Back in the spring, I was doing Flight Examiner training with our CFI. One of the training exercises is to conduct an LPC (Licence Proficiency Check) on a lapsed pilot returning to flying. You know how some comedians are excellent mimics? Well our CFI can mimic the rusty or inept pilot to a T. She demonstrated more bad habits in 30 mins than I have seen in several years of biannual instruction flights. For example….
- Poor RT – not using the full call-sign in initial calls, not following the conventional message structure, incorrect expression of numbers etc.
- Being unaware of listening squawks. Listening squawks are a good way to avoid infringing.
- Taxi-ing – not holding the controls fully back (which is the technique for most (but not all) aircraft); not performing the taxi checks
- Take-off – insufficient rudder use, so not remaining centred on the runway during the take-off roll
- Rudder – insufficient rudder in the climb (which causes a gradual turn and sub-optimal climb rate); Not using a squeeze of rudder in entry to and exit from turns, causing a momentary slip or skid.
- Landing – landing flat with insufficient pitch up in the flare. This is a very bad habit which one day could lead to a bounce, collapsed nose leg and broken aeroplane.
- Over-reliance on GPS navaids – poor PLOG and chart preparation and plotting. A great way to get lost when the GPS fails!
- Poor height-keeping on cross country flight – getting dangerously close tho the base of CAS another way to infringe!
- Getting off-track – and failing to use a recognised (and simple) technique to regain track promptly. Another way of getting lost, or infringing, or worse still at low level, running into an obstacle.
- Lookout – poor lookout in turns – a well known cause of airproxes.
- Steep turns – failing to add power to maintain speed and altitude. This could result in a stall / spin.
These are easy habits to get in to and they are things which an instructor will be looking for during a bi-annual instruction flight. But why wait for an instructor? It’s worth doing a little self-assessment and critique now and again (what happened there? why did I do that?), so that these things don’t happen when the safety margins are reduced by high work-load, distraction or poor weather.