Transcript Slide 1
Redefining Airmanship by Tony Kerns Presentation to NH CAP Pilots By Bill Moran, Col (ret) USAF, CFII, ATP, Capt Alpha Flying AIRMANSHIP A Systems Approach Bedrock Principles Pillars of Knowledge Capstone Outcomes Feb AOPA article AIRMANSHIP Capstone outcomes – Judgment and situational awareness Pillars of knowledge – Self, aircraft, team, environment and risk Bedrock principles – Discipline, skill and proficiency Discipline There is only one kind of discipline – prefect discipline Ability and willpower to safely employ aircraft – Violation is a conscious and willful act Rogue aviators – B-52H at Fairchild AFB Discipline (cont) Within Operational, Regulatory, Organizational, Common Sense guidelines – Changes are always occurring – Excuses - nobody will get hurt, safety margins built in, rules are for inept flyers, we are overregulated and I need to push myself to improve Skill and Proficiency A two edge sword Skill levels – successive layers of expertise – where do you stack up? – Safely - pass a private flight check – Effectiveness - pass a mission pilot flight check – Efficiency – no second thoughts…on the Apollo - maximize training – Precision and continuous improvement – what went wrong and how could I have done better Confidence is a skill multiplier What a pity when you are call upon to do something special and you are unprepared Skill and Proficiency A two edge sword Experience – First role model CFI - who – First emergency Did it go well – First big change WX, malfunction, what changed Skill and Proficiency A two edge sword Personal currency – It is legal, but is it safe? – How good are you at night? You are the best barometer of your own performance – trust no one – Get some practice with a CFI before you are in a situation saying, I think I can, I think I can Skill and Proficiency A two edge sword Physical skills lost – 50% GA pilots physical skills lost - landings, steep turns -common theme - lost finesse Mental proficiency – loss faster than physical – Predication, estimation, decision making – 50-90% of pilots make cognitive errors (communications, stall recog, fuel est, time est) on a 24 month check Skill and Proficiency A two edge sword Personal skill development plan – – – – – – State skill development goal Define and locate resources Define education/training requirements State objectives Plan instruction Conduct training and re-evaluate skill level You have a moral obligation to correct a deficiency or STAY OUT OF THE SKY Pillar - Know yourself Physical self – medical airworthiness – Altitude, Orientation, Sleep, Self Med, Vision Psychological airworthiness – Hazard attitudes – get home-itis, antiauthority, macho, invulnerability, impulsiveness, resignation, complacency Maturity marks an airman Pillar – Know you aircraft Know what and how to learn – Single engine Key to expertise: continuous and systematic study – When did you last open a C-182 AIM Unwritten knowledge and “gotchas” – C-182T landings Pillar – Know you team Teamwork – Good communications, distribute workload, decision making – who flies, who works the problem, most conservative rule, two pilot challenge CRM – Leadership, followership Break the error chain A cockpit is not a democracy nor is it a bloody violent, or long continuous conflict (Webster’s 1990) Pillar – Know your environment Physical – atmosphere (wx), terrain, air density and light…MEF Regulatory – learning regs (FAA Handbook for Flying - soft field takeoff), local - noise, FARs - Part 61-, – NASA ASRS Organizational – what is the organizational culture, Downeast Airlines Pillar - Know your risk Risk nothing, gain nothing – We manage risk through personal awareness and process improvement – You must understand all the other pillars before you can assess and manage risk Hazard identification – always have a way out…what’s an alternate for? Risk assessment, up the approval level Logical process…its risk management – No process…it’s a gamble Capstone outcome SITUATIONAL AWARENESS SA is an accurate perception of what is going on What has happened, what is happening, what might happen Stay ahead of the aircraft SA Level One SA – perceive a cue - flight control vs fuel imbalance – speed up or slow down – Enemies - channelized attention, distraction, task saturation Level Two SA – attach meaning to observation Experience really helps here Level Three SA – anticipate C-182 G1000 Las Vegas fatal SA How important is SA? – Channelized attention number one factor in USAF reports – Recognizing lost SA Sixth sense feeling of uncertainty Fixation Poor communications Failure to meet targets Reduced maneuvering Failure to stay ahead of the aircraft Operating outside of known limitations Improving SA Define roles Manage distractions Reduce overload Avoid complacency Test assumptions Intervene SA Get away from the dirt Stabilize your aircraft Buy time Seek information Learn from your experience Manage your destiny…you alone know when you are not performing or thinking normally CAPSTONE outcome JUDGMENT Good judgment supports the three major goals of airmanship…safety, mission effectiveness, and efficiency Improving judgment requires a solid foundation of knowledge and process for study and improvement. 60% of fatal accidents are the result of poor decision making JUDGMENT Art or Science – Both Not everything is a “if-then” Intuitive side does play – Decision making is an acquired skill, developed through knowledge and practice Read page 258 – FAA definition JUDGMENT Assess the situation – How much time do I have to work the problem? Portland United flight ran out of gas JUDGMENT Determine alternatives – Rule based decisions…“go-no-go” – Knowledge based decisions…requires more mental effort Well define…which way around the thunderstorm Ill defined…most challenging JUDGMENT Make a decision – Decision making hazards Strength of idea…comes from an expert Groupthink Scheduling…delays and premature actions Seeking a prefect solution…tlar Fall back on our knowledge and experience JUDGMENT “We must make a searching self-assessment of ourselves to determine our current state of readiness to make quality decisions” “Because of the complexity of aviation decision making, judgment is best viewed as an art and science” Airmanship on the edge United 323, DC-10-10 Sioux Falls, Iowa – Luck – Communications – Preparation – Execution – Cooperation Inhibitors and obstacles to achieving airmanship Discipline – Daredevil…T-37 ACE – Peer pressure…Downeast – Air show syndrome…B-1B – Finis Flight – Lack of oversight – All instructor crews…C-182 G-1000 Las Vegas Inhibitors to skill and proficiency Poor self-assessment – Current and qualified does not mean skilled and proficient Poor instruction – Instructor first impression is usually a good one Inability to accept criticism – Always have an excuse Resources – Flying is expensive Inhibitors to knowing yourself What lens are you looking through – Do you have the time to look at yourself Overzealous critics – Criticism is like eating a peanut with a shell on it. Eat the good part, spit out the bad and forget about it Sycophants – Never a negative feedback Inhibitors to knowing your aircraft Improper/no study past private cert – Are you more knowledgeable now??? Keeping current…checked out in too many aircraft TAA…no time, no money – Simulator, powercart Inhibitors to knowing your team Solo pilot mentality Poor communication and egocentricism – Watch this… – Fail a system to see if he catches it Inhibitors to knowing your environment Physical – Weather…Nor’easter location, ocean coast or mountain – Geography…down drafts in the notches – Relying on ATC for weather avoidance Regulatory – No notification…NOTAMS changed in Jan 08 Organizational – Unstated, unwritten Inhibitors to knowing risk Lack of systematic approach to hazard avoidance – CAP…should get 10 rest…should??? Complacency and overconfidence – Acting in a mental state unaware of dangers – Read magazines AOPA, IFR, accident reports, ask – “what if’ Inhibitors to SA and Judgment “Any inhibitors to the foundation blocks…discipline, skill and proficiency or to the knowledge pillars…self, aircraft, team, environment, and risk naturally inhibits SA and Judgment.” Redefining Airmanship Get the book and read it What I did not cover – understanding airmanship error and the marks of an airman…principles and jump-starting.