation unit. Lots of new, fun stuff to play with. He's read the manuals and flown with the new equipment before, but he wanted to get comfortable with all of it again before charging off on a vacation trip with his wife.
He had the airplane ready to go when I arrived at the hangar. "Where're we going?" I asked as I settled into the right seat. "I thought we'd do some approaches," he said.
We took off, and almost immediately he began fiddling with the GPS navigator. Meanwhile, a few after-takeoff checks did not get accomplished, and the airplane began to creep up toward the floor of the overlying Class C airspace. I offered a few tactful reminders to get him back on track.
The first approach was sloppy--too fast, too high, too far off course. He admitted as much. The second try was better, but there was still room for improvement. I played ATC and gave him vectors for another approach. I also suggested he focus more on the course deviation needle and less on the graphical display on the GPS navigator. It was apparent that the problem was a poor scan of the primary flight instruments and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) in favor of relying on that big, colorful planform map and airplane symbol glowing smack in the middle of the panel.
He was a bit rusty on the instruments, but he also was a little behind the airplane. Speed control, configuration changes, keeping up with the checklists--all of it needed some work.
The flight ended with a decent landing at the end of an acceptable approach. My partner was grinning as he taxied back to the hangar. "Boy, that was fun!" he said. "Let's do that again soon."
Good idea, but when we do go flying again I'm going to suggest a somewhat different plan of action. He'd just finished a round of practice flying that covered the second two of the three As--avionics and area. He should have started with the first, the airplane. Instead of launching right into practice instrument approaches, he would have benefited more by concentrating on basic aircraft operation and control. Fly the airplane, work the checklists. Take off, fly to a practice area, and perform climbing turns and descents, level-flight turns, slow flight, and stalls. Shoot some touch-and-go takeoffs and landings. Re-program that muscle memory to fly the airplane properly without having to think about every action. Then turn his attention to the advanced avionics and instrument approaches.
No matter the airplane and its sophistication, or lack thereof, the pilot's primary task is to fly the airplane. Control airspeed, altitude, and heading. Place switches and controls where they need to be for the particular phase of flight. Refer to the checklists. Fly the airplane. Basic aircraft control is the foundation of any other type of flying. Master the airplane part before moving on to the next challenge.
Don Hensley, a pilot, flight instructor, airplane owner, and former air traffic controller and manager, has a very detailed plan he follows when a student books a proficiency flight. It takes about three hours to complete. He includes an hour of student and instructor hitting the books to review aircraft manuals and logbooks, V speeds, ATC procedures, airport signs and markings, and also to do a weight and balance for the airplane. The two-hour flight that follows covers just about everything but straight and level flight.
"It really does do the job and gets folks up to speed," Hensley says. "It's what I expect of any pilot, including myself. If you plan to take a flight it is my opinion that you should be able to accomplish all of these tasks with a level of proficiency that would not endanger anyone."
Well said.
Mark Twombly is a writer and editor who has been flying since 1968. He is a commercial pilot with instrument and multiengine ratings and co-owner of a Piper Aztec.
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