Techniques or procedures?
There’s more than one way to get the job done
After entering the cockpit of the Lockheed L-1011, I found my first officer and flight engineer engaged in a verbal battle. Both were involved in that ageless controversy about when to raise the landing gear after taking off in a single engine airplane.
The first officer—an ex military pilot—argued that the gear should be raised immediately after liftoff to improve initial climb performance and gain altitude as rapidly as possible in case of engine failure. The flight engineer—who had always been a civilian pilot—insisted that the gear not be raised until reaching a point beyond which a straight ahead landing could no longer be made on the runway in case of engine failure.
Each presented sound arguments to support his view, but it was obvious that neither would win this debate. This is because such a discussion reflects a comparison of preference rather than what is right or wrong. It is this difference between procedure and technique that we often fail to consider.
A procedure is a course of action with a specific objective. The tasks published in pilot’s operating handbooks, FAA regulations, and so forth are usually procedures. Examples include retracting the landing gear after takeoff, performing a crosswind takeoff, and conducting a preflight inspection. But the method by which a pilot achieves these objectives is often a matter of technique.
For example, selecting the fullest fuel tank for takeoff is a procedure. Just when the pilot accomplishes this, however, is a matter of technique. Most pilots make or verify tank selection in the runup area because this is where the before takeoff checklist is reviewed. But switching tanks here might not allow enough time to verify fuel flow and system integrity. There might only be enough fuel in the lines to allow a takeoff and possibly a very short climb before fuel starvation occurs.
Other pilots select the tank to be used before engine start. This provides additional time to operate on the selected tank and verify system reliability. In this case, one technique has an advantage over the other.
Some techniques are dangerous. Consider the procedure of complying with the before takeoff checklist. Although most pilots perform this procedure during runup, others impatiently perform their checks while taxiing. Some even go to the extreme of performing a runup while taxiing. Dividing attention this way is a common cause of taxi accidents.
At other times, technique effects efficiency. One example is the way some pilots level off at top of climb. Upon reaching altitude, they lower the nose and simultaneously reduce to cruise power. This deprives the airplane of the excess power needed to accelerate, and it winds up mushing along at less than cruise speed.
A more efficient technique suggests being patient about reducing power. Upon reaching altitude, leave the throttle and propeller pitch control alone. Don’t touch anything. Allow climb power to accelerate the airplane until indicated airspeed reaches some maximum value. Then reduce power. The airplane will decelerate slightly, but the result is noticeably greater cruise speed than when power is reduced prematurely.
A third technique involves climbing a few hundred feet above cruise altitude and then entering a shallow dive (while still using climb power) to return to cruise altitude. Some argue that this places the aircraft “on the step” and results in slightly more cruise speed. Flight testing fails to validate this wives’ tale. The eventual cruise speed is never more than when using climb power to accelerate in level flight.
Technique is a matter of preference. For example, concert pianists Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein strike the keys in the precise sequence specified by Mozart when he composed Piano Concerto No. 21. This is the procedure. But each uses a different technique, a statement of individual flair and style that proves there is more than one way to get the job done.
When learning to fly or getting a new rating, pilots are introduced to the required procedures. But the techniques used to perform those procedures often reflect the bias of the instructor and might not be the most suitable. Lacking comparisons, students loyally adhere to what they were taught. You’ve heard it: “My instructor told me to do it this way.”
A thinking pilot is open minded and recognizes there are many ways to perform a procedure. He is constantly looking to improve his techniques. He spends his career learning better ways to get the job done.
But when you fly with me, be aware that there are only two ways to do things, my way and the wrong…never mind.
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