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Making the Transition

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Proper transition training is crucial for pilots, not only for complex modern aircraft with advanced avionics (TAAs and VLJs) but also for seemingly minor differences in systems or controls, to ensure safety and competence.
  • Overconfidence and a "can-fly-anything" mentality are dangerous, as underestimating the need for specific "differences" training or pushing established safety envelopes based on past lucky outcomes significantly increases accident risk.
  • Modern aircraft, particularly Technically Advanced Aircraft and Very Light Jets, necessitate comprehensive and structured transition training, often including extensive avionics familiarization, scenario-based flight training, and mentorship, to safely manage their advanced systems and performance characteristics.
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“Show me how to start the engine, and I can fly anything,” is a boast I’ve heard from several pilots, and not all of whom I’d consider the best “stick” at the aerodrome.

‘Course, if you can’t start it, you can’t fly it. I once rented a Cessna 150 for a flight with my sister, Sonia. All the newer 150s I had previously flown had the starter switch operated by the key. But the only available airplane was older and the key didn’t activate the ignition. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to get it started and, of course, the longer I took searching for the solution, the more my sister’s confidence in my piloting abilities eroded.

FLYING Staff

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