| With all of your flight training, there will be times when | | | | number one job . . . Yes, fly the airplane! |
| you get the notion that your instructor is mean or | | | | A little while passed, and John decided to start playing |
| doesn't know what they are talking about-perhaps not | | | | with the screen options. I knew now that the big lesson |
| in such a bold way, but it will happen. This brings me to | | | | had begun, so I just sat there. Slowly, his altitude |
| a story I have of a night cross-country with a student. | | | | started to go up and down-not very much at first, but I |
| The flight itself is a pretty simple one and is safe for | | | | knew it was just going to get worse. |
| night flights. The flight goes from Mesa Falcon Field to | | | | I looked at John, and his head was down looking right |
| Wickenberg, Arizona. I have personally put this flight in | | | | at the GPS. By the way, the time frame of this entire |
| my syllabus for many reasons. I have gotten into many | | | | lesson was probably less than a minute. |
| arguments with instructors who worked for me about | | | | John continued to look down and said, "Hm, I can't find |
| this flight. Several of them refused to do the flight and | | | | the screen I am looking for." I just sat there. Slowly, he |
| instead ended up taking the student down to Tucson. | | | | started a right turn, only a few degrees bank, heading |
| As far as I am concerned, this defeats the purpose of | | | | right into the mountains. The plane began to slowly lose |
| the night cross-country. Following a big lit-up highway in | | | | altitude as the right turn started to get steeper. There |
| between two bright major cities does not expose you | | | | was no horizon at all, so John had no clue of what |
| to the real situations that can happen on a night | | | | was going on. Luckily, he was one of the students that |
| cross-country. | | | | took my aerobatic option before solo, so he was |
| Don't let your instructor take you to an easy-to-find | | | | familiar with extreme unusual attitude. But not at night. |
| destination that is lit up like New York City. Go | | | | Slowly but surely, the plane had entered the dreaded |
| somewhere that is pretty difficult to find, at least for | | | | graveyard spiral at cruise power setting. I waited and |
| you, not your instructor. Yes, you want to make sure | | | | waited, hoping that the sound of the wind howling |
| the instructor knows where he is going to land in the | | | | across the airplane would give him a clue, but nope-he |
| event of an engine failure, but you need to be on a | | | | had been trained for this many times, but he didn't pick |
| flight that can get you into a little bit of trouble if you | | | | it up. |
| aren't paying attention. | | | | The plane kept going into a steeper bank. If it had been |
| Back to my story. | | | | daytime, I would have let him get upside down, but not |
| I will call the student John. You know that I am totally | | | | at night. Finally, it was time to open my mouth. |
| against using all these high-tech things for private pilot | | | | "Anything wrong?" |
| training and even instrument ratings. Remember what | | | | John looked up, and the string of four-letter words |
| job number one of the pilot is ? Yes, fly the airplane! I | | | | began to flow. He got the plane under control. Power |
| have also already stated that it will take you about 500 | | | | back wings level and nose level. However, he was still |
| hours before you have this second sense stuck in you | | | | heading on the quickest path to meet God, right into |
| inner memory. Even then, a difficult situation will be a | | | | the mountains a few miles north of the very dimly lit |
| battle between many parts of your brain at the same | | | | highway I plan as my emergency landing spot. |
| time. | | | | I said to him, "What can you see in front of you?" "He |
| John called me in the afternoon about his night flight. | | | | replied with, "Nothing." I said, "So that means . . . ?" I got |
| We verified the time, and at the end of the call, John | | | | the reply, "I am flying right into the ground." That |
| stated that he had just gotten his new Garmin 95 | | | | answer was pretty much correct; with his new |
| latest-and-greatest GPS device and asked if he could | | | | heading, he was flying straight into the hills. Since we |
| bring it along. You probably know me pretty well by | | | | lost about 1,500 feet, our altitude was perfect for the |
| now and know exactly what my answer was: "No!" | | | | big smack. |
| John showed up at the airport with his cross-country | | | | I raised my voice slightly and said, "If you can't see |
| planned and flight plan filed, and ready to go. Before | | | | anything, you are in trouble. Find some light, start |
| we walked out of the office, out came that shiny new | | | | climbing, and head in that direction." |
| Garmin box. "Fred, you need to check this out . . . this is | | | | John got the plane under control, turned the GPS off, |
| the new Garmin 95, top-of-the-line, latest-and-greatest . | | | | and we had an uneventful flight to Wickenberg and |
| . . " This was back in 1996. Garmin was a no-name | | | | then back home to Falcon Field. |
| back then and was just getting into the market. | | | | When we got back on the ground, John said, "I think I |
| "Please, please, please can we take it with us?" After | | | | am going to learn to fly before I worry about that |
| all the begging, I finally gave in. Deep in my mind | | | | GPS." He also requested some night unusual attitude |
| somewhere, I had a little smile, and a voice just said, | | | | training. I also highly recommend this. |
| "Okay." | | | | So again, the little lesson is fly the airplane! John got |
| Before John even started his pre-flight, he set up his | | | | distracted from that job by his little GPS. If you insist on |
| new Garmin 95 on the control column. I knew right then | | | | using this stuff, make sure you know how to use it, |
| that we were in for a good time! I told John that he | | | | and don't try to learn it in the plane, especially at night! |
| couldn't turn it on until we got out of Phoenix airspace, | | | | As far as disorientation goes, it can happen very |
| which is right where it starts to get nice and dark. He | | | | quickly, and when it does, it is not going to be pretty. It |
| said, "Okay, no problem." | | | | has happened to me in actual instrument conditions. I |
| We took off and headed west as planned. John was | | | | had all my ratings, and it still took a few minutes before |
| right on the money with all of his checkpoints and | | | | the blood pressure went down. |
| times. Flight plan opened at the right time. He was | | | | Just remember this little unusual attitude check, which |
| getting an A+ at this stage of the ball game. We got | | | | you should be able to repeat at the bar when you are |
| about five miles west of Deer Valley airport, where it | | | | about to fall on the floor: |
| starts to get nice and dark. (Again, don't do a night | | | | Airspeed High, Or, "I Hear the Wind Howling Outside |
| cross-country when there is a full moon! It is nice to | | | | the Plane" |
| see the big bright moon from 4,500 above the ground, | | | | 1: Power Back |
| but it makes your night cross-country easier. If you are | | | | 2: Wings Level |
| doing your first night flight as a licensed pilot with your | | | | 3: Nose of the Airplane Level |
| girlfriend/boyfriend, go for it-that is the safe thing to do.) | | | | 4: Once You Have the Plane under Control, then bring |
| John looked at me with those puppy eyes and asked, | | | | the power back in, and get back to your altitude and |
| "Can I turn it on?" At this point, I just looked at him and | | | | heading |
| said, "Yes." The little voice in my head spoke to me | | | | Airspeed Low: or" I don't hear any wind blowing |
| again, "Now it is time for the real lesson to begin." | | | | outside the airplane" |
| John turned on the new greatest gift to mankind. The | | | | 1: Nose Forward |
| screen came on, and he said, "Look, Fred, isn't this | | | | 2: Wings Level |
| great? It tells you everything!" The little voice in my | | | | 3: Once you have the nose at descent altitude, then |
| head said, "Yeah. Right. It tells you everything except | | | | add power. Why? If you do not remember, please |
| what your #1 job in an airplane is." | | | | read my spin training story. |
| John kept playing with his new toy. I learned way back | | | | If you are out on a dark night, you are going to be |
| in 1989 that there are times when the flight instructor's | | | | fighting that attitude indicator. Get some training on night |
| job is to shut up and let the student go. This was | | | | unusual attitudes. Then come back a few weeks later |
| definitely one of those times. | | | | and do it again until you automatically react, especially |
| At first, John had it under control. He was following his | | | | after some time has gone by. |
| line on the screen and was okay, but I knew that | | | | Make sure you go somewhere that is not easy, and |
| sooner or later, it was going to distract him from his | | | | make sure it is on a dark night. |