Trouble Finding Traffic

RWH1986

Some Guy
When I fly and ATC tells me traffic I have trouble finding it. My vision is ok since I passed a first class medical. I get worried about not being able to find the traffic. Is there any way I can train myself to see the traffic more effectively?
 
Keep in mind when ATC tells you where traffic is, it's in relation to your ground track, not necessarily where the plane is pointed. So If they say traffic 12 o'clock, widen your scan from say, 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock.

Also, your perpiheral (sp?) vision is MUCH more effective for spotting movement than looking directly at where the aircraft could be. That's why you want to scan the sky in sections from top to bottom.

Sometimes traffic is just a royal pain to spot. ;)
 
I don't think anyone out there can tell you they spot the traffic 100% of the time. The above post is spot on.

Also, Try not to get yourself worked up about finding it. Just take your time.
 
When I fly and ATC tells me traffic I have trouble finding it. My vision is ok since I passed a first class medical. I get worried about not being able to find the traffic. Is there any way I can train myself to see the traffic more effectively?

Oh heck, I only spot, at best, maybe 40-60% of the traffic called out!
 
Keep in mind where the traffic is headed, what it is doing. If they tell you to look for an airplane on final, look up the final path, think glideslope etc. If its relative to a VOR, or on a victor airway etc, find the VOR on the ground and look accordingly. And don't hesitate to ask ATC for update on the traffic, because they sometimes ballpark it badly, and after a few seconds the traffic is usually somewhere else already.
 
Know where to look in reference to the horizon. If they are at your altitude, they will be slightly above the horizon, etc. Have the right sunglasses. Know that a clear, sunny day is one of the worst for spotting traffic. A day with a 5000' or so OVC and clear visibility underneath is the best (IMHO). Picking out traffic below you among ground clutter is an enormous pain in the butt.
 
One of my most terrifying moments as a pilot: the first time I went to the local practice field in a plane with TCAS.

You won't see all traffic: it's impossible. A little white plane on the horizon can be a real pain to see, and replacing the horizon with clouds or visually busy urban areas doesn't help, either. Just keep your scan up and hopefully it will appear. If you're on with control/tower and it's not too busy, let them know you still can't see the traffic and they'll update you on its position and give you instructions to stay clear, if necessary.

Not to scare you, but the closest I've ever come to a mid-air was on a beautiful VFR day with flight following. A Mooney and me, head-on, both on frequency. ATC gave us a traffic advisory about five seconds after we passed. We probably would have missed by about 150 feet, but we saw one another beforehand and made our right banks clear. Point being: I'm more concerned about the traffic ATC isn't telling me about than that it is. A corollary: don't totally fixate on trying to find the traffic ATC is calling; they may not see the plane right in front of you, either.
 
It takes practice. When we are meeting up with the tankers (KC-10 and -135s), we see them on radar, on TCAS and know how far they are away and it STILL takes a while to get them visual. I can promise you that I have said "negative contact" about 1000x more than I have said "traffic in sight".
 
I'm learning, but it has taken some time to spot traffic. I still miss a lot of it.

My passenger the other day apparently has eyes like a 20-year-old Chuck Yeager - he was spotting everything. Kinda made me feel silly. It was interesting because he spotted a guy flying what looked like an ultralight along the Pedernales river the other day around 200' AGL.

We were at 4500 MSL, four miles south of him. I'm amazed he saw it.
 
My passenger the other day apparently has eyes like a 20-year-old Chuck Yeager - he was spotting everything.
I've flown with one of those before! The dude was a mechanic and he kept pointing out traffic all over the place. I felt like an ignorant tool. Of course, at 20 years old and 200 hours I probably was....
 
I've flown with one of those before! The dude was a mechanic and he kept pointing out traffic all over the place. I felt like an ignorant tool. Of course, at 20 years old and 200 hours I probably was....

You coulda stopped at the 20 years old part....:D

I was a complete tool at 20. There are guys around here who are not but they're the exception rather than the rule....
 
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