Dear Rod:
My instructor showed me his new Bluetooth headset and proceeded to tell me he can take calls or listen to music from his phone while flying. Later, he revealed that he was listening to music and texting! He is actually a new instructor for me and I am not really happy that his focus wasn’t on me. I flew with him this past week, and though he did receive a call during our takeoff, he did not (to the best of my knowledge) answer it. The technology is great, but that old time-and-place adage should prevail. Do you think that instructors should use these types of headsets?
Donny
Greetings Donny:
Let me be clear here. It’s not the type of headset that’s responsible for Chatman’s behavior. It’s Chatman himself who pushes the phone’s buttons. So I’m not at all against using a Bluetooth headset during flight as long as it’s used for
communicating with you.
On the other hand, it’s hard for me to imagine that your instructor would be so foolish and inconsiderate as to take a phone call, much less text someone, while aloft.
While being in violation of FCC rules could generate a big fine, the larger issue is that he’s not paying attention to what he’s doing. It should be clear to anyone with normal cranial blood flow (did you try loosening his tie?) that if you’re texting, you’re not looking for traffic. According to studies done at Carnegie Mellon University, talking on a cell phone (hands free or not) reduces the brain activity associated with driving a car by 37 percent. Most likely this applies in a significant way to flying an airplane, too. Chatman clearly isn’t using his own melon here.
So please tell your instructor that he’s there to teach you, not chat or text his friends. Just to make sure you get the message across, you might want to call and leave a text message for him, since he seems to pay more attention to his phone than you. Geesh!
Dear Rod:
If a radar controller calls and says that I have traffic, should I immediately say that I’m looking for traffic or should I look for traffic first, and then reply to the call? Please clarify.
Cal
Greetings Cal:
When air traffic control calls out traffic for you, the first thing you should do is direct your attention in the direction of the traffic. So look for traffic first. There’s no need to clog the airwaves by telling the controller that you’re “Looking,” either. The controller knows you’re looking, assuming you received the message. It typically takes only a few seconds to identify traffic if it’s close, at which point you’ll identify yourself to the controller and say either, “Contact” if you see what was called, or if the traffic is converging on you and you don’t see it you can say, “No contact.” If the traffic is close and you don’t see it, then request an avoidance vector.
Dear Rod:
I’m an instrument student who was taken by surprise yesterday during an instructional flight in the clouds when the controller modified our en route clearance. It took me three readbacks to get the amended clearance correct. My patient instructor let me handle this all myself, and it was stressful. Any advice you can offer for students in this position?
P.T.
Greetings P.T.:
To me, it sounds like you agreed to copy a clearance when you weren’t ready. Did you use the two magic words that perform something close to a Jedi Mind Trick on a controller? Those words are, “Stand by.” No controller can resist you when you use these words, and it means that the controller will give you a little more time to get ready to do whatever it is he or she has planned for you. Always remember that your priority in the cockpit is to aviate first (fly the airplane), navigate next (point it in the proper direction), and then communicate only when able to do so without sacrificing your obligation to accomplish the previous two objectives. So tell the controller to stand by if you need more time to aviate and navigate.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. He has been a pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1973. Visit his blog (www.rodmachado.com).
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