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Episode 70 - Equipment Use - Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge · Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge

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  Equipment use autopilot systems. In a single pilot environment, an autopilot system can
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  greatly reduce workload prefer to Figure seventeen Dash twenty. As a result, the
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  pilot is free to focus his or her attention on other flight deck duties.
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  This can improve situational awareness and reduce the possibility of a sea fit accident.
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  While the addition of an autopilot may certainly be considered a risk control measure,
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  the real challenge comes in determining the impact of an inoperative unit. If the
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  autopilot is known to be inoperative prior to departure, this may factor into the
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  evaluation of other risks. For example, the pilot may be planning for a
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  VHF omnidirectional range ther approach down to minimums on a dark night into an unfamiliar
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  airport. In such a case, the pilot may have been relying heavily on
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  a functioning autopilot capable of flying a coupled approach. This would free the pilot
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  to monitor aircraft performance. A malfunctioning autopilot could be the single factor that takes
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  this from a medium to a serious risk. At this point, an alternative
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  needs to be considered. On the other hand, if the autopilot were to
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  fail at a critical, high workload portion of this same flight, the pilot
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  must be prepared to take action instead of simply being an inconvenience. This could
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  quickly turn into an emergency if not properly handled. The best way to ensure
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  a pilot is prepared for such an event is to carefully study the issue prior
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  to departure and determine well in advance how an autopilot failure is to be handled.
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  Familiarity. As previously discussed, pilot familiarity with all equipment is critical in
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  optimizing both safety and efficiency. If a pilot is unfamiliar with any aircraft systems,
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  this will add to the workload and may contribute to a loss of situational
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  where This level of proficiency is critical and should be looked upon as a requirement,
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  not unlike carrying an adequate supply of fuel. As a result, pilot
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  should not look upon unfamiliarity with the aircraft in its systems as a risk control
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  measure, but instead as a hazard with a high risk potential. Discipline is
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  key to success. Respect for onboard systems. Automation can assist the pilot in
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  many ways, but a thorough understanding of the system or systems in use is
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  essential to gaining the benefits it can offer. Understanding leads to respect, which
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  is achieved through discipline and the mastery of the onboard systems. It is important
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  to fly the airplane using minimal information from the primary flight display PFD. This
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  includes turns, climbs, descents, and being able to fly approaches. Reinforcement
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  of onboard suites. The use of an electronic flight display may not seem intuitive,
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  but competency becomes better with understanding and practice. Computer based software and incremental
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  training help the pilot become comfortable with the onboard suites. Then the pilot needs
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  to practice what was learned in order to gain experience. Reinforcement not only yields
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  dividends in the use of automation, it also reduces workloads significantly. Getting beyond
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  ROTE workmanship. The key to working effectively with automation is getting beyond the sequential
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  process of executing an action. If a pilot has to analyze what key to
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  push next, or always uses the same sequence of keystrokes when others are available,
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  he or she may be trapped in a ROTE process. This mechanical process
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  indicates a shallow understanding of the system. Again, the desire is to become
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  competent and know what to do without having to think about what keystroke is next.
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  Operating the system with potency and comprehension benefits a pilot when situations become more
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  diverse and tasks increase, understanding the platform. Contrary to popular belief, flight
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  in aircraft equipped with different electronic management suites requires the same attention as aircraft equipped
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  with analog instrumentation and a conventional suite of avionics. The pilot should review and
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  understand the different ways in which the EFD are used in a particular aircraft.
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  Refer to Figure seventeen twenty one two simple rules for use of an ef D.
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  Be able to fly the aircraft to the standards in the pts. Although
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  this may seem insignificant, knowing how to fly the aircraft to a standard makes
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  a pilot's airmanship smoother and allows him or her more time to attend to the
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  system instead of managing multiple tasks. Read and understand the installed electronic flight systems
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  manuals to include the use of the autopilot and other onboard electronic management tools.
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  Managing aircraft automation. Before any pilot can master aircraft automation, he or she
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  must first know how to fly the aircraft. Maneuver's training remains an important component
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  of flight training because almost forty percent of all general aviation accidents take place in
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  the landing phase, one realm of flight that still does not involve programming a
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  computer to execute. Another fifteen percent of all general aviation accidents occurs during takeoff
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  an initial climb. An advanced avionic safety issue identified by the FAA concerns pilots
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  who apparently develop an unwarranted overreliance in their avionics and the aircraft, believing that
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  the equipment will compensate for pilot shortcomings. Related to the overreliance is the role
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  of ADM, which is probably the most significant factor in the general aviation accident
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  record. Of high formance aircraft used for cross country flight. The FAA Advanced
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  Avionics Aircraft's Safety Study found that poor decision making seems to afflict new advanced avionics
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  pilots at a rate higher than that of general aviation as a whole. The
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  review of advanced avionics accidents cited in this study shows the majority are not caused
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  by something directly related to the aircraft, but by the pilot's lack of experience
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  and a chain of poor decisions. One consistent theme in many of the fatal
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  accidents is continued VFR flight into IMC. Thus, pilot skills for normal and
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  emergency operations hinge not only on mechanical manipulation of the stick and rudder, but
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  also include the mental mastery of the EFD. Three key flight management skills are
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  needed to fly the advanced avionics safely. Information automation, and risk nation management.
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  For the newly transitioning pilot, the PFD, MFD and GPS SLANT BHF
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  navigator screens seem to offer too much information presented in colorful menus and sub menus.
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  In fact, the pilot may be drowning in information but unable to find
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  a specific piece of information. It might be helpful to remember these systems are
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  similar to computers, which store some folders on a desktop and some within a
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  hierarchy. The first critical information management skill for flying with advanced avionics is to
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  understand the system at a conceptual level. Remembering how the system is organized helps
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  the pilot manage the available information. It is important to understanding that learning knob
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  and dial procedures is not enough. Learning more about how advanced avionics systems work
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  leads to better memory for procedures and allows pilots to solve problems they have not
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  seen before. There are also limits to understanding. It is generally impossible to
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  understand all of the behaviors of a complex avionics system. Knowing to expect surprises
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  and to continually learn new things is more effective than attempting to memorize mechanical manipulation
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  of the knobs. Simulation software and books on the specific system used are of
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  great value. The second critical information management skill is to stop look and read.
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  Pilots new to advanced avionics often become fixated on the knobs and try to
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  memorize each and every sequence of button pushes, pulls, and turns. A
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  far better strategy for accessing and managing the information available in advanced avionics computers is
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  to stop look and read. Reading before pushing, pulling, or twisting can
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  often save a pilot some trouble. Once behind the display screens on an advanced
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  avionics aircraft, the pilot's goal is to meet, manage, and prioritize the
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  information flow to accomplish specific tasks. Certificated flight instructors cfis, as well as
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  pilots transitioning to advanced avionics, will find it helpful to corral the information flow.
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  This is possible through such tactics as configuring the aspects of the PFD and
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  MFD screens according to personal preferences. For example, most systems offer map orientation
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  options that include north up, track up, DTK, desired track up,
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  and heading up. Another tactic is to decide, when possible, how much
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  or how little information to display. Pilots can tailor the information displayed to suit
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  the needs of a specific flight. Information flow can also be managed for a
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  specific operation. The pilot has the ability to prioritize information for a timely display
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  of exactly the information needed for any given flight operation. Examples of managing information
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  display for specific operation include program map scale settings for en route versus terminal area
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  operation. Utilize the terrain awareness page on the MFD for a night or IMC
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  flight in or near the mountains. Use the nearest airports in set on the
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  PFD at night or over inhospitable terrain. Program the weather data link set to
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  show echoes and met our status flags. Enhanced situational awareness. An advanced avionics
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  aircraft offers increased safety with enhanced situational awareness. Although aircraft Flight manuals AFM explicitly
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  prohibit using the moving map, topography to rain awareness, traffic and weather data
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  link displays as the primary data source, these tools nonetheless give the pilot unprecedented
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  information for ann situational awareness without a well planned information management strategy. These tools
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  also make it easy for an unwary pilot to slide into the complacent role of
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  passenger in command. Consider the pilot whose navigational information management strategy consists solely of
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  following the magenta line on the moving map. He or she can easily fly
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  into geographic or regulatory disaster if the straight line GPS course goes through high terrain
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  or prohibited airspace, or if the moving map display fails. A good strategy
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  for maintaining situational awareness information management should include practices that help ensure that awareness is
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  enhanced by the use of automation, not diminished. Two basic procedures are to
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  always double check the system and verbal call outs at a minimum ensure the presentation
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  makes sense. Was the correct destination fed into the navigation system call outs,
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  even for single pilot operations, are an excellent way to maintain situational awareness as
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  well as manage information. Other ways to maintain situational awareness include perform verification check
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  of all programming before departure. Check all information programmed while on the ground.
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  Check the flight routing before departure. Ensure all routing matches the planned flight route.
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  Enter the planned route and legs to include headings and leg length on a
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  paper log. Use this log to evaluate what has been programmed. If the
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  two do not match, do not assume the computer data is correct. Double
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  check the computer entry. Verify waypoints. Make use of all onboard navigation equipment.
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  For example, use VR to back up GPS and vice versa. Match
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  the use of the automated system with pilot proficiency. Stay with personal limitations.
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  Plan a realistic flight route to maintain situational awareness. For example, although the
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  onboard equipment allows a direct flight from Denver, Colorado to Destin, Florida,
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  the likelihood of rerouting around Egglin Air Force Bases airspace is high. Be ready
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  to verify computer data entries. For example, incorrect keystrokes could lead to loss
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  of situational awareness because the pilot may not recognize errors made during a high workload
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  period. Automation management Advanced avionics offer multiple levels of automation, from strictly manual
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  flight to highly automated flight. No one level of automation is appropriate for all
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  flight situations, but in order to avoid potentially dangerous situations when flying with advanced
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  avionics, the pilot must know how to manage the Course Deviation Indicator CDI,
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  the navigation source, and the autopilot. It is important for a pilot to
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  know the peculiarities of the particular automated system being used. This ensures the pilot
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  knows what to expect, how to monitor for proper operation, and promptly take
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  appropriate action if the system does not perform as expected. For example, at
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  the most basic level, managing the autopilot means knowing at all times which modes
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  are engaged and which modes are armed. To engage, the pilot needs to
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  verify that armed functions, for example, navigation tracking or altitude capture engage at
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  the appropriate time. Automation management is another good place to practice the call out
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  technique, especially after arming the system to make a changing course or altitude.
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  In advanced avionics, aircraft. Proper automation management also requires a thorough understanding of
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  how the autopilot interacts with other systems. For example, with some autopilots changing
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  the navigation source on the EHSI from GPS to LC or VR while the autopilot
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  is engaged in NAV, the course tracking mode will cause the autopilot's NAV mode
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  to disengage. The autopilot's lateral control will default to rol wing level until the
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  pilot takes action to re engage the NAV mode to track the desired navigation source.
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  Risk management. Risk management is the last of the three management skills needed
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  for mastery of the glass flight deck aircraft. The enhanced situational awareness and automation
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  capabilities offered by a glass flight deck airplane vastly expand its safety and utility,
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  especially for personal transportation use. At the same time, there is some risk
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  that lighter workloads could lead to complacency. Humans are characteristically poor monitors of automated
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  systems. When asked to passively monitor an automated system for faults, abnormalities,
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  or other infrequent events, humans perform poorly. The more reliable the system,
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  the poorer the human performance. For example, the pilot only monitors a backup
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  alert system, rather than the situation that the alert system is designed to safeguard.
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  It is a paradox of automation that technically advanced davionics can both increase and
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  decrease pilot awareness. It is important to remember that electronic flight displays do not
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  replace basic flight knowledge and skills. They are a tool for improving flight safety.
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  Risk increases when the pilot believes the gadgets will compensate for lack of skill
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  and knowledge. It is especially important to recognize there are limits to what the
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  electronic systems in any light general aviation aircraft. Do. Being pic requires sound
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  adm which sometimes means saying no to a flight. Risk is also increased when
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  the pilot fails to monitor the systems. By failing to monitor the systems and
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  failing to check the results of the processes, the pilot becomes detached from the
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  aircraft operation and slides into the complacent role of passenger in command. Complacency led
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  to tragedy in a nineteen ninety nine aircraft accident in Columbia, a multi engine
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  aircraft crewed with two pilots struck the face of the Andes Mountains. Examination of
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  their FMS revealed they entered a waypoint into the FMS incorrectly by one degree,
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  resulting in a flight path taking them to a point sixty nautical miles off their
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  intended course. The pilots were equipped with the proper charts, their route was
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  posted on the charts, and they had a paper navigation log indicating the direction
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  of each leg. They had all the tools to manage and monitor their flight,
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  but instead allowed the automation to fly and manage itself. The system did
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  exactly what it was programmed to do. It flew on a programmed course into
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  a mountain, resulting in multiple deaths. The pilots simply failed to manage the
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  system and inherently created their own hazard. Although this hazard was self induced,
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  what is notable is the risk the pilots created through their own inattention by failing
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  to evaluate each turn made at the direction of automation, the pilot's maximized risk
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  instead of minimizing it. In this case, a totally avoidable accident became a
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  tragedy through simple pilot error and complacency. For the general aviation pilot transitioning to
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  automated systems, it is helpful to note that all human activity involving technical devices
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  entails some element of risk. Knowledge, experience, and mission require ernaments tilt
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  the odds in favor of safe and successful flights. The advanced avionics aircraft offers
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  many new capabilities and simplifies the basic flying tasks, but only if the pilot
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  is properly trained and all the equipment is working as advertised. Chapter Summary.
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  This chapter focuses on helping the pilot improve his or her ADM skills, with
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  the goal of mitigating the risk factors associated with flight in both classic and automated
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  aircraft. In the end, the discussion is not so much about aircraft,
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  but about the people who fly them. End of Part seven of Chapter seventeen.