Acknowledgements:
John Zimmerman (Sporty’s Student Pilot News)
“Some
aviation tips are in the “commandments” category, e.g:
- never land with less than an hour of fuel on board,
- never take off over gross weight,
- never fly below minimums on an instrument approach.
- My personal favourite is never run out of airspeed and ideas at the same time!
Disregarding
any of these tips means you are courting danger, but while they are all true,
that doesn’t mean there aren’t other, smaller tips that can reduce risk.
In
fact, as pilots there’s a lot we can do to increase the safety margins of every
flight, just by keeping a few good habits. Below are seven I try follow in
the cockpit:
1. Set the altimeter to field elevation as
soon as you get in the airplane.
This may not be exactly correct, and
you’ll want to fine tune the setting before take-off (via ATIS or AWOS), but
getting the altimeter in the ballpark is a good hedge against making a
1,000-foot error. This can happen if the barometric pressure has changed dramatically since your last flight.
I once set the altimeter for -500 feet, thinking it was actually at 500 feet
(the correct altitude). This habit gives you two chances to catch any errors,
and takes just a few seconds.
2.
Set
the heading bug on the runway you are using for take-off.
Many airplanes have a heading bug
these days, which is used to control the autopilot. But that bug can be used as
a valuable reminder, even if you aren’t using automation. Especially at an
airport with multiple runways, I always set the bug on the runway
heading that I’ll be using. It’s a quick reminder during taxi, and a valuable
last-minute check before you take off. In larger airplanes, it could even
prevent a fatal mistake, like the CRJ crash in Lexington, Kentucky, some years
ago.
3.
Don’t reconfigure on
the runway. As you gain confidence in the
airplane, it’s tempting to multi-task. Sometimes that’s OK, but resist the urge
to do it after landing, while you’re still on the runway. Leave the flaps where
they are, don’t touch the trim, and don’t worry about the lights. They can all
wait, and if your attention is in the cockpit, you might miss a serious traffic
conflict or even taxi the airplane into the grass. Keep the cockpit sterile
until you’re over the hold-short line. Obviously, an exception can be made for
touch and goes, but I’d only do this with an instructor in the right
seat
(never solo).
4. Verify
the flap handle in retractable gear airplanes.
Don’t grab that flap handle without
first making sure it’s the right one. Somewhat related to the previous
habit, in retractable airplanes it’s easy to mix up the flap and gear handles,
particularly if you’re in a hurry. Sure, there are systems to prevent the
retraction of the gear when you’re on the ground, but those can fail. Take two
extra seconds when you grab the flap handle to retract them after landing, and
say (out loud), “I have the flap handle.” It may seem silly at first, but it
can prevent a very expensive mistake.
5. Use
a quick flow check at key moments.
Every pilot and every airplane will
have a different flow check, but a good one includes essential items like:
power setting, trim, flaps/gear, engine instruments, and altitude. This can
take just a moment, but I like to do it shortly after take-off, at the top of
climb, before starting descent and just before landing. It’s
not a replacement
for a printed checklist, but a good backup to make sure the critical checklist
steps have been completed.
6. Leave the landing light out until cleared
for take-off.
At towered airports, you’ll sometimes
be cleared to “line up and wait,” meaning you’ll take the runway but hold your
position until you get additional clearance from the tower. To avoid confusion,
I always leave the landing light off until I have received clearance to
take off.
That gives me a quick check if I’m ever uncertain of my status. And yes, you
should always turn on the landing light for take-off, even during the daytime.
It’s helpful for collision avoidance.
7. Call out “1000 to go” in climbs and
descents.
The pros always say this, and
most newer autopilots also do it too. When you’re within 1000 feet of your
level-off altitude, say “1000 to go” and maybe even hold up one finger. It’s a
good way to prevent an altitude bust (a big deal in the world of IFR flying),
but it’s also a helpful reminder that you should be focusing on flying
the airplane,
not talking to passengers or programming the avionics.
All these are easy and quick, so they
shouldn’t burden your typical flight. In fact, after a while, you probably
won’t even notice you’re doing them. In my 3000+ hours of flying, all seven
have saved me from a mistake. Sure, not all would have been fatal or even
serious, but striving for that mistake-free flight is every pilot’s goal. I’ll
take all the help I can get!”
FLY SAFE!
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