Fix to fix
- Thread starter mhcasey
- Start date
Qutch
Question everything
O.K. AMG, I'll make more of this background material available if some people are interested in the underpinnings of the method. I've posted some background and work in other "Apps" of flight training, which also use Temporal Perception training. Quick Summaries and links to the full study docs are here if someone wants to read them. This is all related to studies of how the human brain functions, and ways to squeeze higher and higher performance from it, particularly from pilots who juggle large amounts of information in a fast moving environment. My specialty was Temporal/Time processing, and conversion of mathematical/geometric data into time data that the brain could use to perform math calcs subconsciously. (think of it like the conversion of digital to analog signals, 1s and 0s into wave forms, then processed in the back of your mind, subconsciously, with answers ready to go once you need them). The dreaded fix-to-fix was just a demonstation device (an App) to show how even the most extreme fix-to-fix assignments ever imagined could be easily flown by a pilot using temporal techniques instead of math/geometric navigation. But you can use it for lots of other stuff once you understand what you are looking for.
What is Temporal Perception? - Temporal/Time Perception and processing is what you use to navigate a moving soccer ball thru a field of moving defenders. Temporal Perception and processing is what you use to navigate a car thru a busy uncontrolled intersection filled with moving vehicles. You process not only observable rates of motion, but you make and process predictions of probable acceleration and deceleration of those objects. Pretty complex calculations, all done subconsciously. Temporal Perception and processing is what you use as a quarterback to lead a receiver with your downfield pass. Temporal perception also reminds you that a pot you placed on the stove must be attended to, or that its time to check your fuel gauge again. Humans process temporal data (like movement) with great efficiency, and subconsciously, which frees the brain to perform other work with conscious thought processes (think of it like multi-core computer processors, dividing up the work load). What I'm going to be explaining in tomorrow evening's post is that Temporal Perception is something that very proficient pilots already use subconsciously to process math and geometry problems, fly an approach, land planes, organize cockpit chores, and almost everything they do to command an aircraft. They do it without realizing it, and its a skill that takes much time to develop (experience). What I'm going to be explaining in tomorrow evening's post is that Temporal Perception is something that can be taught, triggered, and accelerated. And in inexperienced students (and some open minded experienced pilots) that acceleration can develop abilities that go well beyond the most experienced pilots. People who suffer brain injuries to the the basal ganglia and the parietal lobe, may lose their ability to track time durations, and find it very difficult to function. While some other victims of brain injuries develop super human savant like abilities. http://www.unisci.com/stories/20011/0227013.htm . . http://manchestertiming.webeden.co.uk/
Moody AFB and HRL Studies - What originally triggered the Moody AFB project was a junior instructor's frustration over the use of the word "experience" by senior IPs unable to describe their superior proficiency (in every area, including fix-to-fix). When an exasperated IP runs out of things to tell a student, he just falls back on the word "experience" to explain why he can perform tasks that the student cannot, which of course the student does not understand and cannot duplicate without more and more practice time ("experience"). Not real helpful advice to a student worried that he's about to be washed out of the program. A Moody AFB IP asked the question "What is experience?" The study he conducted and the conclusion he reached, then taught to other IPs, was that one of the indefinable senses described as "experience" is something called "Temporal/Time Perception." The ability to track and process time data (moving objects and the duration between events). The Moody AFB project figured out how to identify key visual cues in various tasks (like those performed on the HSI, i.e. holding, fix-to-fix, instrument departures and penetrations ), and then trigger rapid temporal perception acceleration ("experience") in fledgling students who were years away from developing those abilities thru the normal syllabus. Students taught "Apps" based upon temporal perception began to routinely outperform other students, and even IPs. Temporal Perception pilots were doing difficult instrument maneuvers easily, and alone, that experienced pilot/navigator teams could not perfrom at all. Air Training Command took notice and packed a couple of the IPs off to the Air Force System's Command HR Lab, then using Williams AFB UPT students and IPs as lab rats. The HR Lab confirmed the Moody IP theory that temporal perception, in part, defined the word "experience", and that it's acceleration could be easily triggered in a UPT student, but not always in experienced pilots, many of whom were resistant to training with it, and denied using it. http://books.google.com/books?id=nr...6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Tafoya +fix-to-fix&f=false
University of Toyko Study into Landings- Researchers Suzuki and Entzinger performed similar research that, among other things, focused on the Temporal Cues and cognitive processes that "experienced" pilots use to smoothly fly the approach, flare and land an aircraft smoothly. They came to the same conclusion. Part of what pilots call "experience" is temporal perception, the ability to sense and analyze motion. Suzuki and Entzinger believe that it's not just an objects' spatial location itself, as seen by "experienced" pilots out the window that help them land smoothly, but also the rate, speed or velocity that those objects enlarge or move within their field of vision that provide the vital clues that the "experienced" pilot eventually learns to process. A few study excerpts - They state -"...subconsciously processed by the brain... the speed in which the angle between the runway sidelines increases, which is thought to be used for the timing of the.......experienced pilots use those cues....rate of change of apparent angle.........it is very difficult for instructors to express...."
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Below are links to the U of Tokyo study PDFs themselves if you wish to view them.
Note: These PDFs might take a minute or two to download, from Japan.
Notable Quotes from their study:
"Visual Perception of Movement....experienced pilots use those cues....rate of change of apparent angle....perception of movement...relative movements...velocities relative to......visual rate of change...runway motion parallax...moment-to-moment changes..."
http://mallorea.student.utwente.nl/~jorg/Publications/JSASS-KSAS2008_Entzinger.pdf
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"The selection of inputs for the pilot....Much research has been done to determine the visual information used by pilots."
http://mallorea.student.utwente.nl/~jorg/Publications/COE2008jorg.pdf (Discusses the mounted cameras that they used to track Visual Cues, as well as pilot head/eye movements.)
------------------------------------------------
1. Background - ...it is very difficult for instructors to express what was wrong with a landing or approach, or how it should be changed. The goal of this research was to indentify which elements in the visual field "experienced" pilots use to make smooth landings...
3. Ego-Motion Perception "...where motion perception is thought to be derived from the movement in the retinal image..."
3.1.1 Formulation- "...apparent relative motions of near and far objects due to movements of..."
3.1.2 Findings- "...optical flow....linear motion paths...."
"3.3 Visual Cues -....A visual cue to motion....Put simply, it is a time derivative of any of the visual cues.....This could be for instance the slow visual expansion of an object as it comes nearer....the change of shape....an object slowly appearing from the fog...."
4.2.4 Just Noticeable Differences- "...cues we want to keep stationary....cues that may trigger an action..."
PDF Link Here
Large file, slow download- http://mallorea.student.utwente.nl/~jorg/Publications/Kyoto2009VisCueReview.pdf
Qutch
Question everything
Temporal Technique Intro
Hacker's comment is my favorite, and well justified. Outlandish claims should be challenged. As Hacker pointed out earlier, there is no published literature to support that an HSI can be utilized with that degree of dexterity, or that such extreme fix-to fix maneuvers are possible. No published literature that explains how geometric navigation problems like fix-to-fix can be solved using an alternative non-mathematical solution, which on its face seems nonsensical. The only published reference to an alternative concept not involving math/geometry, wind correction, or flight computers is a brief, scientific reference to an "unpublished" study carried out in an AF laboratory. It makes some reference to the "movement" of instrument indications, but does not elaborate. It does not explain why Air Systems Command and Air Training Command had become interested in fix-to-fix, why they had formed a joint study, or exactly what that has to do with long term or working memory . . . http://books.google.com/books?id=nrtUgKzFhJ4C&pg=SA13-PA15&lpg=SA13-PA15&dq=%22instructors+were+merely+comparing+the+rates%22+%2Bfix-to-fix&source=bl&ots=Rvznet-jrK&sig=wiZIvQAcIjdQ3fcq--4oW1csG8c&hl=en&ei=0rvNTf6MG5LSsAPiyqGmCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22instructors%20were%20merely%20comparing%20the%20rates%22%20%2Bfix-to-fix&f=false Nevertheless, the method did exist and gained a grass roots following before Air Training Command put a lid on it, before it could challenge the officially approved pencil method.. During the 70s, every demo IPs were sent to perform intentionally began with these same outlandish claims, and we received a skeptical response every time. We included a challenge for the host Unit to supply their best pilot/navigator team(s) for a smackdown, head-to-head competition. The best of their local talent (armed with their best navigation tools), in any number and combination they chose, pitted against a lone Temporal Perception trained pilot using no aids (not even a pencil). All we demanded was an impossibly difficult course to fly, one that we knew nobody could perform using conventional mathematical or computer aided methods.
Temporal Exercise #1 - Introduction - During the 70s the few IPs familiar with this technique tailored their instruction to fit the student (like most good instructors teaching any subject), and instruction was real-time, face to face instruction. I can't do that in this situation. I've tried to explain the Rules here in sufficient detail. But this is not a "procedure", it’s an "acquired perceptual skill" like playing a musical instrument. You develop a "feel" for it. I hope that a few of you will stumble on to what I'm trying to convey, and run with it. Those of you who are IPs will eventually realize that you can apply it to other flight tasks. Those of you who "get it" will realize that this method is so pathetically simple to do, you'll wonder what all the complaining about fix-to-fix is about. 2 Forum readers have contacted me directly for a verbal walk-thru. If anyone else wants a verbal walk-thru on the technique contact me at qutch1234567 @hotmail.com and I'll talk you thru it by telephone, while we use the SIM program together. . http://wantscheck.com/UPTPrep/CourseInterceptTAid/tabid/380/Default.aspx .
(See Next Post - Part 1 of 2)
Qutch
Question everything
Temporal Fix-to-Fix Exercise #1, Part 1 of 2 - Set Up
1) Go to SIM Program http://wantscheck.com/UPTPrep/CourseInterceptTAid/tabid/380/Default.aspx
2) (your target fix is the 090 degree radial at 15NM) Dial the course arrow to 090.
3) locate (drag and drop) your aircraft to the lower right corner of the screen, somewhere near the 130degree radial @ 18NM (leave your aircraft pointed in the direction of N/360 degrees)
4) Hit the Pause/Freeze Button. . . Now let's take a look at your situation, and visualize the rules below while you sit frozen on Pause. (I know much of these rules & observations will seem obvious, but no matter how experienced you are, you need to focus on these points for this to work. . Don't skim over this. . If an IP were teaching you this, he'd drag you through this logic to prepare your thought process, then quiz you on it to reinforce it. . So don't skip it.This is the heart of the technique.. Programming your mind to interpret MOVING instrument indicators.)
Rules and Observations . . . * Your aircraft is now somewhere south of the fix, headed somewhat north (but unlike conventional navigation methods, you don't care exactly where you are, or exactly where you are going, or exactly what your heading is. You're not going to calculate a course, a heading, or even spend a lot of time looking at numbers. . And you couldn't care less about crosswinds. , , , Bearing Pointer Basics - * Note that your bearing pointer is pointed to the upper left corner of your HSI, towards the TACAN/VOR station. . (but unlike conventional navigation methods, you don't care what the bearing is, or anything else related to numbers. . You're just going to keep your eye on the bearing pointer's physical movement as you fly. . Not its bearings, just its physical movement.) . . * Note that the tail of your Course Arrow sits opposite the 090 radial you dialed into the Course Window, at 270 on the dial. . ( But unlike conventional navigation methods, you don't care about the number 270 itself, you're just going to note the physical location of the tail of the Course Arrow tail on the bevel, that's all.) . * When we resume flight, we should notice that the Bearing Pointer will FALL as we fly North towards the 090 radial. . When the bearing pointer reaches the tail of the Course Arrow, we've crossed the 090 target radial. . * We should anticipate that the speed at which the Bearing Pointer falls towards the wingtip will Speed Up as it Falls. Why won't it fall at the same speed all the time? . Answer: Because radials get closer together in a polar coordinate grid as we fly closer to the TACAN/VOR (study a polar coordinate grid diagram to understand why. . . http://www.waterproofpaper.com/graph-paper/polar-graph-paper.pdf . .) . So the BP will always be Speeding Up when it is above the wingtip. After the PB falls below the wingtip, it will Slow Down. Why won't the BP fall at the same speed all the time? Answer: Because the radials get further apart as we fly away from the TACAN/VOR station (study a polar coordinate grid diagram to understand why). . So the BP will always be Slowing Down when it is below the wingtip. . DME Basics * . The DME Slows Down when the BP is falling toward the wingtip. As you fly past the TACAN/VOR (BP on wingtip), the DME stops, and then it reverses direction. . * The DME Speeds Up when the BP is falling toward the tail of the aircraft. . Why? . Answer: (think this thru and try to answer it for yourself) * When you turn the aircraft, you affect both BP and DME speed, with equal but opposite effect (in other words, one speeds up while the other slows down) . Why?. Answer: (think this thru and try to answer it for yourself)
Tip:: The Rules and Observations above are the core of your guiding principles. . Thorough familiarity with them is the key to acquiring the Temporal Perception you will need to interpret and utilize the HSI with extraordinary efficiency. . Experienced, proficient pilots subconsciously absorb these (and other) dynamic principles after years of "experience." . But they usually don't ever consciously realize it, or the significance of it. And even if they do sense it, they don't know how to break it down and explain it to an inexperienced student.. Pilots who burn these dynamic principles into conscious memory turn into what appear to be Savants to un-initiated pilots.. What might take another pilot a lifetime of subconsciously accumulated dynamic "experience" can be packed into a 1 Hour, one-on-one conscious memory programming session. . Your task here is to quickly cram years of HSI motion dynamics "experience" into your brain. . Since I can't talk you thru it, do it yourself. . Quiz yourself on these simple observations, rules and principles until they are easy and natural to recall.
- Rules of the HSI summarized- a) The BP always falls b) The BP speeds up when it is above the wingtip c) The BP slows down when it is below the wingtip d) DME decreases when the BP is above the wingtip e) DME increases when the BP is below the wingtip f) DME slows down when the BP is above the wingtip g) DME speeds up when the BP is below the wingtip h) when you turn the aircraft, you affect both BP and DME speed, with equal but opposite effect (in other words, one speeds up while the other slows down) . . (Notice that I'm unconcerned with numbers, bearings or headings. I'm only interested in words like "falling"," increasing", "decreasing", "speeding up," and "slowing down." . That's all you should be thinking about. . I care about qualitative values, not quantitative values. . Qualitative values of time and motion are the input data your brain needs to process Temporal calculations. Don't think about numbers. Numbers inhibit Temporal Perception and processing. . You'll be using a different part of your brain for this fix-to-fix. . This is left brain vs right brain stuff.)
- Why these Rules are so Important - You are being asked to disregard everything you know about navigation.. You are being asked to toss away numbers, bearings, courses, headings, and geometry, and focus instead on inputs containing no hard data.. That might be easy for a new unrated student to accept from a respected IP, but its pretty hard to swallow for an experienced navigator. So what happened to the hard mathematical data you need to navigate.? The Answer:: It's still there, hidden in the MOTION of the instrument indications.. We don't have the time or the space here for me to provide you with the mathematical conversion analysis. That would take several pages of trig and calculus. But here is a plain language summary:: The math is built in and hidden in the motion of the HSI's indicators. Therefore, the HSI's indicators (BP and DME) MOVE at a rate which is commensurate with, and indicative of, the aircraft's Position, Direction, and Velocity thru the polar coordinate grid. . In other words, the needed quantitative math & geometric data is converted to qualitative motion data (Something like converting digital signals to analog signals, or 1s and 0s to wave forms, for those of you familiar with that concept.). So the mathematical data is still there, its just read and processed differently. Qualitative Motion data can be read and processed using a subconscious ability known as Temporal Perception. Math data, in contrast, is generally processed using conscious functions in a different part of the brain.. By shifting the calculations to the subconscious part of the brain (using temporal conversion inputs that this brain section can understand) , pilot overload is relieved.
- What is Temporal Perception? - . Temporal/Time perception is essential for survival.. From merging into lanes on a freeway of moving traffic, to entering a full traffic pattern. You have lots of internal clocks running in your brain right now.. One internal clock will bug you to go to work, even if you have not looked at a clock for a while. Another may wake you up even if your alarm clock fails.. There's another clock that will remind you that you left a pot of soup heating on the stove, that you need to stop reading this, and go check the pot.. Temporal Perception is a primary human ability with very accurate and sophisticated processing capability. And most of it takes place subconsciously.. Most pilots have better than average temporal abilities, but they don't consciously think about it, they don't try to develop or enhance it, and thus they don't utilize it to maximum effect. We take this ability for granted, and we don’t consciously think to harness it to navigate an aircraft.. But you can harness it with practice, because your instrument indicators MOVE.. In fact, experienced pilots do use it unknowingly for many tasks, including navigation, even if they don't realize it.. Developing the ability can intensify its performance value.. The benefits are enormous for an already overloaded pilot, or one who wants to speed up and increase his ability to process information.
- What is the Advantage (to a pilot) of Converting Quantitative Navigational Data to Qualitative Motion Data?. Your brain is the most important computer processor in the aircraft.. It has to divide its time between tasks.. If it gets overloaded, performance suffers, fatigue can set in.. Mistakes happen.. Safety is compromised.. Too bad you can't reassign your navigational duties to a different processor.. Your brain isn't a dual core Intel chip.. Or is it?. If you could harness an unused part of your brain to take over your navigation inputs and processing duties, that would leave the currently active part of your brain with more time to attend to other tasks (like aircraft control, cockpit checklists, and radio transmissions).. Well, it turns out you do have unused brain sections, but they don't all function using the same data inputs. The Moody AFB IPs stumbled onto a method of re-assigning their navigation processing to an unused portion of the brain, the Temporal processing portion (believed to be in the basal ganglia and the parietal lobe).. By inputting qualitative motion data into the part of your brain that processes Temporal Data, your navigation tasks can be processed in an underutilized but amazingly efficient part of the brain.. And since the fix-to-fix navigation math is secretly buried within the BP/DME motion (including winds), its all calculated for you, subconsciously.. (Something like digital to analog conversion, and back again.)
Advance to Next Post - part 2 of 2
1) Go to SIM Program http://wantscheck.com/UPTPrep/CourseInterceptTAid/tabid/380/Default.aspx
2) (your target fix is the 090 degree radial at 15NM) Dial the course arrow to 090.
3) locate (drag and drop) your aircraft to the lower right corner of the screen, somewhere near the 130degree radial @ 18NM (leave your aircraft pointed in the direction of N/360 degrees)
4) Hit the Pause/Freeze Button. . . Now let's take a look at your situation, and visualize the rules below while you sit frozen on Pause. (I know much of these rules & observations will seem obvious, but no matter how experienced you are, you need to focus on these points for this to work. . Don't skim over this. . If an IP were teaching you this, he'd drag you through this logic to prepare your thought process, then quiz you on it to reinforce it. . So don't skip it.This is the heart of the technique.. Programming your mind to interpret MOVING instrument indicators.)
Rules and Observations . . . * Your aircraft is now somewhere south of the fix, headed somewhat north (but unlike conventional navigation methods, you don't care exactly where you are, or exactly where you are going, or exactly what your heading is. You're not going to calculate a course, a heading, or even spend a lot of time looking at numbers. . And you couldn't care less about crosswinds. , , , Bearing Pointer Basics - * Note that your bearing pointer is pointed to the upper left corner of your HSI, towards the TACAN/VOR station. . (but unlike conventional navigation methods, you don't care what the bearing is, or anything else related to numbers. . You're just going to keep your eye on the bearing pointer's physical movement as you fly. . Not its bearings, just its physical movement.) . . * Note that the tail of your Course Arrow sits opposite the 090 radial you dialed into the Course Window, at 270 on the dial. . ( But unlike conventional navigation methods, you don't care about the number 270 itself, you're just going to note the physical location of the tail of the Course Arrow tail on the bevel, that's all.) . * When we resume flight, we should notice that the Bearing Pointer will FALL as we fly North towards the 090 radial. . When the bearing pointer reaches the tail of the Course Arrow, we've crossed the 090 target radial. . * We should anticipate that the speed at which the Bearing Pointer falls towards the wingtip will Speed Up as it Falls. Why won't it fall at the same speed all the time? . Answer: Because radials get closer together in a polar coordinate grid as we fly closer to the TACAN/VOR (study a polar coordinate grid diagram to understand why. . . http://www.waterproofpaper.com/graph-paper/polar-graph-paper.pdf . .) . So the BP will always be Speeding Up when it is above the wingtip. After the PB falls below the wingtip, it will Slow Down. Why won't the BP fall at the same speed all the time? Answer: Because the radials get further apart as we fly away from the TACAN/VOR station (study a polar coordinate grid diagram to understand why). . So the BP will always be Slowing Down when it is below the wingtip. . DME Basics * . The DME Slows Down when the BP is falling toward the wingtip. As you fly past the TACAN/VOR (BP on wingtip), the DME stops, and then it reverses direction. . * The DME Speeds Up when the BP is falling toward the tail of the aircraft. . Why? . Answer: (think this thru and try to answer it for yourself) * When you turn the aircraft, you affect both BP and DME speed, with equal but opposite effect (in other words, one speeds up while the other slows down) . Why?. Answer: (think this thru and try to answer it for yourself)
Tip:: The Rules and Observations above are the core of your guiding principles. . Thorough familiarity with them is the key to acquiring the Temporal Perception you will need to interpret and utilize the HSI with extraordinary efficiency. . Experienced, proficient pilots subconsciously absorb these (and other) dynamic principles after years of "experience." . But they usually don't ever consciously realize it, or the significance of it. And even if they do sense it, they don't know how to break it down and explain it to an inexperienced student.. Pilots who burn these dynamic principles into conscious memory turn into what appear to be Savants to un-initiated pilots.. What might take another pilot a lifetime of subconsciously accumulated dynamic "experience" can be packed into a 1 Hour, one-on-one conscious memory programming session. . Your task here is to quickly cram years of HSI motion dynamics "experience" into your brain. . Since I can't talk you thru it, do it yourself. . Quiz yourself on these simple observations, rules and principles until they are easy and natural to recall.
- Rules of the HSI summarized- a) The BP always falls b) The BP speeds up when it is above the wingtip c) The BP slows down when it is below the wingtip d) DME decreases when the BP is above the wingtip e) DME increases when the BP is below the wingtip f) DME slows down when the BP is above the wingtip g) DME speeds up when the BP is below the wingtip h) when you turn the aircraft, you affect both BP and DME speed, with equal but opposite effect (in other words, one speeds up while the other slows down) . . (Notice that I'm unconcerned with numbers, bearings or headings. I'm only interested in words like "falling"," increasing", "decreasing", "speeding up," and "slowing down." . That's all you should be thinking about. . I care about qualitative values, not quantitative values. . Qualitative values of time and motion are the input data your brain needs to process Temporal calculations. Don't think about numbers. Numbers inhibit Temporal Perception and processing. . You'll be using a different part of your brain for this fix-to-fix. . This is left brain vs right brain stuff.)
- Why these Rules are so Important - You are being asked to disregard everything you know about navigation.. You are being asked to toss away numbers, bearings, courses, headings, and geometry, and focus instead on inputs containing no hard data.. That might be easy for a new unrated student to accept from a respected IP, but its pretty hard to swallow for an experienced navigator. So what happened to the hard mathematical data you need to navigate.? The Answer:: It's still there, hidden in the MOTION of the instrument indications.. We don't have the time or the space here for me to provide you with the mathematical conversion analysis. That would take several pages of trig and calculus. But here is a plain language summary:: The math is built in and hidden in the motion of the HSI's indicators. Therefore, the HSI's indicators (BP and DME) MOVE at a rate which is commensurate with, and indicative of, the aircraft's Position, Direction, and Velocity thru the polar coordinate grid. . In other words, the needed quantitative math & geometric data is converted to qualitative motion data (Something like converting digital signals to analog signals, or 1s and 0s to wave forms, for those of you familiar with that concept.). So the mathematical data is still there, its just read and processed differently. Qualitative Motion data can be read and processed using a subconscious ability known as Temporal Perception. Math data, in contrast, is generally processed using conscious functions in a different part of the brain.. By shifting the calculations to the subconscious part of the brain (using temporal conversion inputs that this brain section can understand) , pilot overload is relieved.
- What is Temporal Perception? - . Temporal/Time perception is essential for survival.. From merging into lanes on a freeway of moving traffic, to entering a full traffic pattern. You have lots of internal clocks running in your brain right now.. One internal clock will bug you to go to work, even if you have not looked at a clock for a while. Another may wake you up even if your alarm clock fails.. There's another clock that will remind you that you left a pot of soup heating on the stove, that you need to stop reading this, and go check the pot.. Temporal Perception is a primary human ability with very accurate and sophisticated processing capability. And most of it takes place subconsciously.. Most pilots have better than average temporal abilities, but they don't consciously think about it, they don't try to develop or enhance it, and thus they don't utilize it to maximum effect. We take this ability for granted, and we don’t consciously think to harness it to navigate an aircraft.. But you can harness it with practice, because your instrument indicators MOVE.. In fact, experienced pilots do use it unknowingly for many tasks, including navigation, even if they don't realize it.. Developing the ability can intensify its performance value.. The benefits are enormous for an already overloaded pilot, or one who wants to speed up and increase his ability to process information.
- What is the Advantage (to a pilot) of Converting Quantitative Navigational Data to Qualitative Motion Data?. Your brain is the most important computer processor in the aircraft.. It has to divide its time between tasks.. If it gets overloaded, performance suffers, fatigue can set in.. Mistakes happen.. Safety is compromised.. Too bad you can't reassign your navigational duties to a different processor.. Your brain isn't a dual core Intel chip.. Or is it?. If you could harness an unused part of your brain to take over your navigation inputs and processing duties, that would leave the currently active part of your brain with more time to attend to other tasks (like aircraft control, cockpit checklists, and radio transmissions).. Well, it turns out you do have unused brain sections, but they don't all function using the same data inputs. The Moody AFB IPs stumbled onto a method of re-assigning their navigation processing to an unused portion of the brain, the Temporal processing portion (believed to be in the basal ganglia and the parietal lobe).. By inputting qualitative motion data into the part of your brain that processes Temporal Data, your navigation tasks can be processed in an underutilized but amazingly efficient part of the brain.. And since the fix-to-fix navigation math is secretly buried within the BP/DME motion (including winds), its all calculated for you, subconsciously.. (Something like digital to analog conversion, and back again.)
Advance to Next Post - part 2 of 2
Qutch
Question everything
Temporal Fix-to-Fix Exercise #1, Part 2 of 2 - Run
- Rules of the HSI, review .. a) The BP always falls . b) The BP speeds up when it is above the wingtip . c) The BP slows down when it is below the wingtip . d) DME decreases when the BP is above the wingtip . e) DME increases when the BP is below the wingtip . f) DME slows down when the BP is above the wingtip . g) DME speeds up when the BP is below the wingtip h) when you turn the aircraft, you affect both BP and DME speed, with equal but opposite effect (in other words, one speeds up while the other slows down)
1) Hit the Play/Run Button
2) Proceed (fly) in a northerly direction (towards the fix) while watching the BP fall (Question: is the BP speeding up or slowing down as it falls toward the wingtip? Is the DME decreasing or increasing?. Is the DME speeding up or slowing down?. Continue asking yourself those questions as you fly.. Your instructor would ask you those questions if you had one.)
3) Proceed in a northerly direction while asking yourself the same questions over and over again.. (Is DME increasing or decreasing?. What HSI indicators are speeding up?. Which are slowing down?)
4) As the BP approaches the Tail of the Course Arrow (the 090 radial target), the CDI will "come off the wall".. Now it’s time to ask yourself, which one will get there first?. BP or DME?. In other words, will you cross the 090 radial first? Or will you reach the 15NM DME first? (When you sense the Answer, go to step #5)
5) Now looking at the wingtip, turn the aircraft to re-position the BP in relationship to the wingtip. . Place the BP closer to the wingtip if you want to slow down the DME and speed up the BP. Conversely, re-position the BP further from the wingtip if you want to slow down the BP and speed up the DME.
6) Cross thru the 090 radial. (Don't worry if you miss the 15NM DME. You're just working out the process for now. Accuracy comes later.) Fly past the 090 radial for 20-30 seconds.
7) Now turn around (do a 180) and go back to the 090 radial @ 15 DME. Adjust the BP in relation to the wingtip to cross the 090 as you reach 15NM.. Fly past the 090 for 20-30 seconds.. Then turn around and go back again (090@15NM).. Then fly past the 090 again, for 20-30 seconds.
Note: Some of you may notice that this exercise is similar to "flying the arc." (Playing your BP off the wingtip to stay on the 15NM arc.)
8) Now go back to the 090@13NM.. Fly past it for 20-30 seconds.. Then go back to 090@14NM.. Fly past it.. Now turn around and hit it again and again, all the while playing around with BP/wingtip positioning.
9) Now change the radial to the 095 radial in the Course Arrow window.. Hit the 095 at 17NM.. Turn around and hit it again.
10 Now go to the 112 radial at 15NM.. Do it again.. And again.
11) Now create your own very short fix-to-fix assignments... Try some 10 second radial fly-bys, and then try some 15 second fly-bys.. (Don't worry if you miss the NM target. You're just working out the process for now.. Accuracy comes later.. Go for quantity, not quality.. Just burn the idea of using HSI indicator MOTION, controlled by wing tip positioning, into your brain. . Don't chase the fix around too much.. "Close" here is good enough. . Like learning to balance yourself on a bicycle, your brain is wiring and programming itself. . Obsessing over perfect accuracy at this point won't aid that process.. When you cross through the target radial, just swing the aircraft around and shoot at a new fix.. Again and again.)
Summary :: Using this technique, you don't care about your heading.. You don't need math.. Your focus should be on the wingtip and adjusting BP positioning to manipulate the speed of your BP and DME.. Ideally, you want your BP and DME to arrive simultaneously.. But don't get hung up on accuracy right now.. Just have fun with it.. I'll explain the "perfect accuracy" aspect later.. Trust me. If you got within a few miles of the fix (without math), YOU SCORED. Congratulations. For those of you starting to get this (the concept), as I said, this is pathetically simple to do.. Even extremely short fix-to-fix assignments are child's play.. With practice, on a joystick controlled simulator, you'll soon learn to complete extreme short fix-to-fixes while still in the arc of your turn, compass spinning (the rotation of the compass bezel is just another temporal input to play with as you get the BP to line up with the DME.) . Next, throw in altitude changes for 3D short range fix-to-fixes (set up a rate of climb as you turn, with the motion of the altimeter being just another temporal input to play with).. Practice getting everything to line up and arrive at the same time (BP - DME - Altitude). Its fun. (More importantly, it will amaze your friends and frighten your enemies).. Normal, longer range fix-to-fix assignments are even easier.. With practice, the entire process will be assigned to your subconscious mind, and most fix-to-fixes become no more difficult than merging into traffic on an on-ramp, or chasing down a fly ball.. It's automatic.. Programming fix coordinates into a computer will hardly seem worth the time and effort.
Tip:: For those of you starting to understand this concept, you're asking "are there other Apps for this?". The answer is YES.. Lots.. Fix-to-fix was just one App, and the tip of the iceberg.
If anyone else wants a verbal walk-thru on the technique contact me at qutch1234567 @hotmail.com and I'll talk you thru it by telephone . . .....remember this is not a step by step "procedure", it’s an "acquired perceptual skill" like playing a musical instrument. You develop a "feel" for it.. Something like landing an aircraft.
- Rules of the HSI, review .. a) The BP always falls . b) The BP speeds up when it is above the wingtip . c) The BP slows down when it is below the wingtip . d) DME decreases when the BP is above the wingtip . e) DME increases when the BP is below the wingtip . f) DME slows down when the BP is above the wingtip . g) DME speeds up when the BP is below the wingtip h) when you turn the aircraft, you affect both BP and DME speed, with equal but opposite effect (in other words, one speeds up while the other slows down)
1) Hit the Play/Run Button
2) Proceed (fly) in a northerly direction (towards the fix) while watching the BP fall (Question: is the BP speeding up or slowing down as it falls toward the wingtip? Is the DME decreasing or increasing?. Is the DME speeding up or slowing down?. Continue asking yourself those questions as you fly.. Your instructor would ask you those questions if you had one.)
3) Proceed in a northerly direction while asking yourself the same questions over and over again.. (Is DME increasing or decreasing?. What HSI indicators are speeding up?. Which are slowing down?)
4) As the BP approaches the Tail of the Course Arrow (the 090 radial target), the CDI will "come off the wall".. Now it’s time to ask yourself, which one will get there first?. BP or DME?. In other words, will you cross the 090 radial first? Or will you reach the 15NM DME first? (When you sense the Answer, go to step #5)
5) Now looking at the wingtip, turn the aircraft to re-position the BP in relationship to the wingtip. . Place the BP closer to the wingtip if you want to slow down the DME and speed up the BP. Conversely, re-position the BP further from the wingtip if you want to slow down the BP and speed up the DME.
6) Cross thru the 090 radial. (Don't worry if you miss the 15NM DME. You're just working out the process for now. Accuracy comes later.) Fly past the 090 radial for 20-30 seconds.
7) Now turn around (do a 180) and go back to the 090 radial @ 15 DME. Adjust the BP in relation to the wingtip to cross the 090 as you reach 15NM.. Fly past the 090 for 20-30 seconds.. Then turn around and go back again (090@15NM).. Then fly past the 090 again, for 20-30 seconds.
Note: Some of you may notice that this exercise is similar to "flying the arc." (Playing your BP off the wingtip to stay on the 15NM arc.)
8) Now go back to the 090@13NM.. Fly past it for 20-30 seconds.. Then go back to 090@14NM.. Fly past it.. Now turn around and hit it again and again, all the while playing around with BP/wingtip positioning.
9) Now change the radial to the 095 radial in the Course Arrow window.. Hit the 095 at 17NM.. Turn around and hit it again.
10 Now go to the 112 radial at 15NM.. Do it again.. And again.
11) Now create your own very short fix-to-fix assignments... Try some 10 second radial fly-bys, and then try some 15 second fly-bys.. (Don't worry if you miss the NM target. You're just working out the process for now.. Accuracy comes later.. Go for quantity, not quality.. Just burn the idea of using HSI indicator MOTION, controlled by wing tip positioning, into your brain. . Don't chase the fix around too much.. "Close" here is good enough. . Like learning to balance yourself on a bicycle, your brain is wiring and programming itself. . Obsessing over perfect accuracy at this point won't aid that process.. When you cross through the target radial, just swing the aircraft around and shoot at a new fix.. Again and again.)
Summary :: Using this technique, you don't care about your heading.. You don't need math.. Your focus should be on the wingtip and adjusting BP positioning to manipulate the speed of your BP and DME.. Ideally, you want your BP and DME to arrive simultaneously.. But don't get hung up on accuracy right now.. Just have fun with it.. I'll explain the "perfect accuracy" aspect later.. Trust me. If you got within a few miles of the fix (without math), YOU SCORED. Congratulations. For those of you starting to get this (the concept), as I said, this is pathetically simple to do.. Even extremely short fix-to-fix assignments are child's play.. With practice, on a joystick controlled simulator, you'll soon learn to complete extreme short fix-to-fixes while still in the arc of your turn, compass spinning (the rotation of the compass bezel is just another temporal input to play with as you get the BP to line up with the DME.) . Next, throw in altitude changes for 3D short range fix-to-fixes (set up a rate of climb as you turn, with the motion of the altimeter being just another temporal input to play with).. Practice getting everything to line up and arrive at the same time (BP - DME - Altitude). Its fun. (More importantly, it will amaze your friends and frighten your enemies).. Normal, longer range fix-to-fix assignments are even easier.. With practice, the entire process will be assigned to your subconscious mind, and most fix-to-fixes become no more difficult than merging into traffic on an on-ramp, or chasing down a fly ball.. It's automatic.. Programming fix coordinates into a computer will hardly seem worth the time and effort.
Tip:: For those of you starting to understand this concept, you're asking "are there other Apps for this?". The answer is YES.. Lots.. Fix-to-fix was just one App, and the tip of the iceberg.
If anyone else wants a verbal walk-thru on the technique contact me at qutch1234567 @hotmail.com and I'll talk you thru it by telephone . . .....remember this is not a step by step "procedure", it’s an "acquired perceptual skill" like playing a musical instrument. You develop a "feel" for it.. Something like landing an aircraft.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
I think I have used this w/o ever really thinking about it consciously. The pencil method works great for distant fixes and getting an initial steer, and maybe a couple more adjustments, but when you get w/n a couple miles, it is mostly just kind of gaming it and making things work. I think the "gaming it" part is pretty much what you are putting into words here. It's also a lot like what you do flying the circle the wagons pattern for air-to-ground ordnance/dive deliveries. You are just kind of gaming your G and heading to arrive at the roll in point with the correct sight picture......when you get good at it, you can pretty much do it without ever looking outside, although obviously that is not the point.
Qutch
Question everything
Sorry for the wait.. Now I can answer your question...
What you are "looking for" is 1).. a comparison of the Speed at which your bearing pointer is falling (towards the tail of your course arrow/destination radial) vs the Speed at which your DME is changing... 2) The ideal spot on the HSI to place your bearing pointer, in relation to your wingtip, to cause the BP and DME to MOVE at the speed you need them to MOVE at in order for the BP and DME to arrive at the fix simultaneously.. . That's all.
This isn't a math thing.. Don't worry about establishing a course. . Crosswinds have nothing to do with this, and won't be a problem. . Get your head away from numbers while you're learning this technique. . Your compass heading is irrelevant.. Don't look at your nose, don't concern yourself with which direction you are flying. Focus on your wingtip and the arrow (BP) pointing toward your TACAN/VOR. Using the fix-to-fix "App" of this technique, you play your BP off your wingtip, in a kind of game. When you get the hang of it, everything will line up for you (DME and Radial fix) without doing a bit of math. It will do it faster, with less conscious effort, and more accurately than the "pencil method."
Remember this is not a "procedure", it’s an "acquired perceptual skill" similar to playing a fast game like raquettball. . No time to run math calcs. No time to program a navigation computer.. Things are moving too fast. Let your instincts take over. Develop a "feel" for it. . (see my posts 82 thru 85 for a complete explanation)
http://books.google.com/books?id=nr...rely comparing the rates" +fix-to-fix&f=false
Qutch
Question everything
Perfect AMG !! You've got it. . You're already using it.. All "experienced" pilots and navigators were using it in the 70s, just as they are now (but only to a limited degree). . But how does an IP explain "experience" to a saturated and frustrated student? . I know exactly what you mean by "gaming it." But how can you explain your proficiency methodology to a frustrated newbie with the cryptic instruction "I just Game it?" .. How can we define the word "gaming?"... That's what the Human Resources Lab study was all about. Not fix-to-fix itself. (The dreaded fix-to-fix was just the acid test for the Temporal Methodology.) The study was an attempt to 1) confirm the Moody IPs theory that "gaming" and "experience" was really the unconscious application of temporal perception.. 2) confirm that the Moody AFB IPs had been able to successfully define "gaming" and "experience" in actual words that were understandable to UPT students, and could be taught. .. 3) That UPT students (and those IPs who were not resistant to it) who were taught Temporal/Time perception at the conscious level were able to transcend all existing proficiency levels, and utilize their HSI with such speed and accuracy that even back to back, climbing and descending, extemely short range, tight turning spiral fix-to-fixes were possible without experiencing pilot overload.
Because that discovery had implications for everything from A to Z, approaches to holding patterns (or marshall stacks?), departures to landings, UPT funding authorization, and the development of avionics/cockpit displays, it became an issue for scientific study, and was moved out of the operational environment and into the Lab.. What I'd always hoped to see though, was the continued training of pilots that didn't really need the elaborate avionics and computers to provide every answer, every heading. Pilots with "senses". . Real pilots that could demonstrate superior performance over computers. . I hate seeing pilot potential surrendered to iphone Apps.
Thanks for the feedback.
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
I remember a T-38 IP who was trying to teach me to fly the no-flap final turn telling me to "BFM the wire".
Today, that makes perfect sense to me. At that time, I was thinking, "I have never flown BFM before...I have no idea what you're asking me to do!"
Qutch
Question everything
I have the "rule of 5's" in written form, as well as the "rule of halfs," and about 7 other alternative mathematical and geometric fix-to-fix techniques.. I also have the HRL Lab's mathematical comparative analysis of the "rule of 5's", as well as the comparative scores of those pilots who volunteered to pit the "rule of 5's" against Temporally trained pilots.. . "rule of halfs" and "rule of 5's" experts were even invited to compete in the back-to-back,extreme short range, spiraling fix-to-fix course (about 10 fix-to-fixes located approx. 2-4 miles apart). . Pilots using those techniques were encouraged to come in and test them against the Temporal pilots during fix-to-fix demonstrations, so they, and the "rule of 5s" were included in the Temporal technique study.. All competing methods were studied.. . I could post those techniques and scores for you but I don't want to be accused of abusing the space with lengthy posts. . Even the AirForce approved "pencil-method" takes a page or two to describe in "written form.". That's why I resisted posting this technique, and asked permission before I did it.. Frankly, all of these techniques are a lot more tedious to explain in writing than they are during face-to-face instruction.. I too would prefer just to teach it in person.. Again, my apologies if I used too much space explaining the details.. Pilots can find the "rule of 5's" located at AirForceDriver.com for those of you who want to see this mathematical/geometric method.. Or you can email me at qutch1234567@hotmail.com and I'll send anyone a copy of Huggy's method.
fish314
Well-Known Member
Hey Qutch,
I think I understand the technique you are trying to describe, but I don't think it will work for every fix-to-fix situation. I am thinking in particular of situations in which you are "cutting the arc," which is the way we used to describe those situations in which the DME would pass the desired value before you get to the fix. It may be a little hard to describe, though. I'll use an example to demonstrate: Imagine the airplane is at about the 190 radial off of a navaid at 45 DME and cleared direct to the 070 radial at 35 DME fix. If you print out the paper polar coordinate graph paper and plot the two points and then draw a straight line between them, you will notice that the direct route between those two points requires your DME to begin at 45, decrease to well below 35 (all the way down to a minimum of 20 DME as you are passing the 120 radial), and then increase again to 35.
If I am understanding the technique you describe, wouldn't a pilot attempt to keep the DME between 45 and 35 the whole time, with an ever decreasing DME until you hit the fix at 35? Obviously, this is possible... all it would require is a curvilinear flight path, and you would be passing 40 DME at about the 135 radial... but it wouldn't be direct from one fix to the other.
I am thinking that if one tried to proceed from the one fix to the other, paying attention to only the rates of change of DME and the bearing pointer, would result in a large arcing flight path, rather than a straight (or nearly straight) flight path from the one path to the other. Because I wouldn't know (without the math) that the DME is supposed to "pass" the desired value before reversing direction back to the desired value... and even if I did, I wouldn't know how far the DME should pass the desired value before it does it's reverse. So the question is, am I missing something, or is this technique only useful on fix-to-fix paths that do not require "cutting the arc?"
I think I understand the technique you are trying to describe, but I don't think it will work for every fix-to-fix situation. I am thinking in particular of situations in which you are "cutting the arc," which is the way we used to describe those situations in which the DME would pass the desired value before you get to the fix. It may be a little hard to describe, though. I'll use an example to demonstrate: Imagine the airplane is at about the 190 radial off of a navaid at 45 DME and cleared direct to the 070 radial at 35 DME fix. If you print out the paper polar coordinate graph paper and plot the two points and then draw a straight line between them, you will notice that the direct route between those two points requires your DME to begin at 45, decrease to well below 35 (all the way down to a minimum of 20 DME as you are passing the 120 radial), and then increase again to 35.
If I am understanding the technique you describe, wouldn't a pilot attempt to keep the DME between 45 and 35 the whole time, with an ever decreasing DME until you hit the fix at 35? Obviously, this is possible... all it would require is a curvilinear flight path, and you would be passing 40 DME at about the 135 radial... but it wouldn't be direct from one fix to the other.
I am thinking that if one tried to proceed from the one fix to the other, paying attention to only the rates of change of DME and the bearing pointer, would result in a large arcing flight path, rather than a straight (or nearly straight) flight path from the one path to the other. Because I wouldn't know (without the math) that the DME is supposed to "pass" the desired value before reversing direction back to the desired value... and even if I did, I wouldn't know how far the DME should pass the desired value before it does it's reverse. So the question is, am I missing something, or is this technique only useful on fix-to-fix paths that do not require "cutting the arc?"
///AMG
Well-Known Member
Next time you come through NKX, give me a heads up.....I'd be glad to provide the sim time
fish314
Well-Known Member
I agree. As a fellow "long-poster" myself, I think as long as you're respectful on the site (which clearly, you are), nobody minds if you write a lot to get your point across. Like I said a few posts ago, my very first post on this site 6 years ago was asking if anyone knew any other methods of teaching a fix-2-fix... so I'm loving this thread!
Qutch
Question everything
Thanks for the invitation to come back. . Love your question. . Brings back memories of why the best IPs and experienced fighter pilots were so hard for us to train in this technique .. They were too smart to temporarily deprogram and retrain our way .. The easiest student to train was a weak UPT student who couldn’t process the math, the angles, the geometry, the ratios, or the spatial logic yet.. They just blindly and obediently did what we, their "Official Air Force (walk on water, can do no wrong) Instructors" told them to do, and suddenly found themselves proficient in fix-to-fix (although they weren't quite sure how that happened). . Students were so happy to find a method that abandoned any mention of math/geometry that they never asked a single intelligent math related question. . A week later their primary assigned IPs (who had just flown a sortie with their student) would come walking in our door to ask what mystical spell we had placed on their student, who was suddenly knocking down "E" grade level fix-to-fix scores.. IPs complained that the student was unable to offer them any rational explanation for their newly found proficiency. . So their IPs came through our door demanding to know exactly how their student had determined a heading to fly, how wind correction factors were calculated, about arcs…., about ratios of DME…. etc., etc. etc.. . All spatial logic and math questions. . All the intelligent questions that should be asked by a good IP. . They rarely liked our answers, and some left frustrated with us when they couldn't get a "formula" out of us.. Unfortunately, their quite logical questions were completely irrelevant to the Temporal technique and counter productive to discuss (since the whole point of this methodology is to temporarily drive any thoughts of math as far away from the dynamic thought process as possible (just during the training process). . After a pilot becomes proficient at the technique, he can safely add any math/geometry he wants to, back into his thought process, which most of us did just for the hell of it, as time permitted. . Temporal IPs were trying to cram years of Temporal/Time perception and processing "experience" into their students so, as AMG suggested in his post, the student could "game" his final solution as well as the most experienced sticks on Base. . Some IPs were willing to put on blindfolds and take the leap of faith with us, but many could not. . Having been trained on AFM 51-37's officially approved "pencil method" myself, I was sympathetic to skeptical IPs. . Unlike my ignorant students (who started getting the hang of it within 20 minutes), it took me hours in the simulator to finally let go of the math and spatial logic long enough for the lights to go, when I finally saw the beauty of this method. .
Like learning to ride (balance) a bicycle, your brain somehow rewires itself to do this (without math, procedures, or any conscious spatial logic), and it just happens.. If you over think it (something a smart, well trained pilot is bound to do), it creates a mental block and impedes Temporal training (just as it would screw up a kid being taught to ride a bicycle by a committee of math and physics professors) .. Try not to think too much.. . As Nike would say, "Just do it". . Any fix-to-fix can be done with this, including bizarre fix-to-fix combinations that would have been thought impossible using any other method.
Having said that Fish, and unable to give you a real-time demo myself, I'm going to try to answer your specific question this way to see if it will get you over the hump.. Hopefully, this concept will soon light up for you (the epiphany) , and other pilots reading your question.. Let's fly the fix-to-fix you described in your post.. Your long/normal fix-to-fix was going to be the subject of my next posted exercise anyway, so I'll jump ahead with you as you requested. (If you were a UPT student, I would not go there with you until I had confirmed that you had mastered Post #85 first - The Rules of the HSI.)
Tip:: I don't have total confidence in this internet SIM's ability to accurately duplicate flights too far away from the station .. I've detected some program errors in it (the equivalent of strong unpredictable cross winds), so stay closer to the station if you are using this SIM. . If you have access to a real simulator or a PC software program that you have faith in, use that on Long Range fix-to-fixes.
(see my next post - Temporal Fix-to-Fix Exercise #2 (normal/long fix-to-fix assignments)
Qutch
Question everything
Temporal Fix-to-Fix Exercise #2 - normal/long fix-to-fix assignments (courtesy of Fish - Post # 92)
1) . Review my Post #85 and take the leap with me on this. As Post #85 instructs, carefully familiarize yourself with the Rules of the HSI. You have to program these simple principles into your head or this "App" won't work. ("The Rules" are not something someone dreamed up. . The "rules" are just the subconscious observations we discovered that "experienced" pilots absorb after years of HSI observations, and are the key to their unexplained proficiency to "game" the fix-to-fix completion.. Burn them into your conscious mind.. Later your subconscious mind will utilize them to guide you to your fix.)
2) . Fly the 090/15 fix-to-fix I laid out. . After you cross the radial, turn around and do it again, and again, and again, and again. Then, as I instructed, change your short range fix-to-fix assignments slightly, and then fly them, again and again and again and again. . It's just a simple exercise to program your brain, let go of the need for spatial logic and math (because there isn't time to do much of that on these super short F2Fs, hopefully forcing you to mentally let go of the math and geometric questions). . It's also your chance to play with nothing but wingtip/BP positioning to achieve the MOTION you want out of your HSI indicators (BP/DME) .
3) . After you've flown dozens and dozens of the short fix-to-fixes called for in my Post #85, set up and fly your 190/45 to 070/35 fix-to-fix. I like that one.
Tip:: Those of you using the limited SIM program I suggested might find it tedious to set this up 45 miles south of the Tacan/VOR.. If so, I think we can achieve Fish's objective in this slow moving SIM with something shorter, like 190/15 to 070/10. . http://wantscheck.com/UPTPrep/CourseInterceptTAid/tabid/380/Default.aspx I don't have total confidence in this SIM's ability to accurately duplicate flights that far away from the station .. I've detected some program errors in it (the equivalent of strong unpredictable cross winds), so stay closer to the station if you are using this SIM. If you have access to a real simulator or a PC software program that you have faith in, use that on Long Range fix-to-fixes.
4) . Start with the "turn to a heading somewhere between the BP and the head of the course arrow/destination radial" step. As you know, this is the first step called for in virtually every published method ever developed for fix-to-fix. Since it's not "number specific", it works fine with Temporal Reasoning. Its just a guess-ti-mate. Next, as you all already know, favor the BP if your destination fix is Closer to the TACAN/VOR than your starting position.. Conversely, favor the Course Arrow/destination radial if your destination fix is Further from the TACAN/VOR than your starting position.. So far this should be no problem, since I'm sure that's what most of you are doing already. (Why don't I object to following these standard starting procedures of fix-to-fix?. Because they don't require much thought, little spatial reasoning, no definite answers, or a specific heading. Notice the words I used above, favor, "Closer" and "Further". . Like the words Falling, Increasing, Decreasing, Speeding Up, and Slowing Down, they are qualitative words, not quantitative words. They stimulate Temporal Processing instead of impeding it.)
5) . Start flying the approximate general direction of your 070 radial fix. Then shut off your logical, spatial, quantitative reasoning (if you can).. Sit back.. Attend to other cockpit chores.. I don't care what your heading is, or how many DME arcs you are going to cross.. Read a book if you have to. . Take a nap.. Check your email.. I don't care what you do, as long as you don't think too much. . If you want to do something productive, review the MOTION Rules for the HSI as you watch the BP and DME MOVE .. That's all you should be doing. . Listen to music on your iPod if that helps take your mind off the temptation to think 'math, spatial and quantitative reasoning'. . Smoke marijuana if it helps. . But stop thinking so much !!..
6) . As you fly towards your fix, you will watch your BP falling from a location above the wingtip, to a position below the wingtip. (Note the changes in speed of the BP throughout the fall, and the changes in DME speed throughout the BP's fall. . Think speed instead of numbers for now..).. As the BP approaches the Tail of the Course Arrow, fall back on the extreme short fix-to-fix training you did in Post #85. . Turn the aircraft to manipulate the speeds of the DME and BP in order to hit the fix.. (No "pencil method" or math for now. . Not yet.) Just "game" it for now. . And don't worry about direct hits yet.. I'll cover perfect accuracy later.
7) .. Now find another long range fix-to-fix to fly. . Let me suggest the 315/20 to the 045/20. . ( Let's cut the arc again.) . After everyone is comfortable using Temporal for long range fix-to-fix (including cutting the arcs), we'll add Mr. Huggy type math back into the equation, just to maintain our self respect. No kidding.. Everybody will be happy when this is over. . I'll get back to the math eventually, but please go here with me first.. You have to let go of the math and spatial reasoning first. . When you can do that, no pilot & navigator team armed with flight computers will be a match for you.. Programming a computer isn't worth the trouble.
Let me know how it goes. . And again, thanks for the invitation to continue.
Qutch
Question everything
Subject : WantsCheck.com SIM program reliability
I'm getting emails to my private email account from pilots who are experiencing anomolies trying to do long range fix-to-fix on the WantsCheck.com SIM I linked to. . The website administrator has occassionally posted notices stating that they know they have some type of program problems, so if you think you're having problems on the long range stuff, you might be.. I posted this SIM for use with the short range cluster fix-to-fix exercise with Post #85 (short range fix-to-fix), and for watching/learning BP/DME MOVEMENT. . For that use, it has been pretty reliable in my experience. . However, I cannot guarantee the SIM program for the long range fix-to-fix exercise I posted at Post #97. . You'll just have to try it and see if it works for you. . Run a couple of carefully pre-calculated tests runs first.
I don't have any complaint against using the SIM on long range stuff as long as you realize that the program might start working against you, in which case it has value, simulating shifting Hurricane force cross winds, which will make you work harder chasing down the fix. . If you can, you might follow AMG's lead and use a SIM program of known reliability before you base your long range practice results on the WantsCheck SIM program. .
qutch1234567@hotmail.com
SQUAWK3274
Well-Known Member
In UPT now, and should be studying on a Sunday night...Instead, I just blew 2 hours in this thread messing with this way to do a F2F..Thanks Qutch! 
Sadly, something tells me that if I show up tomorrow morning and tell my IP's that I just kind of "feel" it to get my F2F done, it may not go over very well...
Sadly, something tells me that if I show up tomorrow morning and tell my IP's that I just kind of "feel" it to get my F2F done, it may not go over very well...