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FLYING LESSONS for June 16, 2016 FLYING LESSONS uses the past week’s mishap reports to consider what

might have contributed to accidents, so you can make better decisions if you face similar circumstances. In almost all cases design characteristics of a specific make and model airplane have little direct bearing on the possible causes of aircraft accidents, so apply these FLYING LESSONS to any airplane you fly. Verify all technical information before applying it to your aircraft or operation, with manufacturers’ data and recommendations taking precedence. You are pilot in command, and are ultimately responsible for the decisions you make.

FLYING LESSONS is an independent product of MASTERY FLIGHT TRAINING, INC. www.mastery-flight-training.com

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This week’s LESSONS: Landing Gear-Related Mishaps (LGRMs) almost never result in injury to the airplane’s occupants. Often they do result in enough damage to total the airplane.

In this case, however, the pilot—who should have known the airplane was totaled at that point—chose to try to fly around anyhow, presumably thinking that landing with the wheels up might change the ultimate fate of the aircraft…which it would not. In vainly attempting to somehow negate the damage he had already inflicted on the aircraft, he killed himself. It’s blunt, but it’s the only way to look at it. See http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20160519X25723&key=1

There is no attempted go-around from a gear up/propeller strike on landing. If the propeller—and certainly, if the belly of the airplane—strikes the surface, pull the mixture and control the airplane through the sickening slide to a stop. It’s over for the airplane. But is should not be over for you.

Don’t choose to turn an embarrassment and an airplane-totaling event into the end of your life, and those of any passengers.

Airplane landing gear systems are designed and certificated for use of particular sizes or brands of tires. Often a change in the tire ply rating, or choosing a retread over a new tire, results in tire thickness enough to interfere with wheel pants or retractable landing gear structure…as happened in this NTSB-reported crash. See http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20160523X60417&key=1

Use the original make, model and ply rating when you replace tires. If you do change brands, ply ratings, or use a retread on a retractable landing gear airplane, before you fly with the new tire conduct a gear retraction test to ensure there is no interference. Comments? Questions? Let us learn from you, at mastery.flight.training@cox.net

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See http://www.pilotworkshop.com/tip/black-hole-approach/mastery

Debrief: Readers write about recent FLYING LESSONS:

A student pilot/reader writes:

Tom:

Have you written or know of something to help me as a student pilot change my mindset from student pilot to PIC?

I'm a student pilot preparing for my Private Pilot checkride. I'm too comfortable flying with an instructor in the right seat and relying on them. There are so many things to master! I have about 15 hours of solo and feel confident when [I] am on a long-cross country over uncongested areas with flight following, but flying in busy airspace can rattle me. I'm holding back in my study and readiness to get my certificate. I've come to the conclusion that I have to be more assertive and responsible in planning my flights, taking charge of my training and do something different to become pilot in command.

Any suggestions? Thank you,

Jeff J. Jeffrey Lambert Elk Grove, CA (near Sacramento)

Hi, Jeff:

First, that you are aware enough to have even asked this question tells me you have the makings of a good Pilot-in-Command.

The first thing I suggest is that you have this discussion with your CFI. As you make the transition toward your Practical Test, a mature CFI (professionally, not necessarily related to age) will expect you to do more and more of the flight yourself. I know that as I am getting close to soloing a student, and again as I am close to issuing an endorsement for solo cross-country or an Instrument Proficiency Check, and when a student is getting close to his/her Practical Test, I'll say less and less in the cockpit. If your CFI is not gradually letting go, ask what specific items he/she sees that need additional work before you're ready to do them alone.

Review the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and compare your performance to the published standards. If your instructor cannot identify specific tasks and/or is not aware of the ACS (which replace the Practical Test Standards as of today), respectfully ask to be referred to another CFI to make final preparations for your Practical Test.

The more immediate issue appears to be radio communications and envisioning yourself and your airplane as a part of a larger movement of aircraft through the airspace system. As you suggest, plan a flight or flights that will take you into the Sacramento Class C airspace and the Class D airspace it contains. For example, plan a dual-instruction flight that takes you through the Sacramento Class C without landing at one of the airports within that airspace--transit the airspace to the other side to, say, Colusa (O08). After a landing, fly a second planned flight that takes you back into the airspace to land at KSMF for a full-stop landing. Lastly, fly back to CL04 from KSMF. Plan all the frequencies, etc., ahead of time so you have as few surprises as possible. See how much of this trip you can make without help from your CFI—you'll

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probably be surprised at how independent you can be if your CFI is willing to sit back and let you fly, allowing you to make little mistakes if they arise and stepping in only if necessary to assure safe, legal flight.

After you've succeeded in that trip, ask your CFI to sign you off to do it solo. Fly through the airspace without stopping, then come back in to the Class C primary for a landing, ending with a third planned flight from the primary to your home base. If needed, plan a couple different transits until you feel comfortable with your role and responsibilities within the ATC system.

Again, talk to your CFI. He/she may have a legitimate reason to be preventing you from making this type of flight. If so, make sure you know what they are so you can work on them. More likely, your instructor will realize it's time to kick you a little further out of the nest.

You wrote:

I've come to the conclusion that I have to be more assertive and responsible in planning my flights, taking charge of my training and do something different to become pilot in command.

That's exactly right. A good flight instructor will encourage you to do just that. Please keep me advised on your progress. Congratulations on getting nearer to your goal.

Instructor/reader Bob Crystal asks:

How long do you think it should take to get the pilot of a [Beechcraft] Baron 55 re-qualified after not flying for 10 years? He insists it should not take more than about two or three hours of instruction. What do you think?

I think the actual time necessary to become fully qualified to fly a multiengine airplane in an IFR environment after 10 years absence would depend heavily on that pilot’s prior experience. I’d expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 hours of instruction. But it needs to be approached not in terms of time, but instead of confirming mastery and consistency of the airplane and its environment.

It usually takes about two hours just to complete all the items required for an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC). And that assumes the pilot performs to IFR Practical Test completion standards without needing any practice—an IPC in an evaluation, not instruction according to the FAA. The new Instrument Pilot Airman Certification Standards (ACS) makes it clear a CFI conducting an IPC is acting as an evaluator, not an instructor; the pilot must fly to standards without assistance from the CFI to pass an IPC.

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See https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/media/instrument_rating_acs.pdf

Here’s how I’d approach a pilot coming to me wanting to fly a multiengine airplane after a long absence from the pilot’s seat:

It’s impossible to tell before we begin how long it will take to restore your flying privileges. First we must see where you are now. Then we can put together a plan to get you where you want to be. In order to meet just the minimum standard of safety and proficiency you’ll need to be able to perform all the Tasks and maneuvers from the Airmen Certification Standards for Private Pilot Airplane Multiengine Land (AMEL) and the Instrument Rating AMEL.

Our first flight will cover all the Tasks and maneuvers from the Private Pilot AMEL Practical Test. The flight will be instruction, not evaluation. We’ll cover all the topics from the entire checkride two or three times to ensure consistency in the way you fly the airplane. In the process we’ll see which if any you’ll need more time and instruction to attain mastery. To go through everything this flight will likely take no less than two hours, plus preflight inspection and pre- and post-flight briefings—this assuming you have past experience with the type of airplane begin flown.

After this flight we’ll put together a plan for getting you up to at least the Private Pilot minimum standard, and type-specific transition training if you don’t have prior experience in the type of airplane begin flown. If you hold a Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate we’ll include a plan getting you back to at least the appropriate minimum standards for the certificate you hold.

Once we’ve done this we’ll complete a Flight Review that will permit you to resume flying as Pilot-in-Command (PIC) under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). Recall that a Flight Review requires at a minimum one hour each of ground and flight instruction. Expect quite a bit more ground instruction that that—a lot has changed in the last several years, so what you knew before may not be what you need to know now to act as PIC.

All told, assuming you have no significant issues with the VFR potion of restoring your proficiency, expect a minimum of three hours of flying time (about two hours for the first flight and the roughly one hour Flight Review) plus three to four hours of ground instruction and briefings to bring you up to speed with the current regulations and operating requirements. Call it a minimum of six total hours of ground and flight instruction, assuming you perform to checkride standards with little practice or instruction. We’ll have to work as long as it takes to get you to at least the minimum standard.

After you’ve met the AMEL standards we’ll devote a flight to all of the Tasks and maneuvers from the Instrument Pilot AMEL Practical Test. The flight will be instruction, not evaluation. We’ll cover all the topics from the entire IFR AMEL checkride and see which if any you’ll need more time and instruction to master. To go through everything this flight will take no less than two hours, plus preflight inspection and pre- and post-flight briefings.

After this flight we’ll put together a plan for getting you up to at least the IFR AMEL minimum standard. If you hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate we’ll include a plan for getting you back to the minimum standards of that certificate.

Once we’ve done this we’ll complete an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC), which is an evaluation of your ability to perform most of the tasks and maneuvers of the

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Instrument checkride without assistance or input from the instructor providing the IPC evaluation. This should take about two more hours. After about five hours of IFR ground and flight instruction, then, and you’ve passed your IPC, you’ll have full authority to fly as PIC as you wish in your airplane.

All told, then, going from rusty pilot to IFR AMEL PIC should take a minimum of about 11 hours of flight and ground instruction if you do not have any difficulty flying to minimum standards and develop a good grasp of the changes in regulations since you last flew. But again, we’ll have to work as long as it takes for you to demonstrate consistency and mastery to at least these minimum standards. It’s not going to happen in two or three hours.

Remember, you demonstrated the ability to do all of these things at least once before, when you earned your multiengine and instrument ratings. Our job is to ensure you again meet at least the minimum standards of safety and proficiency required by the Federal Air Regulations, so you can resume flying as Pilot-in-Command.

After we meet that goal it becomes your job to develop your own strategy and training regimen to increasingly exceed the minimum standards. You’ve worked hard to restore your flying skills. It takes continuous work to retain them.

Instructors, if a “rusty pilot” comes to you asking how long it will take to restore his or her flying privileges, answer not with an arbitrary number of hours, but instead in terms of verifying the pilot’s consistent mastery of the Practical Test tasks and maneuvers he or she was required to successfully complete in order to meet the minimum standard of safety and proficiency. Mastering those tasks and maneuvers is a function of which privileges he/she wants to restore, the pilot’s prior experience and experience in they type of airplane flown, his/her current physical and mental states, and the discipline he/she brings to the cockpit. The number of hours necessary to return the pilot to mastery is secondary to confirming that consistent mastery exists.

All readers: If you consider yourself current and proficient in whatever airplane and operation you fly, that’s your ongoing job as well. Develop your own strategy and training regimen to increasingly exceed the minimum standards. What do you think? Let us learn from you, at mastery.flight.training@cox.net

Some day, I may thwart death because of this advice. You have potentially saved my life!

- Mike Radomsky, founder and Past President of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association

Please help me cover the costs of providing FLYING LESSONS through the secure PayPal donations button at www.mastery-flight-training.com.

Thank you, generous supporters.

Caution, Wake Turbulence Here’s a great YouTube video that shows the nature of wake turbulence as seen in nighttime fog behind a landing jet airliner: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1711285422464213&id=100007483148445 Pilot Reports are Requested The use of pilot weather reports (PIREPs) will be the topic of discussion during a National Transportation Safety Board forum June 21 and 22, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the NTSB’s headquarters, here. The forum, entitled “PIREPs: Pay it Forward…Because Weather for One is Weather for None,” will focus on the need to improve the PIREP and weather dissemination process as well as future improvements and emerging technologies that may provide greater pilot awareness of weather conditions.

Topics for the panel discussions include: the use and significance of PIREP information to weather services, air traffic controllers, pilots and researchers; the lifecycle of a PIREP; PIREP training, education and operations; and future improvements and emerging technologies for

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PIREPs. The NTSB anticipates more than 16 aviation stakeholders and partners, including federal agencies, airlines, associations and academic organizations, to participate in the two-day forum.

The NTSB forum is free and open to the public, event in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, District of Columbia. The forum can be viewed via webcast at http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/. The webcast will be posted to the NTSB website and will be available for 90 days.

Share the skies with master aviators. Forward FLYING LESSONS to a friend

Pursue Mastery of Flight.

Thomas P. Turner, M.S. Aviation Safety, Three-time Master CFI Flight Instructor Hall of Fame 2010 National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year 2008 FAA Central Region CFI of the Year

FLYING LESSONS is ©2016 Mastery Flight Training, Inc. For more information see www.mastery-flight-training.com, or contact mastery.flight.training@cox.net.