Page 31 - May23T

It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground
Kevin Dingman has been flying for more than 40 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737, DC9 and CE-650 with 25,000 hours in his logbook. A retired Air Force major, he flew the F-16 and later performed as an USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian organi- zation Wings of Mercy, is retired from a major airline, flies the Cessna Citation for RAI Jets, and owns and operates a Beechcraft Duke.Contact Kevin at dinger10d@gmail.com.
decide right now to abort for just about anything? Why is the decision not black and white? Because of that (1⁄2 mv2) thing, my dear Watson. And our propensity to totally botch the abort—despite practicing them in the sim. We perform aborted takeoffs least often of all the maneuvers. I bet you have never practiced a high-speed abort in an actual air- craft; at least, I sure hope not. We botch them for a variety of reasons: no experience, low ability, late decision, bad decision, bad abort techniques, bad runway conditions, bad aircraft equipment, bad runway components and some- times, just bad luck.
We are encouraged to continue the takeoff in jets and turbines because we have plenty of power to fly all day long on one motor—if done properly. If the airplane is capable of flight and not on fire, statistically, we will have a better outcome if we continue the takeoff and work the problem in flight. The reason we’re encouraged to continue the takeoff between those slower ‘criteria’ speeds and V1 is because, as a group, we have shown that, more often than not, we will totally and completely botch a rejected takeoff and depart the paved surface anyway—either off the sides or off the end. And we will catch the tires, wheels and brakes on fire and hurt a bunch of folks during an evacuation. Sometimes we catch the whole blasted airplane on fire.
If you ‘go’ when you should have stayed, you will likely regret it, maybe a lot. If you ‘stay’ when you could have gone, you may also regret it, but probably much less, unless that is, you totally botch the abort. Remember: each runway, your takeoff weight, the wind & weather, your level of tiredness and time-of-day will affect your plan. Once you appreciate that (1⁄2 mv2) thing and have a personal list of low-speed and high-speed decision events, and you have a plan for when one of them happens, stick to it. The confidence you gain from simply having a plan will serve you well. And whether you stay or go, when one of your ‘events’ does happen, the changes in your body’s adrenaline and dopamine levels will almost certainly alter your perceptions and give you a moment of ‘Time in a Bottle.’
Author’s note:
Grateful acknowledgment to Jim Croce for his classic 1973 folk-rock tale, “Time in a bottle”.
Covington
https://covington.com
May 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 29