Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Checklists vs. Do Lists

Doctor Using ChecklistYesterday, I read a bunch of blog posts about using in-flight checklists. I found even purported CFIs and airline pilots recommending that you treat a checklist like a checklist as opposed to a "do list." Basically, they were recommending that you configure the airplane with a mnemonic flow and then go through the checklist just to make sure you did it right.

I was starting to feel a little silly ... like maybe I missed the point completely when I wrote my blog post about always using your checklists. I was recommending that you remember as much as you can about the checklist but that you execute every step on the checklist in order and as you go through the list ... a "do list."

I started doing some research. I dug through about 50 aviation accidents from the last 30 years selected at random from the NTSB Accident Database. I found that a few of them were catastrophic failures or maintenance oversights that the pilot simply couldn't avoid; however, about 40 (80%) of the accidents could've been avoided by following the checklist. Some of them were airline accidents where checklists are required. One of which had the audio of the pilot confirming that anti-ice measures were off shortly before they crashed due to icing.

My point is that if you memorize the checklist or you treat it like a confirmation, you're likely to become complacent and quickly find yourself in an emergency situation. During my research, I found a really cool website that has a sample pre-flight checklist. Each item on the checklist links to an NTSB accident report that could've been avoided by checklist use. Some of the links are broken, but many of them still work. I'm planning on taking some of my in-flight checklists and doing the same thing with them.

Another thing I found during my checklist research is that physicians, psychologists, surgeons, and anesthesiologists are using checklists like "do-lists" and it is saving lives.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Monday, May 11, 2009

Highway Traffic: Passing on the Right Should be a Moving Violation

Right BlinkerSo, the other day I had a non-aviation awshit. My fiance's air conditioning is out in her car. That's a much bigger problem for her than it is for me so I've been driving her car and she's been driving mine. Well, there was something about her car that I didn't know.

You see, in an airplane, I check my fuel level indicators as a part of my regular scan. Before every flight, I know how much time I can spend in the air and I make sure I have appropriate reserves. In a car, however, I only want one binary piece of information; do I need gas or don't I?

It seems I've gotten into the habit of not looking at the fuel gauge in my car and just waiting for the "fuel low" indicator to come on. The fuel gauge in my girlfriends gar is inoperative (now I know why the FAA requires inoperative equipment in airplanes to be placarded as such, CFR 14 Part 91.213.3.ii).

In any event, I was cruising up 400 and the engine suddenly choked out. I tried to get an indication of why and there were no warning lights at all. I checked my mirrors to find a reasonable means of escape and there was a large 18 wheeler cruising up on my right. As I popped the car into neutral and noticed the gas gauge . . . empty.

So there I am coasting up 400 in the third lane from the shoulder waiting for this truck to pass me. Naturally, I'm slowing down and a line of cars starts to form behind me. The lady immediately behind me is annoyed at first but she seemed to notice my urgency and she simmered down.

I cycled between looking for an opportunity to change lanes and looking for the emergency blinker button (by the way, that'll be one of the first things I identify when driving a new car from now on). About the time the truck cleared my path, two cars behind me peeled off and started passing me on the right.

There were a few things I knew for certain. First, I was going to run out of momentum and come to a full stop. Second, if I was stopped on 400, someone was going to get into an accident. Third, there was no way in hell I was gonna push that car off of the freeway. Fourth, as long as I didn't hit someone, I couldn't get in trouble if I caused an accident.

I decided that my best bet was to just change lanes and hope they see me before I either merge into them or get rear ended. I started over abruptly and was met with near collisions and very angry gestures. I rolled onto the shoulder and the car came to a stop without any brake input from me.

I sighed with relief, put the car in park, and turned off the ignition. Now, I know that the no passing on the right law applies to passing on the shoulder, not legitimate lanes of traffic; however, I think now that passing on the right should be a moving violation. If it were and it were also a moving violation for slower traffic to travel in the left lanes, then I could count on traffic to my right being clear.

Thus, those two cars which peeled off behind me would have peeled off to pass on the left and any cars on the right would've slowed down to keep from passing. In an emergency, you could count on being able to change lanes to the right without being hit by irritated passing drivers. Then, after only a brief upset to the flow of traffic, everyone would be able to go about their commute without incident.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

A Tribute to a Fallen Soldier

Soldiers' CrossI was out at PDK this weekend doing some more tailwheel landings. After we finished up, one of the guys who flies biplane rides around Atlanta in a Waco came up to us (he's friends with my flight instructor) and told us a really cool story.

He was taxiing for takeoff when the controller called and asked every plane on the field to stop and hold while a jet transporting a fallen American soldier landed and taxied to ramp. I thought it was a really cool tribute and it's great to be a part of that kind of community.

I love our soldiers and the sacrifices they make for us. I love our country for all that she gives us. God bless America.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Tailwheel Landings Trial III

Wheel LandingYou may have read my blog post a few weeks ago about my tailwheel landing fiasco. I got to do some more tailwheel landings this weekend and boy do I feel relieved.

We didn't get a chance to fly down to Peach State 'cause the weather was pretty bad, but we did fly and at long last, it finally clicked. I made wheel landing after wheel landing and I only had to go around once.

In the last few days, I've spent a lot of time thinking about about my last flight and trying to identify exactly what I did right. So, I have a few pointers for anyone else working on a tailwheel endorsement.

First, don't give up. Landing a tailwheel airplane can be pretty frustrating . . . especially a Super Decathlon . . . especially on a concrete runway . . . especially when it's windy. Eventually, you'll get it and it will be unbelievably satisfying.

Second, stay outside the cockpit. Your approach speed doesn't have to be exactly right. It's easier to bleed off extra airspeed than you think. Focus on the far end of the centerline and fly the plane into ground effect. When you minimize vertical speed, your airspeed will bleed off and you'll be surprised when the gear meets the runway.

Third, if your touchdown isn't as smooth as you may like, chances are your body will bounce a little even if the plane doesn't. I noticed that when I touched down just a little too hard, I didn't actually bounce even though I felt like I did, so instead of pushing the stick forward to pin her on the ground, I pulled back a little and added power. Therefore, even though I didn't bounce aerodynamically, I did bounce . . . err . . . patrickdynamically.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The GUMPS Landing Checklist

ReminderGUMPS is just a quick mnemonic to use in addition to your landing checklist to help you remember some of the most essential items during descent to landing. Please, always use your printed checklists!

Gas (fullest tank)
Undercarriage (gear down and locked)
Mixture (full rich)
Propeller (high RPM)
Switches (fuel pumps, magneto check, landing lights, etc)

If you're flying a plane with a carbureted engines, you might run the C-GUMPS or Charlie GUMPS checklist. Charlie stands for Carburetor (heat on).

I'd like to reiterate that this is a basic acronym to use in addition to the standard descent, approach, and landing checklists. Mental checklists should not be used as a substitute for an actual checklist.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Always Use Your Checklists

Patrick Using Preflight ChecklistMost of us are pretty good about using our preflight checklists before we take to the air, but what about all of the other checklists? When I was working on my instrument ticket, I got a lot better about using my in-flight checklists. In fact, if I fly a plane that doesn't have manufacturer checklists and I can't find any checklists online, then I make my own.

Why am I so dogmatic about checklist use? Using checklists takes a lot of the mental load off of flying; you can spend more effort executing the steps of the checklist when you don't have to try to remember them.

To be sure, you should try to be very familiar with your checklists (especially emergency checklists), even to the point that you could perform them from memory, but you shouldn't do it unless you just don't have enough time to pull the list out to check it.

Another benefit to using checklists is that you're less likely to lose your place in your checklist when there's a distraction. One time shortly after I got my private, I was flying into a relatively busy controlled airport and I was going through my descent checklist. Everything was going fine until someone behind me declared an emergency.

I started getting vectored all over the airspace for spacing. Things were very hectic for several minutes, but I wasn't worried; I had everything under control. When things settled down a bit, I started back through my mental descent and landing checklist. The problem was, I started back a few steps past where I stopped. I had missed the mixture.

Well everything went fine during the entire approach, but as I slowed down on rollout and with my power at idle, the mixture was just too lean and the engine sputtered out. Tower called and simply asked, "you gonna be able to get that started." I was already in the process of enriching the mixture and starting the engine so I called back embarassed, "Yessir. Sorry about that."

I was mortified by my awshit! Tower called back and said, "don't worry about it; it happens all the time." I talked to my instructor about it and he said, "don't get too down about it Patrick; people make mistakes, but I hope you learned from it." I still didn't feel very good about it and even telling it now is a little embarrassing.

Well, I did learn from it (and I hope you can learn from me); always use your checklists! Even something as simple as the GUMPS check can be confused by very simple interruptions.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

Saturday, May 2, 2009

What Use is a Flying Car

Flying CarThe flying car is finally here! But, is it worth it? Well, I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to fly (or drive) one, but I'm going to hazard to guess that no, it isn't worth it.

The fact of the matter is that a so called "Roadable Plane" couldn't possibly be better than a novelty item. The fact is that in order to turn a plane into a car and vice versa, you have to make a lot of compromises in both directions until the point where the vehicle isn't a very good plane and it isn't a very good car.

In fact, for the price tag of the Terrafugia, you can get two great planes and two great cars. If you just want a portable plane, I've flown a Piper Cub that had fold-able wings and could be trailered to and fro. If you want a plane that you can take off from the freeway to avoid traffic, well . . . you may have to wait until the freeways support it.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC

When We'll All Be Driving Flying Cars

Flying TrafficWhen I was a kid (no, I mean physically), I remember everybody talking about the day when everybody would be flying around in flying cars. I said then and I say now, "impossible!" Of course, by impossible, I mean "highly improbable."

So, why does a lifetime early adopter of technology believe there won't be flying cars? Well, I do believe there will be flying cars and indeed, Terrafugia has one that functions a lot better than some of the older experimental flying cars. I just don't think everybody will be flying them.

The thing is, I drive with a pretty good representative sample of everyone and I thank my lucky stars I don't have to share the air with them. I believe that the technological infrastructure required to keep everyone from flying into each other will be cost prohibitive until the roads simply cannot support the traffic we have.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking, "but Patrick, it takes me two hours to drive the 7 miles to work in the morning." It is true that there are some places, like Atlanta, where it can take you two hours to drive 7 miles. Well, I believe that it is considerably cheaper for traffic to expand outward before it expands upward.

At the point that the surface of the earth is so covered with roads that there's simply not enough room for people to drive anymore, the Earth will probably be unlivable. But, if the planet is still life supporting, then I definitely can see that traffic will expand upward; however, I think it's more likely that they'll just build roads on top of roads.

So, the flying car is a neat novelty, but in the lifetime of our planet, I doubt it will become commonplace.

Have fun. Be safe. Happy Piloting.
I really appreciate comments so please feel free to comment on my posts. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you. Also, feel free to link back to your own blog in your comments. You can even subscribe to an RSS feed of the comments on this thread.

© 2008 — , D. Patrick Caldwell, Vice President for Research and Development, Emerald Software Group, LLC