AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014 - 16

WAYPOINTS

BY THOMAS B. HAINES
Editor in Chief

Learned along the way
Building blocks to wisdom

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Tom Haines
learns something
on every flight,
even if it's only
that he wants to
go do that again.

16 | AOPA PILOT March 2014

ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES that comes with being
the editor in chief of the world's largest aviation magazine is the chance to fly with some really smart and
experienced pilots. I've learned from and flown with
astronauts (alas, not into space), airline pilots, pilots
who utilize GA airplanes routinely in all kinds of conditions for business purposes, and an instructor with-no
kidding-8,000-plus hours instructing in Bonanzas and
Barons. Even though my daily driver is a Beech Bonanza,
I've learned some clever aircraft handling tricks when
flying with those experienced in tailwheels, seaplanes,
skiplanes, helicopters, and even blimps and a Zeppelin.
One of the most influential pilots I've flown with is
Richard Collins. While he is best known for his many
years at Flying magazine, he became editor in chief for a
brief period and then a contributor to AOPA at the same
time I started here. I was a new private pilot then, and
he coached me on everything from simple radio phraseology to the challenges of flying his Cessna P210 in all
sorts of weather-the first complex airplane I ever flew.
We haven't shared a cockpit in many years, but I practice skills he showed me every time I key the mic or
climb into my own complex airplane.
Like so much of wisdom, none of the items I've
picked up along the way from various pilots is all that
breathtaking or revolutionary. Wisdom comes from
an ever-increasing number of small tips and tidbits of
advice and personal experience that build a growing
foundation of knowledge. A few tips that I utilize routinely from various sources, in no particular order:
* Leave your hand on the gear switch until you've confirmed the gear is all the way up or down.
* Ditto with the flap switch. Keep your hand on it until
the flaps are in the correct position.
* If cleared to "line up and wait," angle onto the runway
so you can see the approach path over your left shoulder,
keeping an eye out for someone on final who is forgotten by the tower.
* Know thy power settings. If things get busy, especially
in the terminal area, I know I can set 15 inches of manifold pressure and at any normal rpm setting, my airplane
will settle into within a couple of knots of 120, a safe
speed for the environment. If the gear is already down,
make it 20 inches.
* In many airplanes, knocking off five inches of manifold pressure will give me about a 500-foot-per-minute
descent.

* You don't always have to go fast. Behind the airplane?
Slow it down.
* Some days you should stay home. Much as we might
like to think otherwise, our light airplanes are no match
for some weather conditions, no matter how much gear
is on board or how talented the pilot.
* A multiprobe engine analyzer is a comfort meter. On
takeoff, if the bars are all smartly headed in the right
direction, I have a good sense that the next 90 seconds
will be mostly uneventful.
* Oil analysis is a good thing. Frequent oil analysis, a log
of oil usage, and regular compression checks tell me a
lot about the health of my engine.
* Give some thought to which fuel tank you're using for
takeoff. I take off on the left tank because I know that if
I have a problem, I can quickly flip it to the right. The
Off position is to the left of the Left position and, in an
example of poor human factors, there's no mechanical
stop between Left and Off. So right is the way to go if
the engine burps after takeoff.
* I once thought moving maps were for wimps who
couldn't navigate. I was wrong. I can't remember the
last time I flew without a moving map.
* Shoulder harnesses-must-have equipment. I'm now
looking at air bags.
* Disoriented in instrument conditions? Things starting to get away from you? Put the gear down. It will help
slow you down and, in many cases, provide additional
lateral stability.
* Mind thy propwash. I learned this the hard way-
twice. First as a brand-new pilot who dusted a newly
swept corporate hangar-and earned a good chewing
out about it. And second, when flying at Borrego Valley
Airport in California, where I dusted a pristine Extra
300 with the canopy open. My fault, but really, who
leaves their canopy open on a dusty desert ramp?
* No one knows your airplane better than you do. Others
will miss subtle engine sound changes or vibrations that
you notice. Just because they didn't notice doesn't mean
you shouldn't pay attention.
* Know the next three things you need to do to assure
a continued safe flight.
* You're good, but it's the next hour that counts. AOPA
EMAIL thomas.haines@aopa.org

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014

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