CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 12 Issue 4 - 4

LETTERS
COLLISION AVOIDANCE-USE TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
The information in the article is correct. I use ADS-B In for situational awareness and
collision avoidance. It is also a good training aid in flight instruction. Other aircraft
usually appear on ADS-B long before they are visible to the naked eye. I will point out
where approaching traffic is coming from and have the student (focusing on the " back
seater " ) to report seeing the traffic. This helps them to learn to visually see approaching
traffic at different altitudes and distances. The caution here is the word " usually. " Not all
aircraft are equipped with ADS-B Out. Some don't have it because they will not operate
in the airspace that requires ADS-B Out. Agricultural application aircraft (crop dusters)
are one example. Neither is ADS-B Out required for aircraft that do not have electrical
systems and there are still quite a few of those flying. Finally, some airplanes just seem
to be electronically invisible. I experienced that in early August in the vicinity of the
Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA). While being vectored by Potomac
Approach in VMC, I saw and deviated away from another airplane at my altitude that did
not appear on my ADS-B In display, nor was the airplane visible to Potomac Approach.
I later determined that the airplane was outside of the SFRA and below the nearest
Class B shelf, but inside of the Mode C veil. The point here is that using ADS-B In for
situational awareness is a very useful tool but it does not replace vigilant " see and avoid "
responsibility by everybody in the cockpit: CFI, left seat student, and back seat student.
-Christopher T. Mayer
NONTOWERED AIRPORT OPS-SAFETY AND GOOD MANNERS
I happen to live and operate out of a fairly busy airpark with many different types of
aircraft. We have everything from a " trike " (powered parafoil, weight-shift aircraft) to a
T28, King Air, and others. We have more than our fair share of slow movers (e.g., Cubs, a
Tiger Moth, Stearman) and fast movers (e.g., Lancair 4P, T28, etc.). Getting everyone to fit
in and get along can be a challenge. An alternative to the straight-in would be most helpful.
Fortunately, there is one.
Many pilots seem to miss that the AIM identifies a third pattern entry other than the 45 to
downwind and the mid-field cross-wind entry. That is the overhead approach maneuver (AIM
5-4-27). Normally this is used by military aircraft and is sometimes known as the overhead
break, but it works well for all types of aircraft as an alternative to the straight in. Because the
aircraft is entering the pattern overhead and upwind, there is no conflict with any other traffic
in the pattern. The aircraft entering the pattern then makes its crosswind turn when most
convenient for traffic separation. This works for fast movers, slow movers, and everyone in
between. Separation is accomplished using geometry (when to turn) rather than speed.
Even though most pilots here now understand this, there are still a few who insist on
announcing a straight-in when there are other aircraft in the pattern. Most fail to announce
their distance on final correctly, saying they are closer to the runway than they really are,
causing the aircraft that was just ready to turn base to extend downwind unnecessarily,
while desperately searching for the inbound straight-in, only to finally see them after having
extended for three miles. Had the straight-in instead performed the overhead approach
maneuver, they would have fit right into the flow of traffic around the pattern, with only an
extra minute or so of flying.
-Brian Lloyd, CSEL/CMEL, CFIA, CFII
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CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 12 Issue 4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 12 Issue 4