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25 Ti PS to be a better pilot
to make you
better pilot
Budd Davisson
As long as there have been pilots, there have been instructors, cum writers, who have been eager to develop
cure-all lists of the magic ingredients required to become an ace aviator. And this is another of those lists.
What's so special about this one? There isn't anything here that hasn't been included on many of the selfimprovement lists, which have gone before. And that's exactly what makes this one special, if not different.
The basic fact that so many of these "make yourself a better pilot" tips have been trotted out in hunt of
generation after generation of pilots says that instructors are finding many of the same problems are passed
down through those generations. What was true thirty years ago is still true today. Therefore, the concept
behind this list is simple: if you follow all or most of it, your skill will improve dramatically. It's no more
complicated than that and it never has been.
Yes, there are lots of other tips that could have been included, but these will do for a starter:
Pay attention to what your butt is telling you
If you had to select just one skill area to improve, it would have to be coordination. Just knowing when and
how to use your feet in keeping the ball centered would put you in the Lop few percent of pilots who 'Ted"
what the airplane is telling them through the seat of their pants. Keeping the ball centered results in an airplane
that is more efficient and flies a given line much more precisely. if you can't feel it through your posterior, at
least pay some attention to the skid ball. A little time spent keeping the ball centered will pay big rewards.
The nose is talking too. Understand what it is showing you.
Nose attitude is the primary instrument for airspeed control in light aircraft. The go- last gage just repeats what
the nose told you a few seconds earlier. The nose also tells you what the airplane is about to do next. If you
are always aware of what the nose is doing and can control it in all situations, you'll never get in trouble plus
you'll always have the right airspeed iiailed.
Understand the airplane's aerodynamics
Most pilots have a basic knowledge of why an airplane flies, but few have spent the small amount of time
necessary to truly understand the nuances that tie so many aerodynamic factors together into that fantastic
thing we call flight. It's not necessary you become an aero engineer. Just having a handle on the effects of
angle of attack as well as the ramifications of the way control surfaces change the camber of the wing and tail,
would put you much more in touch with the machine.
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25 Ti PS to be a better pilot
Be precise
Precision in flying spells the difference between flying an airplane in a specific manner and flying it in an
approximate way. We want the airplane to go exactly where we want it to go and the only way we can do
that is by striving for exactitude in our airspeed, altitudes and positions. Tithe glide speed in the POH, for
instance, is 85 mph, that doesn't mean 83 mph or 88 mph. An altitude is supposed to be a given number, not
within a hundred-foot range. Okay, so none of us is ever exactly on the number, whatever it represents, but,
if we don't try for "exact" we're always going to get "approximate" and that's not the way an airplane is
supposed to be flown. This is a basic attitude that permeates everything you do in aviation and the pay-off for
trying to be exact is enormous.
Be smooth, make love to the airplane
Airplanes really react to pilots who caress them rather than poke at them in an irritating fashion. Okay, so
maybe "react" is too strong of a word, but an airplane that is being guided in a smooth fashion is an airplane
that is Jar less likely to find itself in the wrong place. The very act of being smooth means that all changes of
attitude, power and configurations are made via a whole bunch of tiny nudges which are knitted together into
a big change rather than being one big change done all at one time. If you are gently nudging the airplane into
position, the chances of over- shooting that position drop to almost zero and you'll have an airplane that
seenis to magically always be where its supposed to be in the configuration it is supposed to have.
Understand *hat "plan ahead" actually means for each flight situation
If a student hears the phrase "plan ahead" once, he or she hears it a thousand times. Unfortunately, once the
license is issued, there isn't anyone left to repeat that all-important phrase. So, we should be mentally saying it
to ourselves. We should also realize that it means diflrent things at different times. It's obvious that planning
is necessary for fuel stops. Maybe it's not so obvious that on downwind you need to look ahead and plan
where you're going to put base leg and where the flaps will come out. At the same time, you need to be
assessing the effects of the wind and how you're going to rnodiIi the various parts of the approach. The same
thing is true in all other phases of fight; you need to have your head well out in front of the airplane at all times.
If flying less than 35 hours a year, make each flight a learning experience
It's a given that every flight of your aviation career should be an attempt to make it better than the last one.
However, ifyou aren't flying regularly, it's necessary that each flight include factors that will help you maintain
your proficiency. Even if you're just going over for a hamburger, plan the flight to include a couple of different
types of landings (short field, soft field), make at least one landing a touch and go so you can get more
landings in the hour. Even if it's just a short fight to a local field, check your takeoff time and work out an
ETA in your head. Do as much as you can on each flight to stretch your limits and maintain your proficiency.
Don't just go out there and drone around learning nothing.
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Is this a complete list? No way! It's impossible to compile a list that covers each and every aspect of flying.
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But, this is a good place to start. Besides, by the time you've worked your way through all of these, you will
have added a bunch of your own to the list. So, enjoy!
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