Page 27 - June23T

Standard Aero
https://covington.com
Late night or early morning landings can be a bear if tired.
need to regenerate for about one-third of each twenty- four hours. It recurs naturally, even in the absence of light fluctuations. There is no way to immediately adjust that rhythm to the needs of our schedule. Current think- ing is that it takes one full day to move the cycle by one timezone. Continuing activity into the sleep portion of the cycle increases the risk of fatigue. Also, darkness changes the rules and the risks. Our visual inputs are less at a time when we have been awake longer. Let’s admit it: night flying is more like instrument flying, even with a full moon or visible horizon. Add a disruption of our circadian rhythm, and the resulting degradation to our performance can turn nighttime into a nightmare.
A Normal Procedural Decision; Get A Room
Sometimes we try to squeeze as much recreational time or business efficiencies into the trip as possible before we head home, and it’s easy to let our judgment become distorted. Fatigue is similar to hypoxia; we don’t notice or care as much as we should. And we can convince ourselves that fatigue has a value that is worth the risk. A few years ago, one of our readers mailed me about his fatigue experiences. While driving home one night from the airport, he found himself following the centerline of a road as we would in our airplanes while taxiing. On another flight, he stopped short after recognizing his fatigue. We’ve all been that tired, usually finding a rest stop for a few hours while driving or landing short of our destination when flying. Like practicing a go-around or a divert, once you have landed short a couple of times to sleep, the consternation of adding a day to your trip becomes less of a conundrum and more like a regular procedural decision.
Don’t Get Eaten
The days are getting longer, and a duty day from sun- rise to sunset is long. The airplane doesn’t know that the
June 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 25