Training & Sims

In your January 2017 issue you have an interesting article about flows, checklists, do-lists and callouts. However, that sample checklist you provide misses one important aspect: numbering.Try saying (or verbalizing) 1 Switches Set, 2 Fuel Totalizer Set, 3 Altimeters Set, 5 Transpo…..You wont get through the Transponder item without realizing that there should have been a number 4.

Aviation widely relies on the transfer of institutional knowledge. The flight instructor teaching you to fly didnt acquire all his/her skills alone. Someone taught them the basics, who in turn was taught by another individual, and so on. Lessons from past experience (a.k.a. mistakes) enlighten future generations.

Most instrument pilots flying today probably learned with conventional six-pack flight instrumentation. But, thats changing. Rare is a new aircraft available without EFIS and popular shops are installing glass retrofits nearly as fast as theyre installing ADS-B systems. Do you need EFIS? Should you consider upgrading your six-pack panel to a fancy electronic package?

The general-aviation airport in Santa Monica, California, which has been in place since the 1920s, has long been in contention, as the surrounding area has become densely populated at the same time as the airports importance as a GA hub has intensified. In January, the FAA said it had agreed to end decades of legal wrangling over the airport and close it in 2028, citing safety and environmental concerns. The airport has about 270 resident aircraft and 450 landings and takeoffs a day. NBAA, AOPA, and EAA said they may challenge the agreement. The city plans to turn the 227 acres into a park.

With all the distractions in the cockpit-whether its loading the navigator, copying a clearance or simply dropping the only pen you brought along-its no surprise that close calls on the ground are still common. Perhaps not surprising, but not acceptable either. After all, we have a lot of tools to help us remain safe on the ground. Weve had ground-safety procedures drilled into our heads in recent years. GPS is common now for taxiing, along with lots of signs and lights to guide us. So runway incursions and related incidents ought to be on the decline. As it turns out, though, things havent improved.

As suggested by recent decisions and actions, FAA leadership might actually be agreeing with that last bit. Over a year ago they announced a different regulatory climate called compliance philosophy, which is supposed to engender a more cooperative relationship between the regulator and the regulated. The FAA also began relaxing some certification requirements in favor of common sense safety improvements like seat belts and shoulder harnesses, angle-of-attack indicators, and more recently non-certified EFIS in certified aircraft. Now, theyve responded to the legislative mandate to do away with the third-class medical for many of us.

After years of lobbying by general-aviation advocates, the FAA issued new rules in January that aim to make it easier for many pilots to maintain their medical certification. SpaceX successfully launched a rocket in January that deployed 10 IridiumNext satellites, the first of 66 that will expand real-time global coverage for tracking airplanes in flight by mid-2018. The avionics industry will rise to the challenge of equipping the U.S. aircraft fleet with ADS-B Out by the Jan. 1, 2020, deadline, according to industry leader Ric Peri. The NTSB issued a rare urgent safety recommendation in January, warning pilots that Piper PA-31T-series aircraft may have unsafe wiring that could lead to arcing and fires.

Jeff Van West is one of my favorite modern-day aviation writers. His article, Seeing Double in the November issue is a fine example of Jeff taking us by the hand through important, but oft overlooked and esoteric aspects of our IFR life. But his use of the word declination instead of the correct word, variation, is a fingernail on the blackboard kind of irritant, if you remember blackboards. I have these old yellowed books that I studied in the 50s: AF Manual 51-40, Air Navigation Vol 1, by the Department of the Air Force (1959), page viii, and The American Flight Navigator by John Dohm (1958) page 324.

A reader, a helo pilot from the U.S. Coast Guard, wrote to ask some interesting questions. It seems theyd just had an FMS upgrade that enables them to fly RNAV (GPS) approaches. All the approach holds that are course reversals (hold in lieu of procedure turn, HILPT) are shown with four-nautical-mile legs. He asked if it is required to fly the entire leg length. The e-mail discussion evolved to ask if a charted hold, such as a missed approach hold, also had mandatory leg lengths. These probing questions prompted some interesting virtual discussions at IFR.

The FAA has released the medical requirements for the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR2) and quite frankly, I think it is a home run for general aviation, pilots, and the AOPA who fostered it through Congress. The new program is called BasicMed that is technically the FAAs implementation of medical requirements in the PBOR2 portion of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 known (of course) as FESSA. The final rule from the FAA, released January 10, 2017, and effective May 1, 2017, can be found on the FAA web site, FAA.gov.