The new Fork Tailed Doctor Killer

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:10:15 +0000 (UTC), Bertie the Bunyip
wrote:

Dudley Henriques wrote in
:

Bob F. wrote:
I had an interesting event years ago with an owner of a light twin
who took off from FXE to go to PMP, just after lift off, reach down
to pull the gear up, stopped and said, "you know what, It's only 7
miles to PMP, I'm just going to leave the gear down". Ok, sounds ok
to me. There was a quick call to PMP, two turns later and we are
downwind. He does a GUMPS check and RETRACTS the gear. I said to
myself, this is going to be interesting. He's trying to slow the
airplane down but hasn't put it together that he just got rid of a
lot of drag. He turns final, still over speed, and I ask him to do
another GUMP check and he misses it again. Halfway down final I tell
him to call the tower and tell him we are going around. He does,
initiates a go around procedure and this time, on climb out, realizes
the gear is already up. What a surprise look on his face. So after
we got on the ground and started talking about this, we wondered what
it was that he was actually training himself to do. He was not
correlating gear up - take off, gear down -landing. Nor was he
correlating "three green - gear down". All he was training himself
to do was to "flip the switch into the other position". We talked
about using rituals in order to reduce accidents, like when you take
off, bring the gear up, no matter how close the next landing will be.
I also have never heard of one of my students land gear up since I
teach 3 checks. 1 full check list before pattern, 2 enter pattern
GUMPS list, and 3 short final say "three green".

I do the same, and did so for years while instructing. Many gear up
accidents are caused by the go around scenario where the gear cycle
gets reversed. I've always taught that a go around means a complete
clean up of the airplane, then a recheck of the prelanding checklist.
I also agree on the triple check. I suggest a final GUMPS check
performed by a verbal touch, identify, and verify method immediately
after the base to final turn.
There's nothing better to keep you in good health in the aviation
business than a good solid no changes allowed habit pattern!!



Hmm. My own view of it is that at any given moment, you're screwing
somethng up. If there's a mistake to be made, you're going to make it.
That means looking around for the error and double checking double
checking and double checking again. Assuming that your habits will
protect you just never worked for me. I'm not saying you shouldn't have
them, far from it, I'm just saying the best safety net I've discovered
for myself is that of a heft suspicion that ATC, the company, Boeing,
the FO and myself especially, are all conspiring to kill me.

I know for a fact ATC has tried a number of times on me:-))
First, I use a verbal checklist, do it, then verify against a written.
Even then, if we do it enough times we will see what we expect and
particularly when pressed for time.

In addition I have a 100 foot gear check.


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

Dudley Henriques wrote in
:



Remember, we're talking professional display flying here. Some of these
guys and gals are unrestricted. That's level 1 flying and vertical
recoveries with these guys are made right on the deck. This means
extreme accuracy through their top gates where airspeed and altitude
have to be exactly right. Too slow and you lose altitude through the
float. Too fast and the recovery line is extended. Too low and you have
Chris Stricklin's Thunderbird F16 at Mountain Home, and "that ain't
good" :-))




Oh I know. No more for me, thanks. Not with what I know now.

Bertie

Roger wrote in
:



I know for a fact ATC has tried a number of times on me:-))
First, I use a verbal checklist, do it, then verify against a written.
Even then, if we do it enough times we will see what we expect and
particularly when pressed for time.

Yeah, very good point. The mind often ses what it wants to. One of my
earliest instructors repeatedly warned me about this and taught me to
touch everything I was checking in a deliberate manner. The theory being
that the hand is not so easily fooled as the eye. I especially like you
ucing the checklist as a checklist rather than a do list..

In addition I have a 100 foot gear check.

Hey, I'd send my kids up with you


Bertie

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:53:25 -0400, Dudley Henriques wrote:

Each pilot should and will develop his/her
own method of dealing with the flying environment.

The "tools" we ingrain from the beginning will just be integrated and
used to reflect this individual platform.
The main thing is that we all have to learn to use some form of
structure within a solid habit pattern scenario.

--
Dudley Henriques

The mark of a great instructor (in any field IMO) is the ability to do
exactly that. Structure the teaching, make room for the student to
absorb it then deliver performance within his own "way", personality,
mechanics.....two extreme examples of low and high performances are
pitching a baseball/hitting a baseball and hop skotch. You can teach
only certain number of principles in the first two, at release or
impact, both players will, essentially, be close to the same (within
certain tolerances that can be measured).

Prior to release or impact, a great deal of variance is not only
acceptable but arguably mandatory. This is the personalization of the
task, the "way" or mechanics.

Hop skotch can be taught the same way to nearly everyone.

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:18:06 -0400, Roger wrote:

What puzzles me is not the decision to take off, but rather the low
climb rate and the decision to use runway 27. If the weather resembled
what was reported nearby at OKV, runway 9 would have had a negligible
tailwind component.

Probably the same reason after all these years of using tools I stuck
my thumb in a table saw a little over a month ago. Up 16 hours,
something on his mind, decision making capabilities gone out the
window.

Not making excuses but doctors (for one of many professions) are like
this. They are forced to have to deal with fatigue and high level
decision making, it usually is someone else's life. Familiarity breeds
contempt (of life possibly ITC)

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote in
:


Remember, we're talking professional display flying here. Some of these
guys and gals are unrestricted. That's level 1 flying and vertical
recoveries with these guys are made right on the deck. This means
extreme accuracy through their top gates where airspeed and altitude
have to be exactly right. Too slow and you lose altitude through the
float. Too fast and the recovery line is extended. Too low and you have
Chris Stricklin's Thunderbird F16 at Mountain Home, and "that ain't
good" :-))




Oh I know. No more for me, thanks. Not with what I know now.

Bertie

Well don't feel lonely. My "glory days" are long gone as well. I still
get a word or two in once in a while, and I'd like to think that my
experience helps them a bit, but this new batch of youngsters are some
of the best I've ever seen, and they are doing things with airplanes
that you and I only dreamed of doing.
Patty Wagstaff and I are email buddies. She demonstrates at up to +10g's
and -5'gs routinely.
It's a whole new world up there :-))

--
Dudley Henriques

Dudley Henriques wrote in
:

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote in
:


Remember, we're talking professional display flying here. Some of
these guys and gals are unrestricted. That's level 1 flying and
vertical recoveries with these guys are made right on the deck. This
means extreme accuracy through their top gates where airspeed and
altitude have to be exactly right. Too slow and you lose altitude
through the float. Too fast and the recovery line is extended. Too
low and you have Chris Stricklin's Thunderbird F16 at Mountain Home,
and "that ain't good" :-))




Oh I know. No more for me, thanks. Not with what I know now.

Bertie

Well don't feel lonely. My "glory days" are long gone as well. I still
get a word or two in once in a while, and I'd like to think that my
experience helps them a bit, but this new batch of youngsters are some
of the best I've ever seen, and they are doing things with airplanes
that you and I only dreamed of doing.
Patty Wagstaff and I are email buddies. She demonstrates at up to
+10g's and -5'gs routinely.
It's a whole new world up there :-))


Jesus wept. I've been a bit over five Gs and that was extremely
punishing. Even that was only in the corners of a square loop and
momentary. i can't imagine how bad that would feel to me now. Of course
the seating was more upright..

Bertie

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote in
:

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote in
:


Remember, we're talking professional display flying here. Some of
these guys and gals are unrestricted. That's level 1 flying and
vertical recoveries with these guys are made right on the deck. This
means extreme accuracy through their top gates where airspeed and
altitude have to be exactly right. Too slow and you lose altitude
through the float. Too fast and the recovery line is extended. Too
low and you have Chris Stricklin's Thunderbird F16 at Mountain Home,
and "that ain't good" :-))



Oh I know. No more for me, thanks. Not with what I know now.

Bertie
Well don't feel lonely. My "glory days" are long gone as well. I still
get a word or two in once in a while, and I'd like to think that my
experience helps them a bit, but this new batch of youngsters are some
of the best I've ever seen, and they are doing things with airplanes
that you and I only dreamed of doing.
Patty Wagstaff and I are email buddies. She demonstrates at up to
+10g's and -5'gs routinely.
It's a whole new world up there :-))


Jesus wept. I've been a bit over five Gs and that was extremely
punishing. Even that was only in the corners of a square loop and
momentary. i can't imagine how bad that would feel to me now. Of course
the seating was more upright..

Bertie
Patty of course flies a bevy of mounts. Her personal plane is an Extra
300S. It's got a Lycoming modified to 350hp and a roll rate of 420
degrees/sec.
Patty works out constantly and is probably in the same shape as an
Olympic athlete. She's also flying Jim Beasley's Mustangs.
....and she's pretty too!!! :-))


--
Dudley Henriques

Dudley Henriques wrote in
:


Patty of course flies a bevy of mounts. Her personal plane is an Extra
300S. It's got a Lycoming modified to 350hp and a roll rate of 420
degrees/sec.
Patty works out constantly and is probably in the same shape as an
Olympic athlete. She's also flying Jim Beasley's Mustangs.
...and she's pretty too!!! :-))



You'd have to be in good shape for that. I've been doing a bit in
anticipation of the arrival of the Citabria (now pushed back yet another
month because of the crap Wx in PA) Just watching those red bull guys gives
me a hedache.


Bertie

Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote in
:

Patty of course flies a bevy of mounts. Her personal plane is an Extra
300S. It's got a Lycoming modified to 350hp and a roll rate of 420
degrees/sec.
Patty works out constantly and is probably in the same shape as an
Olympic athlete. She's also flying Jim Beasley's Mustangs.
...and she's pretty too!!! :-))



You'd have to be in good shape for that. I've been doing a bit in
anticipation of the arrival of the Citabria (now pushed back yet another
month because of the crap Wx in PA) Just watching those red bull guys gives
me a hedache.


Bertie

We have several Red Bull Pilots in the workgroup. I'm with you. These
guys are redefining flying as we knew it.
What are they doing to the Citabria..fabric or engine work or both?
The weather's beginning to break in Pa. if that helps any.

--
Dudley Henriques