Scared of mid-airs

"Roger" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 11 May 2006 00:57:11 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
wrote:

It's that "developing" that concerns me and I have to wonder what
would have triggered such a response after several hundred hours. Of
course there is such a thing as thinking about negative consequences
too much and conditioning one's self to reinforce feelings we didn't
realize were there. It would be my opinion that it's time to spend
some time with a good instructor to find out why and to allay those
fears and turn them into thoughtful concern. Done early this sort of
thing is far, far easier to handle than later after it's had a chance
to become entrenched.

This is true.
I have had several occasions in my career when I began to have doubts about
my ability to survive the airshow demonstration venue. I know it happens to
"normal" pilots as well. Usually it's exposure to an element of risk that
for some reason you never actually considered as a high risk factor before.
It causes you to step back and re-evaluate your exposure to risk.
This is a key moment in a pilot's career if it ever happens. Most of the
time it doesn't happen and you just continue on flying, but if you are
exposed suddenly to something traumatic like witnessing a crash, the effect
can be profound in some pilots. This is a point where individual
personalities take hold. Most of us who fly, especially those of us who have
flown professionally are deeply into deductive reasoning (even if we don't
know it :-) and adjust to this kind of exposure by rationalization.
I know I've watched many of my friends killed in airshow crashes. My
rationalization of these incidents was such that I recognized the errors
involved and took necessary steps to avoid making these same errors myself,
or in the case of structrual failures, I rethought my own maintainence
program and adjusted. My bottom line on fear was that I avoided it through
rationalization that barring catestrophic events, I was in control of my own
fate in the air.
I think this works well for the everyday pilot also.
Any normal deductive reasoning by a pilot should yield the rationalization
that if a serious effort is made by a pilot to avoid trouble, barring
catestrophic event, the odds are extremely favorable that one can fly an
airplane through an entire lifetime and emerge safely at the other end of
the road.
For the pilot concerned about the possibility of a mid-air; the best way to
avoid having a mid-air is simply to AVOID having a mid-air.
Dudley

"Roger" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 10 May 2006 15:20:32 -0700, Mark Hansen
wrote:

I've had thee close encounters since 1963. The last was nearly 10
years ago when landing. It was nearly dark and an ultralight pulled
right in front of me just a few hundred feet off the ground when I was
on final. The two previous "close encounters" were back in the 60's
and within a couple of weeks of each other.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Most midair collisions seem to happen on a line aligned with the center of
the runway and on an approach course. The classic midair, and probably the
most common, is a low wing airplane making a steep final above a highwing
airplane making a shallow final. Once they turn final, neither can see the
other.

The best cure is a thorough scan of the airport traffic area when
approaching and a good look all around during all of the turns in the
pattern. I also STRONGLY recommend at least a short wings level portion on
the base leg when you can excercise the opportunity to thoroughly scan to
your right for aircraft on a straight in approach. Remember, they can be on
just about any approach slope from 2 degrees up to around 10 degrees. More
than 10 degrees and it is probably a space shuttle and you are landing on
the wrong runway! :-)

Always look for people 100 feet or so above or below the pattern altitude.
Also remember that the former "standard" pattern altitude was 800 feet AGL
while the current "standard" pattern altitude seems to be 1000 feet AGL.
Most airports use one or the other for their pattern altitude. At a strange
airport you may easily find yourself proudly using the wrong one, or, if you
are useing the correct one someone else may be using the other. Always
check both carefully.

Also check the pattern on BOTH sides of the runway. Someone may think there
is a right/left hand pattern in effect and be using the incorrect one.
When winds are light and variable virtually any runway may be in use.

I remember one time starting my flare at the Flying W Ranch in New Jersey
and looking up and seeing a Cessna 310 doing the exact same thing at the
other end of the runway! It got MY attention! :-)

Also be extremely careful if there are intersecting runways. Even if they
only intersect or almost intersect at one end. I remember one very
interesting landing at Philadelphia Internation back in the sixties. I was
in a Piper Apache landing to the west. I was number two after a Boeing 720
landing to the south. Those runways kinda intersect at the east end of the
EW runway and the north end of the NS runway. The big Boeing went by and
touched down off to my left. I was on short final over the river when I
suddenly found my self rolling at a very rapid rate well past ninety
degrees. I didn't see anyway possible that I could stop the roll and roll
back before I landed so I pushed and cranked in the direction of the roll.
I completed the roll and came wings level and then the mains touched down.
I really hadn't intended an aileron roll on short final, but that's what
happened. My charter pax were two airline pilots flying in for their ride.
They were a bit pale when they climbed out of that Peachy Apache! Of
course I was the cool calm and collected high time charter jock. I thanked
them for the business, closed the door, and proceeded to get takeoff
clearance back the way I came in, and took off to the east. As I got out
over the river the door popped open. The cool, calm and collected high time
charter jock hadn't remembered to latch the darn door. I can say from
experience that if you are solo in a Piper Apache and the door pops open you
are NOT going to get it closed and latched unless you land. There was no
way I was going to turn around and go back into PHL! I flew on down to
Bridgeton, NJ and landed there and closed and latched the door. Then I flew
on home to MIV. Another day in the life of a charter jock! :-)

Highflyer
Highflight Aviation Services
Pinckneyville Airport ( PJY )

"Highflyer" wrote in message
...
I remember one time starting my flare at the Flying W Ranch in New Jersey
and looking up and seeing a Cessna 310 doing the exact same thing at the
other end of the runway! It got MY attention! :-)

That was probably Bill Whitesell!
:-)
Dudley

Highflyer schrieb:

I've had thee close encounters since 1963. The last was nearly 10
years ago when landing.

The most dangerous near misses are those which you'll never know.

Stefan

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 10:01:50 +0200, Stefan
wrote:

Highflyer schrieb:

I've had thee close encounters since 1963. The last was nearly 10
years ago when landing.

The most dangerous near misses are those which you'll never know.

Near miss. No, I've never had one that almost missed me.
The closest was about a foot with the top of the tail of a Comanche
under my seat. Although that vertical stabilizer had to be closer to
that to the wheels on the old Piper Colt. He was flying the express
way low and I do mean low. He had to gain altitude for the overpass
and there we were on final for 36.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Stefan
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Stefan wrote:

The most dangerous near misses are those which you'll never know.

Stefan


I can see where the original poster's apprehension stems from, having
flown once, from the FO's seat. I wasn't at all inhibited in doing a
stall, steepish banks and other jiggles - in fact, I did them all
merrily. But I was petrified throughout the ride because the craft, a
JetFox, didn't have a radar and the only way of recognizing traffic in
the immediate neighborhood was by actually looking out the window. Just
felt a sense of being helplessly vulnerable in an open sky. It might go
away if I fly more, because the Capn seemed very assured

Is it correct to assume that one can always be whacked by traffic
coming from between the 4 and 8 o'clock positions, especially if the
other craft is faster and climbing?

Ramapriya

Mark
I spent about 15 years ag flying there near Modesto before I decided to
get out of the PRC. I'm merely trying to illustrate the point that in a
lot of hours flying I've never had any near mid-airs. I have seen the
aftermath of a number of them however and have talked to pilots who
were involved. So far they haven't given me nightmares nor do I expect
them to.
As Dudley and others have mentioned, I also train every pilot I fly
with to keep their heads on a swivel looking out for the pilot who
isn't! Sometimes they happen in spite of the best avoidance efforts.
Cheers
Ol Shy & Bashful

"Ol Shy & Bashful" wrote:
I've been flying all over the
world and much of it, about 13000 hours, crop dusting.

I could see running into tall scarecrows, birds, or the occasional semi-
trailer Magnum Oil truck while you try to kill Cary Grant, but I can't see
you encountering many other planes at the low altitudes you probably spent
all that time flying. :-)

By the way, are you the pilot flying this plane:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3...1600/NBN12.jpg

;-)

Jim
Nah...I'm not quite THAT old!! Well, maybe I am but it wasn't me
flying. I didn't start crop dusting until 1966.g
Cheers

On Wed, 10 May 2006 22:20:58 -0000, Jim Logajan
wrote:

"Ol Shy & Bashful" wrote:
I've been flying all over the
world and much of it, about 13000 hours, crop dusting.

I could see running into tall scarecrows, birds, or the occasional semi-
trailer Magnum Oil truck while you try to kill Cary Grant, but I can't see
you encountering many other planes at the low altitudes you probably spent
all that time flying. :-)

You do generally have to pull up to make the turns and that puts you
into Piper Cub territory.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

By the way, are you the pilot flying this plane:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3...1600/NBN12.jpg

;-)