IFR Brief
- Thread starter Miked3016
- Start date
IslandFlyer
Well-Known Member
How low, how long, which way? ;-)
SpiceWeasel
Tre Kronor
Jeppesen Briefing Strip will brief you right up.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
My approach brief is pretty much always the same:
D-WARTS
D = Descent Profile, or how do I plan on getting down, what are the step downs on the arrival and so on.
W = Weather, I just quickly remind myself what the weather is, this is also a chance to remember to get the weather if I forgot.
A = Approach plate or plan, I simply read the plate from top to bottom here on an instrument approach, for a visual I note what frequencies I'll use to back up the visual, etc
R = Runway, this is a sanity check item. I remind myself what runway I'm planning on landing on, it's length, condition (paved, dry, etc), and where I should touch down.
T = Terrain, what terrain is out there and how do I avoid an uncontrolled contact with it.
S = Speeds, approach speeds and ref speeds.
D-WARTS
D = Descent Profile, or how do I plan on getting down, what are the step downs on the arrival and so on.
W = Weather, I just quickly remind myself what the weather is, this is also a chance to remember to get the weather if I forgot.
A = Approach plate or plan, I simply read the plate from top to bottom here on an instrument approach, for a visual I note what frequencies I'll use to back up the visual, etc
R = Runway, this is a sanity check item. I remind myself what runway I'm planning on landing on, it's length, condition (paved, dry, etc), and where I should touch down.
T = Terrain, what terrain is out there and how do I avoid an uncontrolled contact with it.
S = Speeds, approach speeds and ref speeds.
MidlifeFlyer
Well-Known Member
I agree with those who mention the briefing strip. And completely disagree with anyone who suggests a MNEMONIC (Mnemonics Never Eliminate Man's Only Nemesis - Insufficient Cerebral Storage).
If you want to see sample briefings for an ILS, go to YouTube and type ILS approach briefing. You get some ground school type examples but you keep scanning you'll see some real approaches including approach briefings which will, as one VFR pilot told me when he was acting as my safety pilot on a currency flight, "demystify" the whole thing.
One YouTube channel I recommend heartily is Guido Warnecke's. Most of the time he's flying a Citation or other Jet on autopilot in a two-pilot crew but he usually briefs the approach he does on the video and the calm, relaxed, unrushed way he doee it is almost an art form.
If you want to see sample briefings for an ILS, go to YouTube and type ILS approach briefing. You get some ground school type examples but you keep scanning you'll see some real approaches including approach briefings which will, as one VFR pilot told me when he was acting as my safety pilot on a currency flight, "demystify" the whole thing.
One YouTube channel I recommend heartily is Guido Warnecke's. Most of the time he's flying a Citation or other Jet on autopilot in a two-pilot crew but he usually briefs the approach he does on the video and the calm, relaxed, unrushed way he doee it is almost an art form.
slushie
Still here.
Yes on so many levels. You're quite reliable, sir!
ppragman
No pasa nada.
So...why not?
Dugie8
Well-Known Member
My humble opinion, it is simply more to memorize. Not only do you have to memorize the mnemonic you have to memorize when to use it, how to use it, when to omit something in it or add something in.ppragman said:
TOMATOFLAMESFLAPS is useful in only understanding there is too much crap to commit to memory, look it up in the reg. as an example
Briefings are meant to be brief. Talk about funkiness on an approach in cruise, get the basics covered again down low.
slushie
Still here.
Mnemonics function kind of like email headers. Commit the small thing to readily accessible memory, then pull the details from the depths of your brain (in a slower fashion).
So GUMPS is a good one for me.
The problem comes when you learn 500 acronyms. Some for the same thing, and some having to do with non aviation topics. they cease to be helpful when you can't remember them quickly.
So GUMPS is a good one for me.
The problem comes when you learn 500 acronyms. Some for the same thing, and some having to do with non aviation topics. they cease to be helpful when you can't remember them quickly.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
TOMATOFLAMESFLAPS is ridiculous. Mnemonics shouldn't be longer than 7 or 8 letters AT MOST. There's science out there suggesting that's about the limit of working memory for humans. I use lot's of mnemonics to jog my memory in the airplane about what I should be doing when. I use the same mnemonic D-WARTS for takeoff with a slight variation on what each thing means.
D = Departure Procedure
W = Weather (any weather out there to be concerned about)
A = Abnormals during takeoff and what to do
R = Runway Conditions just like above
T = Terrain (just like above)
S = Speeds (just like above)
Works great for me, and when I get busy in a single pilot airplane, if I lose my mental place because of a radio call, or some other situation, I can come back to D-WARTS and go through it quick in my head without it being a big deal.
Similarly, for every airplane I've flown in the last 5 or 6 years, I've had a mnemonic that takes a few seconds to run, but covers all the "Don't Die or Embarrass Yourself" items that I can do as I taxi out. In the King Air 90 it's:
CIGARTAB
C = Controls (Free and Correct, lock removed, etc)
I = Instruments (Up and Erect, Heading's Good, Altimeter is set right)
G = Gas (Plenty of fuel, fuel panel set up right)
A = Avionics (Good Squawk, Good Altitude, GPS Set, FD/AP set)
R = Radios (frequencies are good, things make sense, I've got the right frequency in the flip flop)
T = Trims (Three Set)
A = Annunciators (Extinguished or Considered)
B = Bleeds
Before when I was flying the PC12 it was "GLIFTY," the Navajo was a "FIGART," the 1900 was CIGARTAB (pretty much like the king air), the only airplane I didn't have one for was the Caravan - and mainly because that was essentially the most brainless airplane I've ever flown and there weren't many things to miss.
I do that after I've done my checklist items because in my experience - when you're by yourself, a mis-timed radio call from ground or other distraction can break your train of thought when it comes to your checklist usage, and single pilot it's easy to get out of sequence and not notice it. As such, I run my checklist, then back it up with a mnemonic every time, and I've found that the amount of things I missed decreased substantially. Mnemonics aren't a cure for all that ails us in aviation, but they are useful tools for keeping you focused on target in the single pilot world.
MidlifeFlyer
Well-Known Member
With the exception of very few, mnemonics get a life of their own. At some point we even start adding things to it just because the mnemonic sounds better. There are a few - very few - decent ones and even they get screwed around with.
One of the arguably semi-decent ones for learning is the 5Ts (assuming one needs a mnemonic to remember to reduce the throttle in order to slow the airplane down) and one can see heated arguments about whether it should be 5 or 6 or 7 or 12 Ts and whether it's OK to Twist before Turning
Even the old stand-by GUMP (probably "best of breed"), intended for "killer items" gets seriously bastardized beyond recognition with extra letters in order to add unessential items and make it confusing. "Undercarriage - Fixed" is complete nonsense for a fixed gear aircraft unless one flies both fixed gear and retracts, but "GMP" for primary students doesn't quite have the right ring, does it.
TOMATOFLAMES is my all-time favorite for nonsense. Over the past years I've taken an informal survey and found that someone who learned about setting fire to red fruit (or its cousin, doing weird things to felines) is more likely to get a simple required equipment question wrong than one who didn't. I regularly get see, "Well, it's not in TOMATOFLAMES so it's ok" (even from CFIs!) in response to "If you find the stall warning doesn't work in a 172S may you go fly."
Can you tell this is a bit of a soapbox item for me?
USMCmech
Well-Known Member
One thing I HATE about TOMATOFLAMES is that 91.203 is the absolute bare minimum amount of instrumentation that even the most ghetto homebuilt can be certified as airworthy. As a standard of airworthiness and/or legality it is completely worthless.
EVERY certified airplane will have required equipment that is not listed in 91.203 (such as propellers, wheels, or flight controls), and it is important that pilots understand that the manufacturers AFM/POH trumps the FARs (except in the rare case when the POH is less restrictive). I remember specificaly in the DA-20 Eclipse the EGT gauge was listed in the POH as required equipment for Day VFR flight despite not appearing in 91.203.
The only reason to teach TOMATOFLAMES is because your poor student will be quizzed on it during the oral.
IslandFlyer
Well-Known Member
We'll have to agree to disagree. Mnemonics are helpful, even if its for rote memorization alone.With the exception of very few, mnemonics get a life of their own. At some point we even start adding things to it just because the mnemonic sounds better. There are a few - very few - decent ones and even they get screwed around with.
One of the arguably semi-decent ones for learning is the 5Ts (assuming one needs a mnemonic to remember to reduce the throttle in order to slow the airplane down) and one can see heated arguments about whether it should be 5 or 6 or 7 or 12 Ts and whether it's OK to Twist before Turning
Even the old stand-by GUMP (probably "best of breed"), intended for "killer items" gets seriously bastardized beyond recognition with extra letters in order to add unessential items and make it confusing. "Undercarriage - Fixed" is complete nonsense for a fixed gear aircraft unless one flies both fixed gear and retracts, but "GMP" for primary students doesn't quite have the right ring, does it.
TOMATOFLAMES is my all-time favorite for nonsense. Over the past years I've taken an informal survey and found that someone who learned about setting fire to red fruit (or its cousin, doing weird things to felines) is more likely to get a simple required equipment question wrong than one who didn't. I regularly get see, "Well, it's not in TOMATOFLAMES so it's ok" (even from CFIs!) in response to "If you find the stall warning doesn't work in a 172S may you go fly."
Can you tell this is a bit of a soapbox item for me?
Example, at recurrent the examiner asks "what kind of (airport) sign is this?"
I dig deep back to my mnemonic, and pull out the "mandatory Instruction sign".
On a .293 oral, i get asked what preflight action is required. Again, i go back to a mnemonic to help remember a couple small details that i would have forgotten had i not had a memory aid.
As far as the GUMPS check, the law of primacy wins here in my book. Regardless if you're flying fixed gear or retractable gear, it is a good reminder, if and when, one day, you do fly a retractable gear.
I was taught the FATS check when i first started flying turbine equipment. Blew it off initially until making the mistake of missing an item or two, and now i always check flaps, airbrakes, trims, and speeds when taking the runway. Every time.
To each his own.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
Oooh! What's the mnemonic you have for airport signage and preflight action? I haven't heard those!