Master CFI
Tony Palesotti Says
Remove the Variables
Aircraft do not have
minds of their own, says Master CFI Tony Palesotti, and will do the same thing
each time they are configured the same way. So when you know how your aircraft
will perform in different configurations, you eliminate the variables in
piloting and conduct safer, less stressful, and more enjoyable flying.
The pilot has the brains,
the aircraft doesn't, Palesotti reminds us, with a smile. Regardless of how
emotional a pilot might feel about his aircraft'love it, pamper it, dote over
it'it is still just a machine. It will respond exactly the same way each time to
the same set of conditions and control inputs, he says.
Here's an example
Palesotti offers: 'I know my Cessna 310 will transition from cruise to the
approach environment smoothly, if I reduce power to 20 inches of manifold
pressure and maintain altitude. That will slow the aircraft to flap extension
speed. I also know that if I keep that 20 inches, extend approach flaps, and
maintain altitude the airplane will slow to 120 knots, the speed at which I want
to fly the approach. When I intercept the glide slope and drop the gear,
maintaining that 120 knots will run me right down the glide slope. Now I have to
compensate only for the wind component and can devote all my focus to flying the
approach. By knowing what that airplane will do each time I command it, I
eliminate the variables. By eliminating the variables I don't have to jockey the
throttle, pump the control wheel back and forth to maintain altitude, wonder
when the airplane will reach the desired speeds, or any of the other actions
that could distract from flying the approach.
The same applies to
settings on climb, in holding patterns, flight through rough weather, or any
other maneuver of a flight. As rudimentary as following a procedure seems,
Palesotti laments, many pilots never learn procedural flying. When they don't,
they are dividing their attention between the task at hand and all the
self-induced variables. Removing the variables allows the pilot to focus more on
the task at hand, increasing the safety of that maneuver exponentially.'
Master CFI Tony Palesotti
instructs at Searcy, Arkansas (SRC). He holds ATP Multi, Comm ASEL, ASES, AMEL
and helicopter certificates. In 2003 he was named CFI of the year for FAA's
Southwest Region. He is an independent CFI & FAA Pilot Examiner, operating as
Tony's Flying Service. You can reach Tony at
tpalesotti@landofrost.com, or at 501-268-7580.
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