What skills atrophy first?

"Michael 182" wrote in message
news:Zw%fc.155251$K91.408307@attbi_s02...
Flew today for the first time in two months. I'm a 1000 hour pilot, so
it's
not as if I'm starting from scratch, but I really felt slow on every
thinking step. Had to refer to checklists to remember all the preflight,
startup, takeoff drills, which made me wonder what I had forgotten on
emergency and other checklists, so I reviewed them in the run up area.
Once
I got off the ground I was fine, and landings were no problem - probably
muscle memory takes over. So I guess, for me, the thing that atrophies
first
is procedures. Maybe a sign of age...

This has been studied by psychologists. As we age the ability to control
multiple, parallel activities is what diminishes. This means we need to
prioritize tasks so we are sure to do what is most important, but may skip
something if need be. Remember: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate -- in that
order.

Thanks a lot Chris are you insulting the people with 30 year layoffs or
don't you like bounce landings (3 touch and gos in one landing)?

Daniel

"Michael 182" wrote in message

Flew today for the first time in two months. .....I really felt slow on
every
thinking step. Had to refer to checklists.....Once
I got off the ground I was fine, and landings were no problem ....the
thing that atrophies first is procedures. Maybe a sign of age...


That's why they're called "check-lists". Items that are non-crucial enough
to be left to memory, are left to memory. In the airline environment, where
you often fly multiple legs each day, the problem is insidious in the
reverse. Each crewmember runs through their respective flows, then the
checklist is read and the appropriate crewmember gives the appropriate
response. Despite professional training and daily exposure, there are
regular (though rare) cases of people responding to the checklist challenge
with the expected response when in fact the item in question has been
overlooked and *not* properly set. The "take-off flaps" setting has been an
issue in a few accidents, I believe. Bottom line: use the list, pay
attention, and don't ever hurry through it.

The first thing I noted degrading at about age 45 was an element of vision.
Everything was sharp and clear, but landing in the early evening became
problematic. It wasn't really loss of depth perception, just a sense of
being somehow "disconnected". Daylight and full night were fine, just that
dusky time was difficult. The medico went on and on about age and eyeballs,
but essentially said that's normal, and I'd adjust. For a month or so I
always arranged for the F/O to make any dusky landings, and by then the Doc
was right, I adjusted. Ho-hum.

The phrase "Use it or lose it" certainly applies to flying.

--

B-58 Hustler History: http://members.cox.net/dschmidt1/
-

"Michael 182" wrote in message
news:Zw%fc.155251$K91.408307@attbi_s02...
Flew today for the first time in two months. I'm a 1000 hour pilot, so
it's
not as if I'm starting from scratch, but I really felt slow on every
thinking step. Had to refer to checklists to remember all the preflight,
startup, takeoff drills, which made me wonder what I had forgotten on
emergency and other checklists, so I reviewed them in the run up area.
Once
I got off the ground I was fine, and landings were no problem - probably
muscle memory takes over. So I guess, for me, the thing that atrophies
first
is procedures. Maybe a sign of age...

Michael

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 14:58:19 GMT, "William W. Plummer"
wrote:



This has been studied by psychologists. As we age the ability to control
multiple, parallel activities is what diminishes. This means we need to
prioritize tasks so we are sure to do what is most important, but may skip
something if need be. Remember: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate -- in that
order.

aviate navigate procrastinate communicate

dont talk until you have it sorted out :-)

Stealth Pilot
Australia


actually I may as well weigh in with an observation or two as well.

I had an 18 year break from flying (family induced poverty)
when I returned I spent a year reading theory as though I had to pass
an exam. I then did some pretty focussed intense flying and was back
in the air in just under 5 hours. ...and rusty as hell.
What turned it all around for me was a friend spending 4 months
overseas. fly my aeroplane while I'm away will you?
I was able to go out and just prep the aircraft and fly without peer
review. that allowed all the thought processes to sort out and I've
never looked back.
I now fly about 70 hours per year.

what I forgot in the 18 years were all the subtle things that the
manuals and discussions here on usenet dont cover.

how an aircraft engine is turned off.
I knew it wasnt like a car but couldnt remember idle cutoff.

the attitude differences between the various flight speeds.

radio procedures had changed totally. it didnt take long to re drill
those. i dont care if they arent syntactically perfect as long as they
arent misunderstood.

this silly nonsense of checklists amazes me. pilots are no longer as
fluent or as out of the cockpit as we once thought necessary.
Australian WW2 pilots flew all aircraft using a scan technique.
first scan right to left turning everything off. then scan left to
right turning everything on and setting it as needed for flight.
after startup a roger check. revs, oil, gyros, electrics and radios.
aircraft awareness during flight was maintained by a periodic left to
right scan.
I abandoned checklists as being too slow and returned to the
techniques my old WW2 instructors instilled in me. I fly out the
window in a full on see and avoid attitude and I listen to the
aircraft. the noises tell me whether the prop is off at an angle
(slip) and whether the engine is happy.

what I have found in all this is that periods away from flying are
full of an adults life of thoughts and if you dont fly frequently the
flying memories seem to get more buried than they did in youth.

adopting a flying style which you feel comfortable with is essential
to maintaining competence.
fly regularly to keep the memories from being buried by the rest of
your life's considerations. see 70 hours per year as the desirable
minimum and do some long distance cross country flying to keep the
whole thing interesting.

being passionate about the craft is important as well. if you arent an
enthusiast then you wont be focussing the mind when you are flying and
you wont stay as current no matter how many hours you do.
Wittman was a practising CFI at 92 and his secret must have been
enthusiasm diversity and currency.
The oldest guy to renew a class 1 instrument rating was 99.
heartfelt enthusiasm can arrest the deterioration.

If your flying has become boring then get an interesting aircraft.

Our SAAA raffled a Jabiru one year that was won by a doctor.
this chap had flown a baron for years around his country practises and
was bored to tears by it. He reckoned that the little Jabiru was such
a light nimble thing to fly that he'd fallen in love with aviation all
over again. when I met him he was a face full of grin and reckoned
that he felt like a teenager again.

if even a change of aeroplane or countryside doesnt get your interest
back again then try flying young eagles. their enthusiasm is
infectious.

a homebuilt Tailwind at age 51 is doing it for me :-)
Stealth Pilot
Australia

Jim Fisher wrote:

"Cub Driver" wrote in message
A neighbor came over one time, and apropos nothing, she suddenly said:

"First they forget to zip up their pants.

I've been doing that more and more often, lately. Why the heck is that?

In your case, you probably think you're advertising.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

The first thing I noted degrading at about age 45 was an element of vision.
Everything was sharp and clear, but landing in the early evening became
problematic. It wasn't really loss of depth perception, just a sense of
being somehow "disconnected". Daylight and full night were fine, just that
dusky time was difficult. The medico went on and on about age and eyeballs,
but essentially said that's normal, and I'd adjust. For a month or so I
always arranged for the F/O to make any dusky landings, and by then the Doc
was right, I adjusted. Ho-hum.


The way you put it, the loss of acuity was sudden (it took a month to adjust).
Was it so?

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

John Gaquin wrote:


In the airline environment, where
you often fly multiple legs each day, the problem is insidious in the
reverse. Each crewmember runs through their respective flows, then the
checklist is read and the appropriate crewmember gives the appropriate
response. Despite professional training and daily exposure, there are
regular (though rare) cases of people responding to the checklist challenge
with the expected response when in fact the item in question has been
overlooked and *not* properly set.

Is there anything that prevents the "challenger" from backing up a few
items in the checklist?
You wouldn't want to jump forward because of the chance that you'd
forget to come back
to the items you skipped. By jumping backwards, though, you've disrupted
the standard
flow and forced the responder to think about what you just said, and if
nothing else you
have a chance to double-check a few items.

I would think this is something that you wouldn't want to go overboard
with, but applied
judiciously I don't see any major drawbacks to the idea. Any comments?

Rich Lemert

"Daniel L. Lieberman" wrote in message
...
Thanks a lot Chris are you insulting the people with 30 year layoffs or
don't you like bounce landings (3 touch and gos in one landing)?


I was not thinking of you specifically, but now that you mention it... :-)

As you know, I tell people the reason I land so badly is that I want to
encourage them to hurry up and learn so that they don't have to endure my
landings any more.

Is there anything that prevents the "challenger" from backing up a few
items in the checklist?
[...] Any comments?

I don't think it's the order of the items, but the items themselves.

Carb heat? (remembering three flights ago).... OFF

Jose

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(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)