Flight Training - April 2015 - 4

RIGHT SEAT

By Ian J. Twombly
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MORE THAN
A GREAT VIEW

THERE'S A WORLD OF INFORMATION OUT THERE

op quiz: What's the most important instrument in aviation?
It's definitely not the vertical speed indicator or the tachometer. Maybe the altimeter or the airspeed indicator? Nope.
It's the horizon.

The horizon is an excellent source of
information on everything from pitch and
airspeed to coordination and bank. It's so
good that many of the instruments inside
the cockpit do nothing but replicate the
information it provides-but with errors,
lag, and the necessity to interpret their
meaning. The horizon is reliable. Assuming you haven't pushed the envelope and
flown in poor visibility, it never fails.
One of the great joys of teaching is that
you get to see a variety of styles, and after
some experience it becomes apparent

The reason he was able to get in an
airplane after so long and be so good,
with no degradation in performance, is
because he has the right fundamentals.
Like a baseball player with a beautiful
swing or a drummer who keeps perfect
time, the core skills never left. His eyes
remain outside more than three-quarters
of the time, and he uses the horizon for
the direct information he needs for pitch,
bank, heading, and so on. This is also why
some pilots can easily jump from airplane
to airplane. They establish a position on

LIKE A BASEBALL PLAYER WITH A BEAUTIFUL
SWING OR A DRUMMER WHO KEEPS PERFECT
TIME, THE CORE SKILLS NEVER LEFT.
that some work well and others don't.
While physics of flight are constant, how
you manipulate them to your advantage
is not. A properly trained pilot puts the
airplane where he wants, which he's able
to do by flying by reference to the horizon
first, using the instruments as a secondary
source of information.
A few weeks ago I started flying with a
co-worker in an effort to get him current again. He said he felt rusty, his flight
review had expired, and he wanted something more than the minimum one-hour
flight and ground sessions to feel confident
again. Turns out I was the student. From
the second the wheels left the ground
it was obvious to me that he had been
properly trained. Despite not flying for
two years, he nailed every airspeed, every
altitude, and every heading. At one point
I joked that he was two knots fast in the
climb. He's since whipped me at spot landing contests and short-field technique.

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

the horizon, verify with instruments, and
make minor changes as necessary. The
strategy is universal.
This month we have three stories
that reaffirm this outside-first mentality. Glider pilots do it better than most,
primarily because they have to! Read John
Mahany's story on the basics of soaring
beginning on page 28. William Dubois
goes into more details and shares tips to
break your digital dependence on page
38. Finally, one maneuver that requires
you to focus outside while controlling the
airplane under changing variables is turns
around a point, this month's Technique,
on page 42.
Open your eyes to the outside world
and life becomes easier-and infinitely
more fun.
Email Editor Ian J. Twombly at ian.twombly@aopa.
org; Twitter: ijtwombly; and visit Flight Training on
Facebook.

Publisher | Mark Baker

Senior VP, Media/Editor in Chief | Thomas B. Haines
Editor | Ian J. Twombly
Managing Editor | Julie Summers Walker
Technical Editors | Mike Collins, Jill W. Tallman
Editors at Large | Dave Hirschman, Thomas A. Horne
Senior Editor | Alton K. Marsh
Media Production Specialist | Sylvia Horne
Executive Assistant | Miriam E. Stoner
Contributors | Pete Bedell, Greg Brown, LeRoy Cook,
Budd Davisson, Rod Machado, Dan Namowitz, Wayne
Phillips, Bob Schmelzer, Jack Williams

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eMedia Editor | Sarah Deener
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Flight Training - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - April 2015