page2

Don't Let Your Skills Erode
by Ray Klaus, NAFI Master CFI
It is still necessary to fly the airplane regardless of the high-tech stuff you have on-board. Proficiency is a very personal thing. It is an investment in your future and you're worth it. Up until ten years ago, air-navigation equipment remained constant along with commonality in operating procedures. Learn one system, you learned them all.
Now, every electronic product is unique, requiring specific training. Statistics show an increase in aviation accidents as a result of technically advanced aircraft. Human factors have become more pronounced. Especially since a larger portion of General Aviation today is used for transportation, rather than recreation. This demands a higher level of professionalism.
The new FAA/Industry Training Standards (FITS) embraces concepts such as Risk-Management, Aeronautical Decision-Making, Situational Awareness, and Pilot-Resource Management. These concepts are a part of every instructional exercise.
The idea is to "train the way you fly, and fly the way you're trained."If you fly a new technology glass-panel airplane on long cross-country trips for business or pleasure, then you need to train to support your need. GPS has proven to be very reliable, and can depict warning areas and Class B Airspace, predict arrival times, present ground speed, and fuel consumption data, and even fly an autopilot approach for you.
Nevertheless, it is still essential to maintain basic skills. Knowledge and judgement are the best tools for keeping out of trouble. There has been a definite shift from stick-and-rudder skills to technology. Pilotage is becoming a lost art. While technology is great, it will never replace skills and judgement.
If you don't fly frequently, it is especially important for you to refresh your skills frequently in a structured program - quarterly, ideally. Quarterly reviews will give you an opportunity to experience a variety of flight scenarios, and prepare for seasonal flying conditions. Twenty-tour months between flight reviews and six-months between instrument checks is hardly enough.
Being able to fly GPSs and leap entire states in a single bound doesn't help when the weather turns crappy and you are forced to use an alternate where the wind is howling, the runway short, you have to do a circling approach and you
are dog-tired. Right there, the only thing that counts is old-fashioned" stick-and-rudder" skills.What's your opinion? Send comments to: Randy Seilor, Newsletter Editor. Randy@quickdel.com