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FAA urges ICAO to address erosion of 'manual' piloting skills
The meeting kicks off as the aviation industry continues grappling with pilot training and automation questions that have simmered for years but became salient following several accidents, including but not limited to recent crashes of two Boeing 737 Max. (www.flightglobal.com) More...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Wolfgang Langewiesche's teaching is no less relevant today than it was eighty years ago.
Good luck convincing all the computer operators with an airman certificate of this.
Good luck convincing all the computer operators with an airman certificate of this.
I have been saying this for years. I call it skills atrophy. If you don't exercise the skill set, you will lose the skill. I was a Boeing 757 instructor pilot for 17 years at a major airline. On the line and in the simulator, you could see it in their eyes when it came to disconnecting the A/P and A/T. I always felt pilots were not afraid, but reluctant to disconnect because they feared embarrassment of a demonstration of skills not practiced. It manifests itself negatively more during an emergency. They try to use the A/P when the situation demands hand flying. The other reason to disconnect is it's FUN. You have to be skilled in both autopilot usage and hand flying. That's the job! ( that includes Autothrottle)
My very first flight instructor back in the 60's always said. Follow your checklists and "Fly the Bloody Plane!Nothing else matters" Sadly we are now in age where pilots should be applying this rule, but are not able to in a lot of cases.
Mr. Spruce, you are so right.
Those were the days when pilots actually flew planes.
As an aspiring student pilot my CFI said the same exact words.
"Repetitively, drilling into my head, the importance of pilot skill...
Then came instrument training in actual IMC conditions, I don't know if anyone trains that way today.
Those were the days when pilots actually flew planes.
As an aspiring student pilot my CFI said the same exact words.
"Repetitively, drilling into my head, the importance of pilot skill...
Then came instrument training in actual IMC conditions, I don't know if anyone trains that way today.
I took my instrument checkride in actual IMC. Ah, the good old days.
I already made my basic airmanship rant some time ago somewhere else on FlightAware so I'll do the very short version...we are discussing no longer teaching stall recovery because of several crashes during instruction. We need to support the instructors in learning and teaching stall recovery, and quite frankly, I think the ideal (not realistic but I'll say it anyway) would be for ALL pilots to have at least a couple hours of basic aerobatics. The best way to learn to drive in the wintertime is to find a big open parking lot after the first snow and feel what it is like to skid and slide. The best way not to freak out and pull the yoke when you should push it in an upside down emergency is to fly upside down under controlled circumstances and feel what it is like.
Surprise, surprise! It's called BLOATWARE! Loading a machine with stuff you don't need and will never use in the either your lifetime or the expected useful life of the equipment!
Stuff this younger generation loves to add on and is so enamoured with!
My flying started with a inherently stable airframe and a powerplant that we knew the limitations of. Days before GPS, when a map, compass and clock (several, for redundancy) kept us safe and on track.
And my instructors words of wisdom - the best pilot on board is YOU!
Until Artifical Intelligence can do a helluva lot more than just beat a grand master at chess, the ulimate fallback must always be - Pull the plug. Switch it off. Go back to basics.
Use that God given gift called the human brain that is still today the best tool we know in the whole Universe, and put men safely on the moon.
Happy landings all you guys with wings.