Tuesday, 11 November 2014

The Hourly Rate Debate

Sharing with you the most expensive hourly rate ever known to the present day...

The hourly rates topic concerned with General Aviation is that of a very popular one, and has certainly always been present in schools and clubs I have visited so far. It is usually ranked #3 on the club conversation charts, after the Endurance/Nautical Miles per gallon and who does the best bacon sandwich comparisons. Of course, once established on a course at the flying school or flying club, or under the present soon to be adopted name, RTF's, (Registered Training Facilities), then the decision has been made besides many other various considerations, that the hourly rate is acceptable. It is not unpopular for schools to offer discount when buying a course upfront, or paying in block hours, for example, 10 hours at a time, may offer a saving of around £200 for hour building. We all have financial considerations and in result, differences of opinion to determine whether or not the saving to be made vs the financial security of the concerned school is worthwhile, however, a brief analysis of the latter from released figures in media as well as any personal reassurances of such organisations may not tell an upfront truth and may paint quite a different picture further down the line of training, well where professional flight training is concerned anyhow. 

So, to share the highest hourly rate I have recently read about, concerned the Hughes H-4 Hercules, known as the Spruce Goose, made almost entirely from Birch, not spruce wood as the name may suggest otherwise, with a wingspan of 97.5 meters, powered by 8 Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major Radial engines for the use of transatlantic transport during World War 2. The Spruce Goose, that never advanced past Prototype design, was extremely late to arrive, only ready to fly in 1947, leaving its purpose during the war as history. On the 2nd November, 1947, Hughes loaded the Hercules with 36 people, and commanded the almighty giant from the left hand seat, into the air just off the shore of Long Beach, California. It cruised for around 1 mile, at an altitude of just 70ft and that was Hughes's and the Hercules' maiden and regrettably, last flight. From there on, she remained hangered and looked after in an air conditioned hanger by many staff until Hughes' death in 1976, aged 50.

So, the cost of this extraordinary piece of aviation history...estimations reveal it would have cost around $23 million (back in 1940 dollars), and around $1 million a year for storage. Converting that cost into the dollars of the present day results in around $420 million! With the first and only flight lasting no longer than around 45 seconds, that equates to an hourly rate of around $33.6 billion for the largest flying boat ever built to the present day!

Image from: fly.historicwings.com
'Hughes H-4 Hercules - An hourly rate of around $33.6 billion'!

As this blog was solely intended on sharing with you that unbelievable story that I came across, It only leaves me interested and eager to find out the cheapest hourly rate that has ever been known, remaining in the same category of engine as the Spruce Goose, The Piston Engine. I shall do a follow up blog with my findings in the near future.

On the contrary to the most expensive hourly rate, throughout my years of training so far, during some of the highest prices of oil per barrel the economy has witnessed since the mid 1980's and of course, the peak during mid 2008 where oil rose to around $145 per barrel, I have still managed to surprise many with the hourly rates I managed to hunt down during the daunting experience of having to achieve 100 hours Pilot In Command/P1 having on average 12-15 after gaining the Private Pilot Licence.

Image taken by self at Liverpool
Before deciding to get myself over to the USA to complete the majority of my hour building, I went off to Ravenair at Liverpool, flying Single Engine PA38-Tomahawks for just £85 an hour...WET! The condition at the time was to purchase 10 hours upfront, with landing fees NOT included (It would be totally unbelievable if they were)! So for £85 an hour, your fuel, oil, maintenance, support from the school, secured parking, maintenance and upkeep of all required documents and manuals came with the price.

    'Ravenair: PA38-112 Tomahawk - An hourly wet rate of £85'!


Image taken by self at Wimslow, Arizona

Too good to be true - only this was nothing but the truth! Bare in mind the US General Aviation market just can not compare to the current situation of the UK General Aviation market in relation to landing fees, customer service, flying v.a.t, parking costs and on subject, fuel costs etc however, as the Spruce Goose took maiden flight in California, it is only fair to enter my USA contender for the lowest hourly rate I have experienced and here it is....


$85 Dollars an hour, including Renters Insurance and No Landing Fees!


Chandler Air Service, situated just South East of Phoenix, Arizona, is where in my opinion the heart of General Aviation is found. Flying alternatively 2 PA28-140 Cherokee aircraft, with great flexibility, flying every day for just over 3 weeks, being welcomed all over the Western States, no landing fees, again well maintained aircraft considering they have been around since the cold war! and great endurance, with the ability to fly for approximately 5 hours 30 minutes with 2 on-board, and renters insurance included for $85 an hour WET...that equates to around £53 with just the state and city tax to add on which was at the time 8% = $6.63 which is around £4.00 an hour so in total = £57.00 an hour Wet! And believe me, the flying out there was the best fun I have ever experienced all for less than 1p a Minute! (Cheaper than calls to other UK mobiles with most service providers)! After completing just over 52 hours here, I was in a much better financial position than what the alternate option had to offer.

'Chandler Air Service: PA28-140 Cherokee - An hourly wet rate of £57 - Less than 1p a minute - Cheaper than calls to other UK mobiles with most service providers'!

So, putting all the un-practicalities aside of the present day operational requirements, but still casting a memory back to 1927, when Charles Lindbergh piloted his Spirit of St.Louis across the Atlantic in a non-stop trip between New York and Paris, you could fly from Chandler, Arizona, across the pond to the UK and back again, taking 86 hours at an average speed of 120 knots to cover the 10400 miles and costing a grand total of £4905, in comparison to costing just short of £5000 for a return ticket on British Airways in Business/Club Class with all the restraints you have as a passenger. The former would of course deal with hour building post Private Pilot (if going for professional licences of course), you could choose who you wanted to spend the time sat next to (a safety pilot would be a wise idea) and you could have total control over the temperature of the cabin!  
 
Image by Simon at Merseyflight, Liverpool
After my training at CTC, which on the topic of low hourly rates is not relevant to bring up in this part of the post, ha, I headed off back to Liverpool, this time to MerseyFlight, with the interest on hiring a very elegant, well conditioned PA28-140 again, to fulfill the rest of my Pilot In Command hours needed.

Flying G-BSLU (pictured right) for £115 per hour WET, inclusive of VAT but not including landing fees. Again, 10 hours had to be purchased upfront but to have access to such aircraft, to be able to carry 3 passengers with 3 hours 30 minutes of usable fuel for this price is a real package I couldn't turn down.

'MerseyFlight: PA28-140 Cherokee - An hourly wet rate of £115'!    

Extremely well maintained, almost unrestricted availability at the time, inclusive of fuel and oil and immaculate condition of interior and exterior, even during the time the Sahara sand blanketed the UK during early 2014, the sand did not have time to settle on this remarkable machine!

So like always, I've digressed slightly on what should have been a short topic on the most expensive hourly rate known to the present day, but I think sharing my personal encounters with the worthwhile less expensive rates of recent years, despite the rising cost of oil, (until of recent months) recessions, VAT and privately owned airfields with heavy charges proves to be quite an eye opener! Of course, where there lies competition will always produce competitive hourly flying rates, and I'm sure the rates of the North, may seem non-reality to the South, but on the contrary, vastly expensive to the States.

There are great hourly rates through packages available out there, and as the PA28's and C152's of this world are not getting any younger, I remain confident that attractive rates for these aircraft will continue to be on offer for hour builders before their role in the industry becomes a flying legacy!

I welcome and look forward to hearing any discoveries of reasonable or expensive flying rates, encountered by yourself or that you have read about such as the one above. 

Please note all prices and conditions I have quoted was during the time I was hour building, ranging from 2012-2014 so therefore will most likely not be representative of the present day's rates.

http://www.ravenair.co.uk/

http://www.aerobatics.com/

http://www.merseyflight.co.uk/


By PianoPilot


Friday, 12 September 2014

SIMTECH AVIATION MCC & JOC


SIMTECH AVIATION, DUBLIN, IRELAND

MULTI-CREW CO-OPERATION & JET ORIENTATION

06th May 2014 - 15th May 2014

http://www.simtech.ie/

Following on from my previous blog on the topic of CRM and Human Factors, I would like to share with you an overview of my experience during my MCC & JOC course at SIMTECH AVIATION. As mentioned previously, this next chapter of training towards a career as an Airline Pilot, working in a Multi-Crew environment, is like any other, one of vital importance, however, the difference with this selection of training provider determines how prepared you will be for that first Airline Simulator Assessment, and in result, getting hired or not! 


Multi-Crew Co-Operation and Jet Orientation Course Outline 

Simulator: Fixed Base XJ FNPT2
3 Days Crew Resource Management 
5 Days Multi-Crew Training (20 hours)
2 Days Jet Orientation (8 hours)


During every flying session, lasting 4 hours, (2 hours per pilot), we were continuously assessed across 3 main categories; Flying Skills, CRM Performance Standards and Assisting Work As PM (Pilot Monitoring). The above was further broken down into the following sub categories; 

Content Of Course During Practical Simulator Sessions  

Flying Skills

Aircraft Handling (Smoothness & Accuracy)
Instrument Flying (Scan & Anticipation)
Flight Procedures (Knowledge & Accuracy)

Crew Resource Management Performance Standards
(6 Core Ingredients)

Communications
Decision-Making
Leadership / Teamwork/ Crew Communication
Situational Awareness
Workload Management
Threat & Error Management

Assisting Work As PM (Pilot Monitoring)

Active Monitoring
Standard Calls / Deviation Call Outs
Active Input to Decision Making, Error Detection & Correction, Crew Situational Awareness
Prompting Pilot Flying
Checklist/ECAM Procedures

On the subject of Pilot Monitoring, likewise to why the name 'Cockpit Resource Management' was later changed to 'Crew Resource Management', well 'Pilot Monitoring (PM)' was formally known as 'Pilot Not Flying (PNF)' . The new term, PM, was introduced to draw the distinction from the old term, as that although the Pilot Not Flying is exactly that, his or her duties are still firmly monitoring the management of the flight, with one of the most important aspects being, to cross check the actions (or in-actions) of the Pilot Flying

Left to Right : Mike, Myself, Dom, Laura, Colleen, Rasmus


So onto my opinion of SIMTECH AVIATION, the word I would use to portray my experience there would be ‘Outstanding’. From the very first enquiry through to the final hours, the consumer service and depth of knowledge from everyone I met has made for me, a lasting impression.

The professionalism and quality of instruction from mainly airline based captains has more than prepared me for the next stage of my career, exceeding by far the core foundations of the MCC/AOC, by highlighting their previous experiences and extracting the skills and qualities from the student that is needed in a modern day multi-crew flight deck. On many occasions, during the clear and precise briefings, we experienced a variety of interview style questions that can only prove to be an advantage for an airline interview.  

The first 3 days of the 10 day course, involved gaining a thorough understanding of Crew Resource Management, including communications, leadership and decision making, which was presented in a very organised, understandable manor, with lots of interaction, activities and case studies, giving a practical perspective on the subject.  Conducting this part of the course before approaching the simulator in my opinion is essential, to enable you to deliver the standards required right from the first simulator session.


Discussing and Analyzing Case Studies involving accidents related to CRM, such as;


A flight that departed in spite of a collision
In-correct weights entered in pre-flight calculations resulting in degraded take-off performance
Autocratic Captains leading to First Officers feeling inhibited from questioning actions
Incidents through interrupted sleep patterns leading to fatigueness 


made us all aware of the significant impact CRM has in daily operations to migrate the risk of accidents occurring.  

As the course delivers the intermediate training between gaining your CPL and IR as a Single Pilot and then progressing onto a type rating course, in a Multi Crew environment, it is mainly down to the instructors to make this transition as understandable and adaptable for the student. Instructors at Simtech totally understood and appreciated that we had come from Single Pilot backgrounds and delivered this transition in my opinion, with much success.

Onto the Simulator itself, the fixed base 737XJ FNPT2. I was very impressed with the features this simulator offered throughout the course, including Wind-shear, TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System), Auxiliary Power Unit and Icing operation, even simulation of an explosive decompression during cruise! Also, one of the main benefits concerning present day operations, a functional Flight Management Computer, where you will inherit at least a basic knowledge of programming navigational and performance data, which is integrated into the Standard Operating Procedures throughout your sessions at Simtech. Not forgetting to mention the stunning real world visuals and sound effects actually in my opinion, all add to giving you the sense of motion and reality, at an affordable cost compared to a full motion simulator.

During the 10 days, we stayed in the Metro Hotel which is conveniently located, about a 10 minute shuttle ride to the facility. They will also pick you up on arrival into Dublin Airport and drop you off on departure any time from 0400am through to 1145pm! For Simtech to offer not only accommodation but also transportation is such a relief as finding suitable adequate accommodation has been in the past for myself, the main deciding factor. My experience of the apartment within the hotel was just that, suitable and more than adequate, with the bonus of sharing with colleagues from your course at Simtech, giving you lots of past and new experiences to chat about over a Pint of Guinness! 


The Guinness Storehouse is defiantly a great place to visit during your down time!

By everyone at Simtech delivering exceptional consumer service, with the students interest at heart, the MCC/AOC course for me, naturally manifested into a fun, enjoyable course, whilst at the same time, maintaining professional industry standards that has fulfilled my preparation for the next stage of my pilot career, the interview and Type Rating. Having the time again to decide where to complete my MCC/AOC, without doubt, it would be Simtech.

One scenario I will never forget in a rush, is my first experience of Crew Incapaciation, not myself (unfortunately) but the one who has to deal with now flying an aircraft designed for multi-crew, on your own whilst communicating for assistance from the cabin crew. They say things happen in threes, well, if the insidious crew incapacitation, followed soon after by an engine fire prompting to divert the flaming aircraft, followed by a now one- engine go-around on the approach due to an obstruction on the runway, then finally, a circuit to return to land, wasn't enough to aid a successful nights sleep, I don't know what was! 



I will not hesitate to recommend Simtech Aviation’s MCC/JOC Course, Dublin, to anyone concerned. 


By PianoPilot






Tuesday, 2 September 2014

CRM & HUMAN FACTORS

CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & HUMAN FACTORS IN A MULTI-CREW ENVIRONMENT

In such a diverse safety-critical workplace, it is inevitable that the challenge of differences in opinion, behavior, perceptions, and training methodology to name a few, will all contribute to the decision making process in a Multi-Crew environment. These decisions may be mutual and agreed upon, controversially, they may cause disagreement between crews or other staff concerned, and if this typical situation is not addressed in the correct manor, using a structured, industry recognized approach, the result has all the potential to create disastrous consequences. My idea of this blog is to give a bit of background information, and outline various aspects of CRM and Multi-Crew before sharing my experience of my course at SIMTECH AVIATION in a later blog.

DA42 Twinstar, Flight Training, CTC Wings Take-Off
It is also important to highlight that this topic of CRM and Human Factors is not confined to just the cockpit, but to everyone involved in ensuring the safety of the aircraft and passengers onboard, for example the Cabin Crew. Crew Resource Management, formally known as Cockpit Resource Management, originated in 1978, and became mandatory for all airline crews in June 1979 after numerous accidents, and in result, fatalities, during that year. The Kegworth Air Disaster in January 1989, which I will highlight later on, brought about the realization that safety is dependent on the coordination of key people in the entire system, and not just with the pilots, hence why the name was changed from 'Cockpit' to 'Crew' Resource Management.

Approximately, 75% of aircraft accidents involve Human Factor elements or CRM breakdown. To just stop and think of how significantly the flying machines of today have advanced, involving the complexity of electrical, hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic and automation systems, that are all highly sophisticated in their own right, and the main cause of accidents in the present day is not down to 'Technical Issues' but the Human Beings flying them, who have themselves gone through highly sophisticated and demanding flight training courses to enable them with a 'Professional Pilot's Licence' is shocking. I state 'automation' in bold as I think it is important to highlight that such a fundamental system in present day operations, the 'Central Nervous System' in control of the aircraft, is not the main cause of accidents, it is related to the crews controlling the automation. Aircraft Automation is much worthy of a totally separate blog, so I don't want to digress away from how it is concerned with CRM. The automation (otherwise known as the 'virtual crew member'), is of vital importance, especially when dealing with an abnormal demanding situation where you need to use Multi-Crew skills and Crew Resource Management to their maximum efficiency. Although it is naturally perceived that the Auto-Pilot reduces pilot workload, surprisingly, it can actually lead to increased workload, as in effect, you have another crew member to monitor, one which can be subject to producing latent errors which if go unnoticed can quite easily short change the crews original idea of 'reducing workload'!

During the cruise, B757 Flight Deck 
Thinking out loud, I have heard, and also used the world renown saying, 'I was on Auto-Pilot' on numerous occasions...this is often followed up by an apology of some kind for some action that should have been taken or something that was said not relevant to the situation, like a kind of subconscious mind set which should hopefully put this auto-pilot concept into reality.


 'Auto-Pilot is a cue to wake-up, not the other way around'!

A common misunderstanding is that when you join the small minority of the population who hold a Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence, (less than 1500 hours total time plus a few other things), you have been trained to act as Single Pilot In Command, the sole manipulator of an aircraft's controls. Therefore, to fly for one of the majority of airline operators and their associated anti-gravity machines of the present day that demands more than one flight crew, there is a requirement to complete a Multi-Crew Co-operation and in association, Crew Resource Management Course. The Multi-Crew concept basically implies that there is more than one of you working towards a common goal, another colleague whose presence and input on how to achieve the task in hand must be acknowledged and considered during both normal and abnormal eventualities. This essential transition from Single Pilot to Multi-Crew combined with Crew Resource Management knowledge has all the potential to significantly reduce accidents and incidents occurring within the Aviation Industry.

I read some time ago one of many interesting articles by Lembit Opik on the subject of Multi-Crew Co-operation....for Beginners. To give an overview of Lembit's experience, the day started with what is usually a routine familiar journey for most General Aviation Pilot's, to your home airfield however, in Lembit's case, his 'non standard' journey to Sleap Airfield where his trustworthy Mooney awaited for him, involved a ride in a brand new Aston Martin Vantage S, driven by one of the world's most accomplished drummers of the progressive rock band, 'Emersonm Lake and Palmer' with the intention of being Lembit's passenger for the short leisurely flight that day. Mr Palmer's response to being asked if he had ever flown 'upfront' before appeared to take Lembit by suprise (and no doubt most readers of Flight Training News). His answer to such a rhetorical question didn't just stop at 'yes', as Mr Palmer went on to reveal he flies Airbus A340's for Virgin Atlantic! Pre flight, the usual rituals of flight planning were assessed and analysed but this time, Mr Palmer introduced even at this early stage, 'desired Crew Resource Management behavior' by becoming familiar with, and discussing vital speeds and various other details, including an in-depth assessment of the Mooney's systems and airworthiness. Before even leaving the planning room, the threats had been assessed, and the error management had been considered, limiting and mitigating any possible error that could be avoided.

Virgin Atlantic 747 taxiing out of Manchester to 05L

After the power checks had been completed at the hold for runway 23, just prior to take-off, a 'low voltage' light appeared accompanied by the battery showing a negative charge of 8 amps. After clearing the runway returning to the hold, Mr Palmer (assisting passenger), 'did something obvious', that Lembit said he wouldn't have done at all, and referred to the aircraft manual for the procedure to be carried out, an action taken by commercial pilot's on without doubt, a daily basis for various abnormalities that may arise.  


'The manual exists for a reason - Use It'      

Second time round, they both successfully became airborne without eventuality until 200ft that is....where the low voltage light returned after retracting the undercarriage. ''I'll do diagnostics and radio, you fly the aircraft" said Mr Palmer. Delegation of tasks for maximum efficiency, with clear, concise and timely instructions turned this 'slight' eventuality into a manageable one and after they managed to extend the undercarriage electrically, they made it safely back to terra firma, where the atmosphere remained calm with no panic or crisis. This is a classic piece on this subject that can be found in Flight Training News, Issue 294, July 2013 by Lembit Opik.

Even with more than 99% less passengers than an A340, Mr Palmer's approach of bringing the 6 letters, CRM and MCC to the table, rewarded them with a landing they both could walk away from. The CRM dealt with the utilization of all available resources in the most efficient effective way to find a solution. The MCC dealt with the sharing and delegation of tasks, using effective communication to share a common understanding of the task in hand. The pre-flight preparation dealt with well, being prepared and 'familiar' with aircraft speeds and operating procedures to free up mental capacity that can be used to deal with anything that decides to be 'unforgiving' on the day of flight. As Lembit said, there was no worry of thunderstorms closing in, or air displays in the vicinity, because simply, they had checked.

If I was to be asked to define 'Crew Resource Management', in support of everything I have so far talked about, I would expand upon the 6 core practical ingredients that we inherited and continuously demonstrated on our MCC & JOC course at SIMTECH AVIATION. These are:

Communications
Decision-Making
Leadership/Teamwork/Crew Co-ordination
Situational Awareness
Workload Management
Threat And Error Management
                                         
Threats are countered by applying desired CRM behaviors which help to avoid and mitigate any potential errors.

Why would any Private Pilot on the journey to becoming a Professional Pilot not want to become familiar and demonstrate these desired behaviors even in their early stages of training or hour building? Simply 'because it is not an obligation' is not a wise thought process. By putting this invaluable theory into practice during every flight you make, will give you plenty of ammunition not just towards airline interview questions that encompass the subject, but more importantly, one day, may prevent all the 7 layers of Swiss Cheese from aligning and causing a fatal accident within the General Aviation Industry.

PA28 Cherokee - Checkout at Liverpool
During my hour building in Arizona, U.S.A, all done with a great friend of mine, we did just the above. Detailed briefings of the serviceability of the 50 + year old aircraft we were flying, routings (mainly focusing on terrain clearance), flight plan management, weather (although temperature and associated density altitudes were more appropriate), actively voicing our thoughts before, during and after the flight, constantly updating any threats and our contingency plans to deal with them, shared communications ie one concentrates on flying whilst the other works the radios, checklists actioned in a challenge and response format, effectively working as a Multi-Crew.
Multi-Crew in Practice, en-route to East Grand Canyon, USA
I will always recall our flight to Page (East Grand Canyon), cruising along at 10,500ft to ensure clearance over the peaks of Payson and Sedona otherwise known as Red Rock Valley, yet still 2000ft below Arizona's highest peak, Humphrey's Peak. This is where CRM, more specifically, 'Crew Situational Awareness' really did have major importance as at that altitude, the air pressure is around 30% less than that of the surface, and being un-pressurized can encourage the onset of Hypoxia. There were two factors in our favor. One, the fact that healthy people are able to compensate for altitudes up to 12,000ft without oxygen for a reasonable amount of time, and two, we both don't smoke or drink obsessively so therefore classed ourselves as healthy! It turned out to be an uneventful flight, (apart from witnessing 10,500ft on a 3-pointer barometric altimeter)! Still the acknowledgement and awareness of this particular flight at that altitude made us both conscious to the fact of staying vigilant concerning each others performance.

10,600ft displayed on our 3-point barometric altimeter
Both of our attitudes and approach during our hour building made flying over 6 hours a day in the same aircraft, within 3 weeks completing just over 50 hours each, across many geographical and topographical challenges in heat that even a camel would struggle to survive in, manageable, and more importantly, made a great contribution to both of our future Airline Pilot Careers...I'm sure Pas will agree!

En-route to California, San Bernardino Mountains
Approaching Big Bear, California, 9,500ft in challenging terrain

Another experience I want to share of 'my contribution' to CRM involves this time, going back to when I was flying as Cabin Crew, an event that occurred during the final approach stage into Glasgow on a 323 seat Airbus A330-200, with myself being 'Cabin Secured and Crew Seated' at door L3 (Approximately 45metres/147ft away from the cockpit)! It was then, I noticed a shallow fine mist emerging from the overhead lockers throughout the rear of the A330's cabin, that was persistent and becoming noticeable to passengers. Signalling to my colleague at the opposite door (R3) for their opinion matched mine....CONCERN! My first and only thought at this point was a fire in it's early stage. The mist was increasingly filling up the cabin, and although didn't resemble the usual dense breathtaking smoke from a fire, I was not to assume anything. Now my options at this time, alongside re-assuring passengers it would be safer to remain seated coming into land, than run up and down the cabin in a state of panic, were to inform the Senior, inform the flight crew, get up and investigate (not wise) or stay seated and mentally rehearse in my mind the appropriate action and drills to be taken if this were to develop into an evacuation on the ground! I decided upon the latter but in addition, I knew there was also 1 extra crew member in the flight deck that was able to answer the inter phone at such a critical stage of flight. Matching my tone and rate of speech to give a true representation of the situation which at this point was not an emergency, I informed the additional flight crew member so they could be situationally aware and prepared should an emergency develop, but also, a scenario that undoubtedly would have had an effect on a go-around decision and where to vacate the runway as quick as possible. Upon vacating the runway, the additional crew member came to take a look, which by this time, the smoke had seemed to disperse but still a sense of erryness among the cabin remained. The outcome....well one I was assured not to be embarrassed about in the slightest, that it was actually a common thing on this particular aircraft, that when the outflow valves begin to open and the cabin starts to de-pressurize below a certain altitude, the air conditioning and pressurization packs emit this familiar mist! (Well familiar to all those who have most likely done the same as me) however, I must emphasize, that in this specific case and many others, being 'familiar' can also be deceitful....

We call it environmental capture; carrying out a certain task very frequently or becoming 'too' familiar of a normality (like in my example) which can easily result in selecting the incorrect course of action or incorrectly diagnosing something. This could then lead on to confirmation bias; looking for information to 'confirm' your understanding whilst ignoring evidence to to the contrary. These both play a major part concerning the Human Factors involved with CRM.

Wing View from a B757 during Cabin Crew days

For example, 'environmental capture' and 'confirmation bias' contributed to the fatal night of the Kegworth disaster. The combination of heavy engine vibration, noise, shuddering and associated smell of fire lead the captain to believe the right engine was malfunctioning due to the smell of smoke in the cockpit because in previous 737 variants, the 'bleed air' (air taken from the engine for the air conditioning), was taken from the right engine and also because the right engine fire warning light was flashing however, the aircraft the crew were flying on this particular night was a different variant of the 737, a 737-400, and Boeing had re-designed the system to use bleed air from both the engines, proving the captains assumption to be fatal as the fire was actually in the left engine. As the right engine was throttled back (assimilating the indications on the engine instrument display), coincidentally, the left engine surges and vibrations reduced, convincing them into confirmation bias, that they had selected the correct engine to shut down. As we know, this was not the correct case and even though several cabin staff and passengers had noticed unburnt fuel igniting in the left engine, they failed to inform the pilots as they all assumed that the pilots were aware of a problem with the left engine. Shutting down the wrong engine resulted in 47 fatalities that could have been avoided through CRM in practice. Having knowledge of this disaster alone was enough to take the action I did whilst I was cabin crew and alert the Flight Crew of what was occurring 45 meters behind them, no matter how minor or irrelevant you deem the situation to be!


'60% of all human communication is non-verbal, (body language), 30% is your tone, which means 90% of what your saying ain't coming out your mouth' (Will Smith)  

This bold statement just demonstrates how important our communication within CRM really is, especially in such an environment that deprives us of at least 60% of what we are trying to say!

The aviation industry will never stop learning with ways to enhance the safety, by creating systems that are better able to tolerate the occurrence of any errors associated with such a complex form of travel. The industry has proven to take previous accidents involving among other contributors, the break down (or non-existence) of CRM and Human Factors into deep contemplation and in result, emphasizing and mandating for all the airline crews of the present and future, the vital importance of Crew Resource Management in a Multi-Crew Environment. We never stop learning in our industry, in addition, we should never ever reach the point of thinking we have learnt everything about aviation....

'Once you think you have learnt everything about aviation, stop as its that that will kill you'      

Approach at Sunset, Bournemouth, during CTC Flight Training 

A sad truth is that the most useful knowledge we inherit in order to develop safety even further, arises from previous devastating accidents. The most significant that come to my mind include:


Eastern Airlines, 1972 
A L-1011 Tristar crashed into the Everglades, Miami, as the crew became distracted from a faulty nose gear warning light. Failure to delegate duties lead to the flight path being un-monitored and in result, 101 fatalities.

Tenerife Disaster, 1977
A collision of a KLM 747 and a Pan Am 747 on the runway due to the KLM commencing take-off role in dense fog without clearance due to a misunderstanding and mix up of communications, leading to 335 fatalities.


Air France 447, 2009
Flight Crews utterly failing to engage in CRM, with no co-operation, unclear who is responsible for what or even who is doing what, lead to a fatal deep stall from an approximate 35000ft, causing fatalities to all 228 on board.

United Airlines, 1978
A Douglas DC-8 was making an approach into Portland, when a landing gear abnormality arose. The captain decided to enter a holding pattern to try fix the problem. Focusing on the landing gear problem for over an hour, whilst ignoring repeated hints from his First Officer and Flight Engineer about there fuel state. When the engines started to flame out, it was too late, resulting in the aircraft crashing in a wooded suburb, with the deaths of 2 flight crew and 8 passengers.    

The most suited conclusion in my opinion, comes from a quote made by James McBride, my favorite columnist in again, Flight Training News, who's article related to the subject, namely 'Have Some Respect' (May 2009 , Issue 249) inspired me to write this blog. The concluding sentence has great impact and is as follows...


'We must have respect for the ones who have gone before us, especially when they have given us the privilege of learning from their mistakes'    
       

By PianoPilot


   








Thursday, 6 March 2014

CTC Pilot Training


CTC WINGS TAKE-OFF

BOURNEMOUTH

FROZEN AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT LICENCE

Multi-Engine CPL / IR

07th August 2013 - 20th January 2014

http://www.ctcwings.com/takeoff




CTC certainly revolutionized my training, from Private Level to Professional Level, orientated towards future airline employment and extremely high levels of professionalism and standards expected. The course was as follows:

Multi-Engine Piston -                                     6 Hours + 1.5 Hours Simulator
Basic Instrument flight Module -                  5.6 Hours + 5 Simulator
(To reduce IR flight training by 10 hours)
Instrument Rating -                                        10 Hours + 35 Simulator
Commercial Licence -                                     15 Hours

DA42 Twinstar - Bournemouth Flying Club Cafe

After review of the requirement to have 200 Hours Total Time before commencing CPL Skills test, adding the Multi-Engine Piston and CPL course hours (21 hours) to my 174 Hours gave me 195 hours - 5 hours short of being able to conduct my CPL test if I completed the CPL in minimum time that is. As a consequence, I had to start my Instrument Rating first, just after my Multi-Engine Rating. The disadvantage being that we were in Summer, and spending time in-doors on the simulator was not desirable, and as expected, by the time came at the end of the year to undergo my Commercial Licence (where idyllic weather is much needed), the weather was not that and further delayed my training due to the re-scheduling of training and skills tests during winter months



Multi-Engine Instrument Rating
First Time Pass
10th November 2013
Age 24
DA42 Twinstar - G-CTCH
2 Hours 10 Minutes - Bournemouth - Cardiff



Multi-Engine Commercial Pilot Licence
First Series Pass
20th January 2014
Age 24
DA42 Twinstar - G-CTCC
2 Hours 45 Minutes - Bournemouth - Radstock 


Screens up, Lifejacket on, must be an Instrument Sortie down to Alderney 

Checklists & Briefings, Supporting Knowledge, Standard Operating Procedures, Handling, Workload Management, Situational awareness, Decision Making and Capacity where all assessed and developed whilst flying to airfields including:
Alderney, Exeter, Cardiff, Shoreham, Bristol and Yeovil

CTC Frozen Airline Transport Pilot Licence completed - 20th January 2014

The CTC experience can be as expected, quite demanding in addition to the most common demands of what is required from flight training in general. The approach and training methodology is designed to bring out the best to achieve those first time/series pass rates and I can assure you, you are a transformed professional pilot by the end of it. there would be something wrong if you wasn't however, the competence and the supporting knowledge that is gained is highlighted as you progress through your career. The student pilot community is in a league of its own, with always someone present and able to clarify any queries or concerns. Thinking back, if I hadn't of met or been in such environment, and tackled the course on my own, it would not have brought out the best in my performance. Through sharing one of the most stressful challenging experiences with others soon turns them into good friends!

One other statement...punctuality. CTC will not operate efficiently without it...and neither will your future airline employer! Report times, Slot times, departure times/arrival times including the brief and de-brief schedule is demanding, it will certainly prepare you for an airline career ahead. This is some differences between relaxed flight training and Strict flight Training...the latter making you far more time conscious and able to manage your time more efficiently and effectively, of which is a major asset to future employees. Other 'crews' behind you WILL NOT appreciate a delay that could have been avoided!


Graduating CTC with 56 hours of Multi-Engine Hours, and 49.5 hours of Simulator training, gave me a Total Time of

229 Hours 57 Minutes

Including 81.8 hours In Command


Plus having the world's leading flight training name attached to my CV!


Onwards to complete the rest of my hour building closer to home to enable me to apply to the CAA for my licence....




By PianoPilot