Top Letters And Comments, September 10, 2021

Where were you Paul when I needed your humor the most? That would have been during the pre GPS era of the 1970s searching for that elusive first strip 6 degrees south of the Equator in central Africa. The end of dry season in those climes is characterized by clear, visibility 1 mile in smoke with a possible thunderstorm lurking because rainy season is just around the corner. The end of dry season was “Go Get Lost” day every day. I could really have used a little humor and W.C. Fields’s line back then. Oh well, better late than never. Thanks again for the chuckles.

John Kliewer

Funny thing, this topic had already risen to the top of my list of peeves only a week ago.

I just had two instrument students come to me, one new to instrument flight and the other a “rusty pilot” getting back into flying and needing an instrument proficiency check. The new pilot, who I know is a VERY proficient VFR pilot and aerobatic competitor (meaning she had excellent stick-and-rudder skills) was a bit traumatized because she was lost in the cockpit trying to hand-fly the aircraft and figure out the GPS/FMS as the same time, let alone talk to ATC on the radio. Her 400 hour part 141 CFI hadn’t helped. The rusty gentleman was in the same boat. In both cases I put them in the sim, reached over, turned off the GPS/FMS, and then said, “We are just going to fly the airplane and intercept some VOR radials.” I showed how power and trim presets would predispose the aircraft to a particular airspeed and climb rate. At that point both of them settled down to fly the airplane competently.

“Automation” is an interesting double-edged sword. Yes, it is very cool what it can do but I know that, every time I have become overloaded in the cockpit, it has been because the “automation” has pushed me over the edge while trying to get the “automation” to do something unplanned. At the risk of sounding like “that old guy”, VOR/LOC/GS is dirt simple by comparison — select frequemcy, turn OBS, fly airplane.

I no longer want that fancy all-glass cockpit with 42 buttons and knobs, many which are overloaded by menus (“I know that feature is here somewhere. Which menu was it?”) for instrument training. I need my student to become proficient at FLYING the airplane first, navigating second, and communicating third. Once they become proficient at being an instrument pilot, then and only then, do I want to introduce the wonders of all that glass.

And yes, I DO teach autopilot use. It becomes especially important when you need to be heads-down over the GPS/FMS after saying, “I wonder why it did that?”

Brian Lloyd

Good advice. I’ve bought and sold a few airplanes and one other very important thing I would add is go meet the airplane and the owner and have him take you up in it, if at all possible. Buy him (or her) lunch or dinner and get to know him a little. Meeting other aviation people is fun anyway but time spent on site with the airplane and owner gives you an invaluable hands-on look and feel for both. There are certain intangibles about people and planes that cannot be conveyed on Barnstormers, Trade-A-Plane, phone calls, or emails.

Rolf Grandstaff