So, I’m preparing to give a flight review to the proud owner of a technically advanced airplane with an aquarium-sized primary flight display in the panel.
My guess is that he, like most of us, will be so fascinated by his avionics that his eyeballs will stay mostly glued to his sexy display at the cost of effectively scanning for traffic. Here’s where I’ve learned to offer a preemptive challenge to the student in hopes of helping him or her properly scan for traffic.
Before flying, I’ll discuss the need to look in both directions before we turn, and the need to verbally clear the area on the side of the turn. Then I’ll inform the student that there’s a good chance he or she will do neither during the first couple of turns. Why do I say this? Because I want to challenge him to prove me wrong. Then we let the games begin.
After departure, I’ll ask for a turn. In most instances, the student will turn without asking, “Clear right?” or “Clear left?” When they don’t ask, I know it’s unlikely they’re scanning for traffic. So as soon as they begin the turn, I’ll grab the controls and return the airplane to level flight, then ask, “What did we forget to do?” Ouch!
It doesn’t take long (OK, sometimes it does) for the student to start clearing the area before turning, especially when I keep taking their flight controls away from them (pilots hate that, and I don’t blame them). There have been times when I’ve returned the airplane to level flight several times during the first half-hour of a flight review, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of the pilot. More than a few of my students have said they’re now looking outside more often, mainly because they never again want to hear the phrase, “What did we forget to do?”
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So, I’m preparing to give a flight review to the proud owner of a technically advanced airplane with an aquarium-sized primary flight display in the panel.
My guess is that he, like most of us, will be so fascinated by his avionics that his eyeballs will stay mostly glued to his sexy display at the cost of effectively scanning for traffic. Here’s where I’ve learned to offer a preemptive challenge to the student in hopes of helping him or her properly scan for traffic.
Before flying, I’ll discuss the need to look in both directions before we turn, and the need to verbally clear the area on the side of the turn. Then I’ll inform the student that there’s a good chance he or she will do neither during the first couple of turns. Why do I say this? Because I want to challenge him to prove me wrong. Then we let the games begin.
After departure, I’ll ask for a turn. In most instances, the student will turn without asking, “Clear right?” or “Clear left?” When they don’t ask, I know it’s unlikely they’re scanning for traffic. So as soon as they begin the turn, I’ll grab the controls and return the airplane to level flight, then ask, “What did we forget to do?” Ouch!
It doesn’t take long (OK, sometimes it does) for the student to start clearing the area before turning, especially when I keep taking their flight controls away from them (pilots hate that, and I don’t blame them). There have been times when I’ve returned the airplane to level flight several times during the first half-hour of a flight review, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of the pilot. More than a few of my students have said they’re now looking outside more often, mainly because they never again want to hear the phrase, “What did we forget to do?”
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