Emergency Family Training...

BTAcola

BTAcola

New Member
I was asked to put together a "Packet" of items that would be used to distribute to a few people that are looking at getting some flight time, (husbands, wives, children (older kids anyways), that just want some basic idea of how to fly and talk on the radio or do things to help get the airplane on the ground, in case the pilot becomes incapacitated.

What other times would you include:

Straight and level

Where the Autopilot is located and how it works/ turn on/off etc etc...

How to talk on the radio and ask for help, where its located, change frequencies... etc etc..

How to find a runway based on headings and get the airplane down towards the ruwnays, - basically, the 8 or so lessons before you solo, slow flight, stalls off, on... steep turns... the basics of flying.

V-Speeds for their aircraft specifically and what they mean, and when to use them.

how to taxi obviously and shut down

What else would be good to include in this "ground packet" of things to review and to have handy to talk about before we fly?

Thanks.
B.C.
 
AOPA has a "Pinch-Hitter" program, which is right along those lines. Perhaps you could peruse their website and see if there's any info there.
 
:yeahthat:

I'd want cockpit automation (and how to get it on and off) explained, radios, a few simple gps functions and landings + go arounds. Just basic presolo stuff. Remembering the guy in his King Air, with tremendous trouble getting the A/P to do what he needed it to do... I'd follow the syllabus of a pinch hitter course and go from there.
 
BTAcola said:
What other times would you include:
Click to expand...

I would actually eliminate a few...

BTAcola said:
Where the Autopilot is located and how it works/ turn on/off etc etc...
Click to expand...

This I would cut. Most airplanes are inherently stable. Most people should be able to keep the dirty side down with zero use of an autopilot. Since there are so many variations on the autopilots out there (Autocontrol IIIB, KAP 140, GFC700, etc.) I think mentioning autopilots would only confuse an already nervous person.

BTAcola said:
How to find a runway based on headings and get the airplane down towards the ruwnays, - basically, the 8 or so lessons before you solo, slow flight, stalls off, on... steep turns... the basics of flying.
Click to expand...

I would make it even simpler than that. Break it down to the first 3 or 4 lessons. How the trim works, what to expect when extending flaps, how to use the power alone for controlling climbs and descents, that kind of thing. There's no reason for a nervous person to be thinking about stalls or steep turns when they're just trying to get down in one piece.

BTAcola said:
V-Speeds for their aircraft specifically and what they mean, and when to use them.
Click to expand...

Again, cut it. V-speeds don't mean much to a newbie, especially for landing. Give them a target speed for final approach, then tell them to slowly reduce the throttle to idle when they get within 1/4 mile of the runway.

BTAcola said:
how to taxi obviously and shut down
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Forget taxiing, just tell them to pull the big red knob out and turn the key off. If they've made it that far, they've done their job--let somebody else take over to get the plane to a parking spot.

BTAcola said:
What else would be good to include in this "ground packet" of things to review and to have handy to talk about before we fly?
Click to expand...

I think you covered it pretty well. The only area of improvement would be for the person to take 3 or 4 flight lessons themselves, beyond just reading your brochure.
 
THANKS FOR THE HELP!!

THe reason i put the autopilot in there... whose to say that the pilot flying will not become incapacitated will in IFR conditions?

Using the autopilot in THEIR airplane could and probably would save their lives.

Just my two cents!
 
i was pretty much going to say the same thing as jrh, but got distracted looking for jobs. now i can go back to that. :/
 
moxiepilot said:
i was pretty much going to say the same thing as jrh, but got distracted looking for jobs. now i can go back to that. :/
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Oh, and i looked at the PINCH Hitter Program... doing that with them, and helping to explain some things.. along with my packet that Ive made.. and an hour or two in the sim, (we have a pretty incredible sim here, as in, partial motion, full screen etc etc)... and a few hours in the airplane, id think its a pretty good program.

Thanks for the help everyone!
B.C.
 
You may of covered this and I simply overlooked it. I would include information on:
•Brakes
•Throttles
•Attitude indicator
•Compass
•Rudders
•Level flight in a turn
•Landing gear operation (location and use of gear handle)
 
jrh said:
I think you covered it pretty well. The only area of improvement would be for the person to take 3 or 4 flight lessons themselves, beyond just reading your brochure.
Click to expand...

I agree completely, simplicity is the key to success here. It has to be something that anyone can remember and can be all placed on 1 sheet of paper.

If you guys were in a cirrus would you direct them on how to pull the chute or how to land the plane?
 
We did a pinch hitter course.
It was pretty popular and seemed to work out well.
I honestly feel that most of those ladies will be able to get out of the plane with minimal injury.

I wasn't part of teaching the ground school but I was part of the flying.
Mainly we told them to talk plainly on 121.5 and how to Ident.
How to fly a vector.
how to set up a long straight-in final - not patterns.
Then just hold it off.

After two days, we actually had some good landings.
 
Douglas said:
I wasn't part of teaching the ground school but I was part of the flying.
Mainly we told them to talk plainly on 121.5 and how to Ident.
How to fly a vector.
how to set up a long straight-in final - not patterns.
Then just hold it off.
Click to expand...

This is all that is needed for a pinch hitter course. Don't bother with anything but round numbers for airspeeds either, i.e. flaps full at 80kts, or whatever. It's not about passing a check ride, it's about saving your butt. Even if you slam it onto the ground and sheer the gear off, if everyone walks away, it was a good landing.

I have taught a few "pinch hitters" and this is basically all I teach them.

As far as a pilot becoming unable to fly in IMC, I dare say any non-pilot would be able to get a plane back on the ground successfully in IMC.
 
mshunter said:
This is all that is needed for a pinch hitter course. Don't bother with anything but round numbers for airspeeds either, i.e. flaps full at 80kts, or whatever. It's not about passing a check ride, it's about saving your butt. Even if you slam it onto the ground and sheer the gear off, if everyone walks away, it was a good landing.

I have taught a few "pinch hitters" and this is basically all I teach them.

As far as a pilot becoming unable to fly in IMC, I dare say any non-pilot would be able to get a plane back on the ground successfully in IMC.
Click to expand...


I 100% agree with this.. in IFR you are somewhat screwed.. but IF they are IFr, and if its not on autopilot, if they can set it... and get on the radio and get tower to get them to nearest VFR if possible, its better than not asking... or better than not knowing how autopilot works... hell.. most are pretty easy.. Master ON... Autopilot ON... hdg select... alt select.. done.. its pretty simple.. so ive included it in the program if its equipped in their aircraft.
 
stesta5074 said:
If you guys were in a cirrus would you direct them on how to pull the chute or how to land the plane?
Click to expand...

How to land.

Even if they crack up the plane, I'm confident even a newbie could figure out how to fly a Cirrus well enough to walk away from it.

So if all things are equal (a damaged aircraft but survivable outcome), the next priority should be to end up in a spot with rescue services immediately available. That will happen most easily at an airport (controlled landing), not a random field in the middle of nowhere (parachute pull).
 
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