Jeppesen Guided Flight Discovery Private Pilot PDF

# Section A: Safety of Flight Maintaining the safety of flight is your number one priority as a pilot. You must be aware of some safety issues during every flight, such as collision avoidance and maintaining minimum safe altitudes. Other safety considerations only apply in certain situations; for e...

# Section A: Safety of Flight Maintaining the safety of flight is your number one priority as a pilot. You must be aware of some safety issues during every flight, such as collision avoidance and maintaining minimum safe altitudes. Other safety considerations only apply in certain situations; for example, taxiing in wind, flight over hazardous terrain, and effective exchange of flight controls with your instructor. Every flight is different and, as pilot in command, you need to consider the factors that can affect your flight and take the appropriate actions to ensure safety. ## Collision Avoidance Learning collision avoidance procedures begins with your first flight. The risk of an in-flight collision exists for all pilots, but you can take action to avoid this type of accident. Studies show that the majority of midair collisions occur within five miles of an airport, during daylight hours, and in VFR conditions. You will hear the terms VFR and IFR used frequently in several different ways. If you are operating under visual flight rules (VFR), you are governed by specific FARs that include minimum cloud clearance and visibility requirements, also referred to as weather minimums. In comparison, instrument flight rules (IFR) are rules that are established to govern flight operations in weather conditions below VFR weather minimums. The terms VFR and IFR also are used to define weather conditions. For example, visual meteorological conditions (VMC) are often referred to as VFR conditions, and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are sometimes called IFR conditions. In addition, the terms VFR and IFR can define the type of flight plan under which an aircraft is operating. It is possible for an aircraft to be on an IFR flight plan in VFR weather conditions. There are many resources you can be use to avoid midair collisions in VFR conditions, including use of exterior lights, radio transmissions, air traffic control services, and traffic information systems in the cockpit. However, the most important collision avoidance tool is your ability to effectively see and avoid other aircraft. Early detection of aircraft is crucial to avoiding a collision. For example, if your aircraft is flying at a speed of 150 knots on a head-on collision course with another aircraft also traveling at 150 knots, the closure rate is one quarter of a mile in the three seconds that is usually required for you or the other pilot to take action. ## Visual Scanning To see and avoid other aircraft, you must develop an effective visual scanning pattern that is compatible with the function of your eyes. Two normal healthy eyes provide the average person with a field of vision of approximately 200 degrees. However, the area in which the eye can focus sharply and perceive detail is a relatively narrow cone (usually only about 10 degrees wide) directly in the center of the field of vision. Beyond this area, visual acuity decreases sharply in all directions. Because your eyes require time to focus on this narrow viewing area, scanning is most effective when you use a series of short, regularly-spaced eye movements. This helps to bring successive areas of the sky into your central visual field. The FAA recommends that your eye movements not exceed 10 degrees, and that you focus for at least one second on each segment of the sky. Be sure that the scan pattern you develop covers all of the sky that you can see from the cockpit, both horizontally and vertically. Nighttime conditions require a different scanning technique. ## Visual Field To demonstrate the limitations of your visual field, look at a wall calendar from a distance of about 5 feet. From that distance, a typical calendar is about 10 degrees wide, and represents the relatively small area in which your eyes can focus sharply. Focus on one part of the calendar, such as the picture or the name of the month, keep your eyes there, and notice that other areas of the calendar, although visible, are not sharp enough to be seen clearly. To test your peripheral vision, close your eyes and have a friend place a hand beside your ear and about two feet away. When you open your eyes, look straight ahead. Can you see your friend's hand when it is stationary? How about when it is moving up and down? You will find that it is difficult to perceive objects in your peripheral vision unless they are moving. Sky conditions also affect your ability to see traffic, as well as the contrast an aircraft has with its background. ## Blind Spots and Aircraft Design Airplanes, like automobiles, have blind spots. In both high-wing and low-wing aircraft designs, portions of your view are blocked by the fuselage and wings. This can make it difficult to see conflicting traffic. For example, in a high-wing airplane, your view is blocked as soon as you lower the wing to start a turn. Prior to beginning the turn, you can check the area for other aircraft by lifting the wing and looking in the direction of the turn. In a high-wing airplane it is easy to see below the airplane, but difficult to see the area above the airplane. The reverse is true for low-wing airplanes. These blind spots can develop into a serious problem, particularly during the approach and landing phases of flight. A good way to reduce the possibility of a collision during extended climbs or descents is to make shallow S-turns and avoid climbing or descending at steep angles. ## Cockpit Traffic Displays Cockpit technology can help increase your situational awareness of other traffic. In an aircraft that is equipped with automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) In and Out, you can monitor other transponder-equipped aircraft on a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI). A CDTI can be a dedicated screen or traffic can be included on a multi-function display (MFD) in an integrated cockpit or on a GPS moving map. General aviation traffic systems are advisory only, to help you locate traffic. Continuously scan for traffic by looking outside and cross check the CDTI to learn what areas need increased attention. You may not fly any avoidance maneuvers without first seeing the traffic out the window. It is essential that you avoid complacency when using these systems. A traffic display is not a replacement for deliberate scanning-it is a tool that can help you do it more effectively. And some threats, such as aircraft without operating transponders, might not show up on your display or generate a traffic alert. ## Airport Operations Any operation in the vicinity of an airport warrants extra caution. Even towered airports can be hazardous because of the large amount of air traffic. A control tower does not relieve you of the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft. At nontowered airports, sometimes referred to as uncontrolled airports, sequencing to the airport is determined by the individual pilots, traffic advisories normally are not provided by air traffic control, and aircraft without radios may operate in the area. These factors increase the risk of a collision if you are not vigilant. To increase safety at airports, a voluntary program called Operation Lights On has been established by the FAA. Operation Lights On encourages you to use your landing lights during departures and approaches, both day and night, especially when operating within 10 miles of an airport, or in conditions of reduced visibility. In addition, your airplane's anticollision lights are required to be on whenever the engine is running, day or night. However, anticollision lights need not be turned on when they might interfere with safety. For example, strobe lights should be turned off when their brightness might impair the vision of others. ## Maneuvers in the Training Area It is important not only to maintain your scan, but to clear an area for traffic before and during your practice of maneuvers. Your instructor will teach you to make clearing turns before performing maneuvers in the practice area. Clearing turns, which usually consist of at least a 180 degree change in direction, enable you to see areas blocked by blind spots and make it easier to maintain visual contact with other aircraft in the area. ## Right-of-Way Rules The FARs state clearly that the pilot in command is responsible for seeing and avoiding all traffic in visual flight conditions. To help avoid conflicting traffic, right-of-way rules have been established. An aircraft in distress requires immediate assistance due to a serious problem or emergency and therefore has the right-of-way over all other air traffic. Otherwise, right-of-way rules apply in three situations; overtaking another aircraft, approaching another aircraft head-on, or converging with another aircraft. An overtaking aircraft must pass the slower aircraft on the right and stay well clear. If two aircraft are approaching each other head-on or nearly so, both aircraft must give way to the right. When aircraft of the same category are converging, the aircraft to the right has the right-of-way. The general rule regarding converging aircraft of different categories is that the least maneuverable aircraft usually has the right-of-way over all other air traffic. An aircraft that is towing or refueling another aircraft has the right-of-way over all other engine-driven aircraft. ## Aviation Safety Reporting System If you are involved in or observe an incident that compromises aviation safety, you can submit a report to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). The ASRS staff analyze your report and if a immediate action is needed, notify the appropriate FAA office or aviation authority. The ASRS investigates the underlying causes of a reported event and adds each report into a database for research on aviation safety and human factors. The ASRS collects nearly 100,000 reports per year. Each report is confidential and the FAA may not use ASRS information in enforcement actions against those who submit reports. ## Minimum Safe Altitudes The FARs specify minimum altitudes that you must maintain during flight. These minimum safe altitudes apply at all times except during take off and landing. Over a congested area, such as a city or metropolitan area, you are required to fly at least 1,000 feet above any obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of your aircraft. When flying over an uncongested area, you must fly at least 500 feet above the surface. Over sparsely populated or open water areas you may not fly within 500 feet of any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. The lowest altitude at which you may fly anywhere is one that allows you to make an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. Keep in mind that the altitudes specified in the FARs are minimums. A higher altitude gives you more time to troubleshoot any problems and to choose a better landing site in the event of an engine failure. ## Wire Strike Avoidance When an aircraft collides with a powerline or an antenna guy wire, it often becomes unflyable, which typically results in an accident with serious injury or death. Although you might think that wire-strike accidents mostly affect helicopters, any aircraft flying near the ground is susceptible to striking a wire. Many airplane wire-strike accidents are associated with agricultural operations, pipeline patrol, and other operations that legitimately require low flying. If you are preparing for a career in one of these fields you must obtain special training in the specific operation you are conducting, and ensure that you know and consistently follow sound safety procedures. For example, military low-flying missions require pilots to study their charts carefully and fly over the top of towers that support powerlines because the powerlines themselves are often invisible in flight. Typical wire strikes normally occur below 100 feet AGL. Because most pilots normally do not need to fly that low, flying at least 1,000 feet AGL (except during takeoff and landing) dramatically reduces your chances of a wire strike. Follow the FAA guideline to maintain a 2,000-foot horizontal distance from any tower (unless you are safely above it), to reduce the risk of colliding with an antenna guy wire. Even if you are careful to maintain a safe altitude during enroute flight, you should be aware that some wire-strike accidents still occur when pilots fly too low during final approach, sometimes due to the lack of adequate visual guidance to the runway. Avoiding these types of accidents during night and low-visibility conditions requires extra attention to maintaining an appropriate glidepath. ## Flight Over Hazardous Terrain Depending on where you learn to fly, mountain flying and flight over open water are typically not part of private pilot training. To safely operate over these areas, you need specialized training from an instructor who knows the area over which you will fly. Mountain flying can be a rewarding experience, but it introduces numerous hazards for the inexperienced pilot. Decreased aircraft performance at high altitudes, turbulence, rapidly changing weather, and difficulty in locating a forced landing site are just a few of the challenges of a mountain flight. If you do make a successful emergency landing in a remote area, can you survive the night until help arrives? Having warm clothing, water, a first aid kit, and other survival gear onboard could easily make a life or death difference for you and your passengers. ## Taxiing in Wind Another safety concern that you will be introduced to early in your flight training is the effect of wind during taxi. Strong winds passing over and around the wings and horizontal stabilizer can actually lift the airplane. In the most severe conditions, the airplane could flip over. Proper use of the aileron and elevator controls normally counteracts the wind and helps you maintain control of your airplane on the ground. For example, if the wind is blowing from the left front quarter, you should turn the yoke to the left, which will hold the left aileron up and counteract the lifting tendency of the wind. When you turn while taxiing, you have to change the position of the controls for the new direction of the wind relative to the airplane. In a tricycle-gear airplane, the elevator should be in a neutral position when the wind is from the front to prevent the wind from exerting any lifting force on the tail. You will encounter some differences in taxiing tricycle-gear airplanes versus conventional-gear, or tailwheel, airplanes. Compared with tricycle-gear airplanes in gusty and crosswind conditions, a tailwheel airplane has an increased tendency to weathervane into the wind due to the greater surface area behind the main gear. In addition, the location of the center of gravity behind the main wheels can cause the airplane to swerve further and further out of alignment once it is displaced. The most critical situation exists when you are taxiing a high-wing tricycle-gear airplane in a strong quartering tailwind. The high wing is susceptible to being lifted by the wind. In extreme conditions, a quartering tailwind can cause the airplane to nose over and flip on its back. When taxiing a tailwheel airplane, position the ailerons the same as you do for a tricycle-gear airplane. However, to help keep the tailwheel on the ground, hold the elevator control aft (elevator up) in a headwind, and in a tailwind, hold the elevator control forward (elevator down). ## Positive Exchange of Flight Controls Frequently during your flight training, it will be necessary to exchange the flight controls with your instructor. For example, your instructor normally demonstrates a maneuver first, before passing the controls to you. To ensure that it is clear as to who has control of the aircraft, the FAA strongly recommends the use of a three-step process when exchanging the flight controls. During the preflight briefing, the following procedure to pass control of the aircraft should be reviewed. * **Pilot Passing Control:** “You have the flight controls.” * **Pilot Taking Control:** “I have the flight controls.” * **Pilot Passing Control:** “You have the flight controls.” The pilot passing the controls should continue to fly until the pilot taking the controls acknowledges the exchange by saying, “I have the flight controls.” A visual check also is recommended to ensure that the other pilot actually has the controls. There can be times when your instructor desires to assume control of the aircraft from you. If this is necessary, your instructor should take the controls while informing you, "I have the flight controls.” ## Summary Checklist * The majority of midair collisions occur during daylight hours, in VFR conditions, and within five miles of an airport. * In daylight conditions, the most effective way to scan is through a series of short, regularly-spaced eye movements in 10° sectors. * You might not notice objects in your peripheral vision unless there is some relative motion. * If there is no apparent relative motion between another aircraft and yours, you are probably on a collision course. * Empty field myopia occurs when you are looking at a featureless sky that is devoid of objects, contrasting colors, or patterns and your eyes tend to focus at only 10 to o feet. * Blind spots make it difficult to see conflicting traffic. In both high-wing and low-wing designs, portions of your view are blocked by the fuselage and wings. * A cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) is a dedicated screen, MFD, or GPS moving map that depicts traffic threats. * General aviation traffic systems are advisory only, to help you locate traffic. Continuously scan for traffic by looking outside and cross check the CDTI to learn what areas need increased attention. * Operation Lights On encourages you to use your landing lights during departures and approaches, both day and night, especially when operating within 10 miles of an airport, or in conditions of reduced visibility. * Clearing turns allow you to see areas blocked by blind spots and make it easier to maintain visual contact with other aircraft in the practice area. * An aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over all other aircraft. * Primarily, there are three situations where right-of-way rules apply; converging with another aircraft, approaching another aircraft head-on, or overtaking another aircraft. * You must maintain FAA-designated minimum safe altitudes at all times except during takeoffs and landings. Complying with safe altitude rules also minimizes your risk of a wire strike accident. * Mountain flying and flight over open water require specialized training from experienced instructors who are familiar with the area over which the flights will be conducted.