DrBenny
New Member
I\'m sick of this
I read the accident reports. I study them, and I am very cautious. I never think "this can't happen to me," because I know it can happen to anyone.
But I'm getting real sick of this.
I did the wrong thing last night; I read as much as I could about the Denver mid-air. I couldn't go to sleep, I was so worried.
I read the webboarder's responses about what they do and how they react. As I lay in bed, I thought to myself, this is not good enough. People are still having mid-airs, people are still having lots of CFITs, even with pretty CRT screens in the cockpit, and even when you opt for a parachute for your plane, it doesn't seem to help unless you have lots of time to think about using it (as in the one and only one case where it worked).
WE HAVE TO FIX THIS!
Here are my thoughts:
1) GET TRAINED. Screw the damned flight review and IPC--under 1,000 hours please need to get with a CFI at least once a month. And train hard; train your butt off. This is your life (and your family's, too).
2) NO COMPROMISES. Solidify your safety standards. Then double them. No ifs ands or buts. Most of us don't *need* to fly, we want to. Even if we have to fly, we must do it when it is safe. You never have to fly so bad that it is worth risking your life for it. So don't do it if it isn't going to be safe. Just forget about it!
3) RYAN COMPANY, RDEUCE THE COST OF YOUR TCAS! People who have this device (not the portable, but the accurate, panel mounted devices) swear by it. I know that the airliners all have it. It must be better than not having it.
4) USE THE "I'M SAFE" CHECKLIST. Don't go if you're tired or angry. You may normally have excellent judgement, but not when you have had 5 hours of sleep. You may have passed the eye exam in the medical, but when you're angry, you might forget about your scan. [For example, because I will need the SODA ride for my left eyesight, I am ABSOLUTELY FANATICAL about my scan, with excellent results: I often see traffic well before my 20/20 CFI sees it, and my CFI long ago forgot that I have any "diminished acuity" in one of my eyes.] Don't think that because you passed your medical, that you are fine to fly today.
5) FOR PETE'S SAKE, DO A THOROUGH PRE-FLIGHT. Do the W&B, do the crosswind calculations, do the density alt calcultaions, do a run-up, do a takeoff briefing. DO THEM! There are too many accidents caused by laziness.
6) FLY DEFENSIVELY. Have a backup plan for everything.
7) DON'T TRY TO CONVINCE EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER TO BECOME PILOTS. Yes, we need to strengthen the community, but we want to add thoughtful, safe pilots to it. Don't encourage the hot dogs that you know to become pilots.
I'm so upset. I'm not suggesting that we create new regs--far from it--I just want us to be around for a long long time. Please, fly safe everyone!
Ben Myers
Enjoying every minute
I read the accident reports. I study them, and I am very cautious. I never think "this can't happen to me," because I know it can happen to anyone.
But I'm getting real sick of this.
I did the wrong thing last night; I read as much as I could about the Denver mid-air. I couldn't go to sleep, I was so worried.
I read the webboarder's responses about what they do and how they react. As I lay in bed, I thought to myself, this is not good enough. People are still having mid-airs, people are still having lots of CFITs, even with pretty CRT screens in the cockpit, and even when you opt for a parachute for your plane, it doesn't seem to help unless you have lots of time to think about using it (as in the one and only one case where it worked).
WE HAVE TO FIX THIS!
Here are my thoughts:
1) GET TRAINED. Screw the damned flight review and IPC--under 1,000 hours please need to get with a CFI at least once a month. And train hard; train your butt off. This is your life (and your family's, too).
2) NO COMPROMISES. Solidify your safety standards. Then double them. No ifs ands or buts. Most of us don't *need* to fly, we want to. Even if we have to fly, we must do it when it is safe. You never have to fly so bad that it is worth risking your life for it. So don't do it if it isn't going to be safe. Just forget about it!
3) RYAN COMPANY, RDEUCE THE COST OF YOUR TCAS! People who have this device (not the portable, but the accurate, panel mounted devices) swear by it. I know that the airliners all have it. It must be better than not having it.
4) USE THE "I'M SAFE" CHECKLIST. Don't go if you're tired or angry. You may normally have excellent judgement, but not when you have had 5 hours of sleep. You may have passed the eye exam in the medical, but when you're angry, you might forget about your scan. [For example, because I will need the SODA ride for my left eyesight, I am ABSOLUTELY FANATICAL about my scan, with excellent results: I often see traffic well before my 20/20 CFI sees it, and my CFI long ago forgot that I have any "diminished acuity" in one of my eyes.] Don't think that because you passed your medical, that you are fine to fly today.
5) FOR PETE'S SAKE, DO A THOROUGH PRE-FLIGHT. Do the W&B, do the crosswind calculations, do the density alt calcultaions, do a run-up, do a takeoff briefing. DO THEM! There are too many accidents caused by laziness.
6) FLY DEFENSIVELY. Have a backup plan for everything.
7) DON'T TRY TO CONVINCE EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER TO BECOME PILOTS. Yes, we need to strengthen the community, but we want to add thoughtful, safe pilots to it. Don't encourage the hot dogs that you know to become pilots.
I'm so upset. I'm not suggesting that we create new regs--far from it--I just want us to be around for a long long time. Please, fly safe everyone!
Ben Myers
Enjoying every minute