Editorial: Where The Heck Are We?
By Ed Downs
As is often the case, this month’s editorial thoughts were triggered by a press release. In many instances, press releases and/or news announcements offer current information that requires further investigation or thought. In this case, the press release was sent by one of In Flight USA’s premier advertisers, DuraCharts. The details of this release are in this issue, but what caught my attention was the announcement that sectional chart subscriptions are no longer available from the FAA.
Okay, not a big deal you may think? After all, with modern electronic flight bags, cell phone apps and advanced aircraft technology, the old concept of messing around with a big piece of paper in the cockpit seems incredibly old fashioned. But there is a “rest of the story” to be told about this announcement from the FAA.
This writer teaches Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics (FIRC’s) around the country. The subject material presented in a FIRC is strictly mandated by the FAA and must be presented through use of an approved curriculum with a minimum time spent on each subject. FIRC’s are not a casual event. More than half of the mandated minimums of 16 hours of FIRC training now deal with the subjects of Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) and human factors. Basically, the FAA, NTSB, and other safety experts have come to the conclusion that a new (or at least more frequent) type of aviation accident is emerging, often connected with a loss of situational awareness. It is brought about by the complex interfaces required to manage advanced technology nav/com systems and their interface to sophisticated auto pilot functions.
The basic message being promoted by the FAA and safety experts is this: When mentally overloaded, confused, lost, or trying to control a misbehaving airplane, disconnect the auto systems and get back to being a pilot. Hand fly the plane and start doing the mental job needed that may have been relinquished to a gadget. Such action could mean getting back to the basics of using a paper chart, but by stopping subscription services, the FAA is making that more difficult to do. One does wonder about the old “right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing” analogy being applicable to this situation.
Now, let’s be clear, I am not opposed to the multitude of high technology systems available (either hard wired or hand held). I actually participated in the original development of such systems. I like them, use them, and do not like to leave home without them, but every flight this writer takes begins hours, sometimes days, before wheels up. All too many pilots appear to be giving up the long held tradition of laying out a flight on the kitchen table the night before departure in favor of simply entering a “direct to” command into the hard wired or hand held GPS after the engine is started. In other words, pre-flight planning is rapidly becoming a line item on the “After Engine Start” checklist.
Many pilots are simply reacting to the incredible amount of operational information available to them instead of planning in advance and choosing that data which is of the most value, given a set of expected requirements. The concept of pre-flight planning, that is, developing a mental image of how the upcoming event should play out, is nothing new. In aviation, we see this type of thought process with skilled aerobatic pilots, who will silently walk through an entire airshow routine, using their hands to visualize the flight to come. We prepare for important public speaking engagements just as professional sports teams develop a specific game strategy before taking the field. Planning works, reaction is unpredictable.
But back to our friends at DuraChart. Without a doubt, opening a sectional chart, drawing a line and taking a look at features and terrain along the entire route is a terrific way to gain overall situational orientation regarding a planned flight. One does not have to change and adjust the electronic image, select menus or remember how to scale the electronic device. You simply turn a page on the chart, a task that must be learned if one is to do it right.
Sectional charts, (including the commercially produced DuraCharts) are folded in a manner similar to the column spacing used by newspapers published in New York and intended to be held in one hand while the other hand is hanging onto a strap in a bus or subway car. No joke, when first opened, a sectional chart can be read just as if you were flipping the pages of a long, narrow, book. Once you reach the correct page, the bottom or top of the long, narrow chart can be folded back, leaving one with a 10-inch by 10-inch view of the country, quite similar to that size of an electronic tablet.
Fortunately, the commercially produced DuraCharts are of significantly higher print quality than that of government produced charts and printed on a much tougher material. DuraCharts accommodates multiple folding, unfolding, crushing and general abuse never intended for charts, such as a sun shield, tablecloth and even (in a pinch) burp bag (beats using your shoe!) For this writer, the ability to subscribe to DuraChart services beats the heck out of hoping my local FBO has a fresh selection of charts. Check out www.duracharts.com for pricing that takes one back some fifteen years in time.
This writer not only teaches FIRC’s but also teaches weekend training programs for sport, private, commercial and instrument pilots. It has become common for students (numbering in the hundreds each year) to show up with the latest tablet and/or cell phone apps. But using an electronic chart requires training on the electronic device, needs electric power, some form of size scaling, menu selections to search data, brightness selection, scrolling and other cognitive (meaning you have to think about what you are doing) actions to interpret information.
Frequently, one must leave the chart screen to review the chart legend or look up information on military airspace. It has become this CFI’s standard practice to ask my classroom students to plan a short cross country flight based upon the appropriate written exam, using their electronic device. Those without a device are given a loaner chart. Many do not know how to flight plan using the device, but simply how to follow an airplane symbol moving along a GPS based course line. Once the devices are up and running, I will ask that the student look a hundred miles ahead of the practice present position and determine if a climb to clear mountainous terrain might be required. While that question can be quickly answered by simply flipping the page of a sectional chart, it is “heads down” time for the device users. Watching “senior CFI’s” trying to do this is truly amusing! Then, as most in the room assume the “heads down” position, exploring menu options, I will yell “TRAFFIC AT TWELEVE O’CLOCK, ONE HALF MILE” and watch the reaction. Yep, a lesson is learned. The point is that situational awareness means NOT being so tied up in a specific operation that you forget that the pilot’s primary job is to fly the plane. Interestingly enough, the chart side of the classroom is typically heads up by the time I call the traffic!
Yes, the old fashioned use of charts is being promoted as a safety factor important to the operation of high technology systems and aircraft. Charts are not sensitive to sunlight or screen reflection and can be easily read while wearing polarized dark glasses. They can be held and manipulated with one hand, leaving the remaining hand available to fly the plane – a necessary consideration. They are lightweight and cheap. A sudden ATC clearance can be written on a chart without the need to search for a piece of paper. And let’s not forget the ability to block out the glare of the sun at just the right moment.
Perhaps most important, the simple sectional chart offers one the ability to look at the big picture of a planned flight long before the flight takes place. So, is this simply a pitch to say “the good old days are better than modern technology?” Absolutely not! Technology has contributed greatly to the usefulness of our flying machines and, when properly trained in the use of such technology, enables a pilot to operate with a significant increase in situational awareness. The key to the use of new technology is training and the ability to manage the multiple tasks presented by such technology.
But when things start going weird, follow the advice of the FAA safety folks and disconnect the auto flight management systems, grasp the wheel with one hand and a chart with the other … then become what your certificate says you are … a pilot.
