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Pilots and Paws
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4/C Ad www.hillaero.com
Kevin Ware is an ATP who also holds CFI, MEII and heli- copter ratings, has more than 10,000 hours and is typed in several different
business jets. He has been flying for a living on and off since he was 20, and currently works as a contract pilot for various corporations in the Seattle area. When not working as a pilot he is employed part time as an emergency and urgent care physician. He can be reached at kevin.ware2@aol.com.
It can be helpful to create personal
checklists for varying aircraft types and avionics systems.
But if flying an airplane that does not require another pilot, I pay particular attention to briefing myself. I’ll typically read through both sides of the checklist a couple of times before even starting the airplane. If my checklist shows any yellow highlighting, rest assured I look extra carefully at those items. When solo, I also limit the type of weather and airport I am willing to operate in if I do not feel truly “current” in that particular airplane. For example, my own Cessna 340 has RAM VII engines, a Robertson STOL kit and VGs. When light, it thinks it can climb trees. But if I have not flown it in say 20 or 30 hours in the previous month, regardless of what the airplane thinks it can do, “tree climbing” is out of the question.
In terms of basic aircraft control, I find the effort required to become “80 hours per month” current varies with the amount of time I have already accumu- lated in that airplane. For example, in an airplane that I have 2,000 hours in, everything comes back pretty quickly. Whereas, in airplane I have 200 hours in, it is going to require a lot more time. I say this with exception of certain basics of piloting such as judging the angular dis- tance from the ground required to make a safe landing. Typically, landings are one of the currency issues I least worry about. Sort of like the proverbial “like riding a bike” analogy.
Today, another factor making currency more difficult is the plethora of different and vastly more capable avionics and FMS systems. Three decades ago, in the era of VORs, vacuum pumps and round dials, everything was pretty straightforward and simple to stay on top of. Now, there are usually four or five computer screens, each powered by separate electrical sys- tems and each receiving information from different input sources. Not to mention, they require an often-confusing array of key strokes to operate properly. Staying on top of how all of the different equipment works (especially when flying a variety of aircraft) is a major problem for anyone.
For example, there are consider- able differences in how to operate the Universal FMS found in a newer Lear, as opposed to a Rockwell Collins Proline unit found in a CJ or newer King Air. The Collins unit requires typing com- mands into what is called the “scratch
pad” (abbreviated SCP), then moving it to the appropriate function line. Whereas, the Universal set-up does not make use of a so-called scratch pad at all. Pilots just enter the information directly into the appropriate function line. This is an issue even with the older Garmin units in smaller aircraft. The Garmin GNS 430 and 530 models operate completely dif- ferent than a 480 (which actually has a functional logic more akin to an FMS in a larger airplane). There are of course manuals for all of this equipment, but they are usually bound in a 2-inch thick book. Though greatly informative, they’re absolutely useless if wanting to find directions on how to do something quickly. To deal with this particular problem, I made myself one-page in- struction sheets for the most common operations for each of the avionics or FMS systems I am likely to encounter. Those sheets have proved to be a big help.
They say you only miss the things you know about. Well, I definitely miss the type of comfortable currency that comes naturally when flying 80 hours per month in the same aircraft. But on the other hand, I do not miss being away two weeks every month, and the sense of boredom that can occur when constantly f lying the same airplane along the same routes. If you are careful with your limitations, use personal checklists an•d instruction sheets to compensate for your foibles, you can still be a very competent and safe pilot – even when flying just 200 hours per year. There are solutions to the “currency conundrum.” T&T
26 • TWIN & TURBINE
August 2018