Technique

Regarding the ATC column Say More For Less in your March issue, I really enjoy reading articles like this. I take ATC very seriously and Im always interested to know exactly what they are expecting from me. I strive to be as professional as possible in the air, even though I fly just for fun. However, Im not perfect, and I can certainly be accused of wasting a lot of airtime over the years with something I cant seem to stop saying to each controller, Thanks.

Heres one of those questions that has a simple answer masking hidden subtleties: Youre on the approach to Orlando Executive with the family for a couple well-earned days in The Land of the Mouse. You loved the idea of flying in to Executive rather than putting the family in seats 27 A through D into nearby Orlando International.But now the reality of getting established on a back-course localizer in bumpy clouds has you behind the curve and working hard to meet the mandatory altitudes on the stepdowns. You barely made the restriction to cross MARYB at 1500 and now are at 1100 heading for BRICE, struggling with reverse sensing and losing. You decide its best to go missed now and start again. But, how to do it?

Picture yourself in the cockpit counting on your eyeballs to keep you clear of thunderstorms. Theres a buildup ahead and youve got to ask for a diversion. But how many degrees? You dont have a pretty cockpit display with the weather today, so youll be estimating.You can get a good estimate just using your binocular vision. Hold a raised finger at arms length and sight across that finger first with only one eye and then the other eye. Your finger displaces about 10 degrees. So if you put your raised finger between you and the storm with your right eye only and then look with only your left eye, the new position of your finger shows where a 10-degree turn to the right would take the airplane. In this way, you can measure 10-degree chucks of heading change against the view outside-and then confidently ask ATC for 30 right.

Aircraft performance parameters are typically expressed as measurements of speed (indicated and true), altitude and vertical speed. Often overlooked is angle as an expression of performance. Angles are a terrific tool for estimating glide and approach performance, avoiding clouds and storms and avoiding obstacles and terrain on takeoff. There are two related subjects: how to measure angles while in flight, and how measured angles can solve in-flight problems. Lets start with measurement.

If there was ever a 400-pound gorilla that dared pilots to ignore their checklists, procedures and situational awareness, its the emergency. Pilots often practice What if … but when it really happens its more like What the hell? If there was ever a time to lean on ATC, this is it. There are no limits to the types of emergency scenarios and, therefore, no single response from ATC. The ATC rulebook (FAA Order 7110.65) recognizes this in paragraph 10-1-1 (d): Because of the infinite variety of possible emergency situations, specific procedures cannot be prescribed. However, when you believe an emergency exists or is imminent, select and pursue a course of action that appears to be most appropriate under the circumstances. We controllers have extensive information, resources and people at our disposal, but were out of the picture unless you tell us whats going on and ask for what you need.

Mnemonics like these are just a form of checklist or, sometimes, short-step do list. The preflight crutch below might be what you recite to yourself just before you grab your bags and walk out to the airplane:

Id heard Stevie Ray recite The heat, the light, the auto-ignite during the last two takeoff rolls in the Citation before finally asking him what he was mumbling. Steve was known for cutting sarcasm and a lightning-fast wit; I hesitated to inquire but sensed a piloting technique was in there somewhere. Steve was surprisingly honest: I dont want to miss the pitot heat, the strobes, or the ignition switches when we get our clearance to roll, thats all. But Steve, I asked, we did the checklist and besides, there are no igniters on this bird, right? Maybe not, but our Gulfstream has em and Im not changing my habits. Stunned, all I could do was thoughtfully nod.Back then I would have dismissed Steves practice as feeble, but experience has brought an understanding that we pilots are the weakest link on the airplane-it only takes one bad day to prove it. Good day or bad, there are a number of steps that must be accomplished and it may come down to ritual or habit to see that the job gets done.

One of the things I enjoy about doing instrument instruction in the radar shadow of mountains is that students have to fly the occasional procedure turn. Radar vectors make this skill practically arcane for pilots over much of the U.S., so to actually see it needed in practice is eye-opening.But its not just over the bumpy land where you might need or want a PT, and thats what makes the ILS or LOC Rwy 18 at La Crosse, Wisc., interesting. An IFR reader sent a query our way as to how someone arriving from the south would get turned around on this approach without vectors. There is no PT charted.

Any talk of checklist types isnt complete without the concept of checklist boldface. So named due to its all-caps and emboldened print, these memory items ensure an initial response to an emergency when a written checklist wont be referenced until after the initial bold items are accomplished and the situation is stabilized. For example, only the first four items on this Quick Ref are memory.

From my base in Santa Barbara, Calif., I often fly north to San Jose (KSJC). At San Jose, GA aircraft operate from Runway 29, parallel and to the west of the two main runways, 30L and 30R for jets. All the runways have straight-out IFR missed-approach procedures.One night, while I was waiting for release on 29, Southwest 376 (a 737) reported on final and asked, How close is 376 to the killer bee ahead? He was referring to a 757 and its reputation for leaving a brutal wake.

If youve ever seen the dramatic final scene of Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart, youve seen a Precision Approach Radar, or PAR, approach. A PAR begins with vector- to-course, much like an ILS, but also adding trend info to help the pilot build situational awareness.

Youre descending on the glideslope for the ILS 29 with a 25-knot tailwind. Winds at the surface are eight knots from the southwest. Quick: What two corrective actions will you need to make over the next three minutes? With enough experience youll get it right, but ask yourself: Is this brand of analysis second nature to you? Sure, you can just follow the needles and correct, but thats accepting being behind the curve rather than mastering it. An understanding of the variables affecting an approach path give you the capacity for proactive, rather than reactive, piloting.