Can you read this without feeling anguish?

[markendee]

I know most of us have read this before and flying blind has been done to death (pun intended) but while explaining why flying in cloud is so dangerous to a non flying friend felt a definite tightening in the stomach while re reading this article. [B]"After the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1999, there was a lot of talk about VFR (visual flight rules) pilots flying into IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) weather and a lot of people have become familiar with these terms. Here is a short piece entitled "178 Seconds To Live" that helps explain the subject and what can happen to these pilots.[/B] [B][COLOR=#ff0000]178 Seconds to Live[/COLOR][/B] [CENTER][IMG]http://www.ronleon.com/_themes/piechart/apierule.gif[/IMG][/CENTER] How long can a licensed VFR pilot who has little or no instrument training expect to live after he flies into bad weather and loses visual contact? In 1991 researchers at the University of Illinois did some tests and came up with some very interesting data. Twenty VFR pilot "guinea pigs" flew into simulated instrument weather, and all went into graveyard spirals or roller coasters. The outcome differed in only one respect - the time required until control was lost. The interval ranged from 480 seconds to 20 seconds. The average time was 178 seconds -- two seconds short of three minutes. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]Here's the fatal scenario. . . . . . .[/B][/COLOR] The sky is overcast and the visibility is poor. That reported five mile visibility looks more like two, and you can't judge the height of the overcast. Your altimeter tells you that you are at 5500 feet but your map tells you that there's local terrain as high as 3200 feet. There might be a tower nearby because you're not sure how far off course you are so you press on. You find yourself unconsciously easing back just a bit on the controls to clear those towers. With no warning, you're in the soup. You peer so hard into the milky white mist that your eyes hurt. You fight the feelings in your stomach that tell you're banked left, then right! You try to swallow, only to find your mouth dry. Now you realize you should have waited for better weather. The appointment was important, but not all that important. Somewhere a voice is saying, "You've had it -- it's all over!" You've only referred to you instruments in the past and have never relied on them. You're sure that this is just a bad spot and you'll break out in a few minutes. The problem is that you don't have a few minutes left. [LEFT][COLOR=#ff0000][B]You now have 178 seconds to live.[/B][/COLOR]  [/LEFT] Your aircraft "feels" on even keel but your compass turns slowly. You push a little rudder and add a little pressure on the controls to stop the turn but this feels unnatural and you return the controls to their original position. This feels better but now your compass is turning a little faster and your airspeed is increasing slightly. You scan your instruments for help but what you see looks somewhat unfamiliar. You are confused so you assume the instruments must be too. You are now experiencing full blown Spatial Disorientation. Up feels like down and left feels like right. You feel like you are straight and level again but you're not. The spiral continues. [LEFT][COLOR=#ff0000][B]You now have 100 seconds to live.[/B][/COLOR]  [/LEFT] You glance at your altimeter and you are shocked to see it unwinding. You're already down to 3000 feet. Instinctively, you pull back on the controls but the altimeter still unwinds. You don't realize that you are in a graveyard spiral and it only gets worse. Your plane is almost sideways you're just tightening the turn by pulling back on the yoke, but all you can see is that altimeter going lower, lower, lower. The engine is into the red and growling and the airspeed is dangerously high. The sound of the air passing by begins to resemble a scream. [LEFT][COLOR=#ff0000][B]You now have 45 seconds to live.[/B][/COLOR]  [/LEFT] Now you're sweating and shaking. There must be something wrong with the controls; pulling back only moves the airspeed indicator further into the red. It's supposed to do the opposite! You can hear the wind tearing at the aircraft. Rivets are popping as the load on the wings and tail far exceeds design specifications. 1800, 1500, 1100 feet...... down you go. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]You now have 10 seconds to live.[/B][/COLOR] Suddenly you see the ground. The trees rush up at you. You can now see the horizon if you turn your head far enough but it's at a weird angle -- you're almost inverted! You open your mouth to scream but. . . . . . [LEFT][COLOR=#ff0000][B]Your time is up![/B][/COLOR]  [/LEFT] [I][B]Next time:[/B][/I] [B]LEVEL THE WINGS, REDUCE THROTTLE AND PULL THE NOSE UP TO THE HORIZON! YOUR WINGS PRODUCE ALL THE LIFT BUT THEY CANNOT CARRY YOU OUT OF DANGER IF THEY ARE AT A STEEP ANGLE! GET YOUR EYES OFF OF THE ALTIMETER AND LOOK AT YOUR ATTITUDE INDICATOR. THEN LEVEL THE WINGS! LEVEL THE WINGS! LEVEL THE WINGS![/B] [CENTER][IMG]http://www.ronleon.com/_themes/piechart/apierule.gif[/IMG][/CENTER] Think about it before you press on into marginal weather without an instrument rating AND recent instrument practice or experience. It is just as important to keep your instrument skills current and honed AFTER you become rated. To a GOOD instrument pilot, the view outside of the airplane is of little or no consequence. We watch our trusty instruments using a good steady scan, never fixating on one or the other, constantly interpreting what each one is telling us and how it relates to all the others. If one does not look right, others will either enforce or negate what it is telling us. We strive to always see the "big picture" our entire instrument panel is giving us and fly the airplane accordingly. Someone once said, "Flying itself is inherently safe, but it is mercilessly unforgiving of error." Could there be a truer statement? This article seems all too vivid now with the recent death of John F. Kennedy Jr. on July 17th 1999. He was an aspiring pilot and IMHO, an all around good guy. But by all reports he never got a standard weather briefing from Flight Service nor did he call for an in-flight weather update. He chose not to file a flight plan nor did he reqeust radar flight following which is an option for VFR pilots. Had no more than 100-150 hours total time, less than 25 hours in his new plane, a complex Piper Saratoga. Although he had recently started his instrument training he flew into nighttime blindness with no instrument experience and the rest is history that none of us will ever forget. Very sad indeed for a family who has known this kind of tragedy all too often and also the Bessette family who lost two daughters, one of them an identical twin. I think it is the remaining twin, Lisa Ann Bessette who will suffer the worst."

[Guest basscheffers]

The advice is probably sound, but how many recreational planes have an AI? You don't need them unless you get into this trouble, but if you do, you probably wish you'd spend the money!

 

 

[BLA82]

The advice is probably sound, but how many recreational planes have an AI? You don't need them unless you get into this trouble, but if you do, you probably wish you'd spend the money!

How True,

 

We would all wish we had spent the money after it's all to late. Please correct me if I am wrong as all of you probably have alot more RA-AUS flying experience than me but would it be such a stupid thing to have AI fitted as standard in all aircraft and have some syllabus in the training scheme to teach students how to use them. The argument of weight could come into it but I believe that 2ltrs less of fuel is far worth it if weight is so tight to have the back-up. Considering we are tought to have excess fuel for a particular flight 2 lts less should have no impact.

 

 

[Guest brentc]

I promised myself some time ago that I would always (where possible) equip myself with an Artificial Horizon as a minimum in any aircraft that I am to fly and if I was to fly one without it, to not ever put myself in a position where I would need one. I haven't had to use it because of something stupid that I have done, however it has been used deliberately on occasion and I am versant in its' use. I would highly recommend one and the weight and complexity should not be an excuse to go without. Cost is another factor unfortunately, but with the cost of the 4 inch little Dynons these days, it's definitely worth considering.

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

What about the little TruTrak ones I see advertised? DG and digital HI in one for < $1500.

 

 

[motzartmerv]

Thats a great article. It really highlights the dangers of going IMC without the training. In my PPl test the other day i had to do time under the hood, i hadn't done any for ages. The conditions were bumpy and rough as guts, so the chief said "this would be a good time to go under the hood aye?"...yea great, 45 mins of instrument flight felt like 2 hours of normal vfr. I could keep the wings level and roughly hold height, but keeping the course held was very difficult while doing the other things.

 

The chief gets all his students who are just post solo in the simulator to show them the dangers, most do loose control at some stage and end up inverted or going through the VNE, but without the sensory illusions its not quite the same.. We can't do instrument training in the RAA but what i do is get the guy to shut his eyes for 2 minutes while i gently turn the plane around in both directions, then i slowly roll on a heep of bank and keep co-ordinated, letting it sink stops the feeling of G. I then ask them to tell me which way we are turning, they almost always say "WE AREN"T" ...when they open thier eyes they are in shock to see the horizen high in the windscreen and the wings banked 45 deg.. Its a real eye opener for them.

 

I'd recomend wherever possible having an AH and turn co-ordinator, but i can see that leading to problems also.. If you have one, you may be tempted to use it. If you don't have one then the clouds you will treat like mountains, and stay well away..I wonder if JFK jnr would have tried pushing on if his acft wasn't AH equipped?? Its a bit of a 2 edged sword i reckon..what do you guys think??

 

cheers

 

 

[Guest brentc]

Basscheffers - yep, I've used one of those units and I have the basic model in my aircraft as the turn coordinator. Whilst I have it as a turn coordinator if you keep the ball in the middle it becomes an AH. I used the AG model in a Jab with the digital DG heading via GPS. My criticisims of it were that the pitch (mine has no pitch) line was vibrating all the time which made it hard to use to a granular level, plus the ball was quite sticky which made it hard to get the aircraft perfectly aligned in terms of yaw. All up not a bad idea from the price, considering that I have a vacum pump and mechanical AH and DG as per the photo. Personally based on what I've seen of the Tru-Trak AH, I'd buy the Dynon instead.

 

 

 

[markendee]

All good thought provoking stuff.

 

That exercise you put your students through is a beauty Merv.

 

A mate installed a vacuum driven AH but not having a vac pump on the 912 it just fell over - now sits on a shelf.

 

As a wing leveller (and perhaps a life saver) another way to go is a single axis auto pilot. Hit the button and the unit takes over. The unit I have seen even has the option of self returning to base and circling the home field. If a pilot was to become ill this could be a ripper feature. The one I have seen was $2000.00, around the price of a good gyro A.H.

 

 

[bushpilot]

All good thought provoking stuff....As a wing leveller (and perhaps a life saver) another way to go is a single axis auto pilot. Hit the button and the unit takes over. The unit I have seen even has the option of self returning to base and circling the home field. If a pilot was to become ill this could be a ripper feature. The one I have seen was $2000.00, around the price of a good gyro A.H.

Now this sounds real sensible; if it that effective and cheap to buy, why aren't they more common? Sounds like a real lifesaver - to only have to worry about attitude. I mean, we are not going to plan to loose ground / horizon reference, but if you do....

 

 

[poteroo]

Many training aircraft now have attitude instruments fitted - whether vacuum or EFIS.

 

Referring the student back to instruments during and after a manoeuvre is standard practice, so it's not difficult to include the attitude instruments at this time.

 

This won't make an IFR pilot out of anyone - any more than the 2 hrs for PPL will - but it's making use of what's available to increase a pilots' skills.

 

I'm also not of the opinion that pilots with a little 'IF' training are more likely to intentionally go IFR. Reckon it's a more fundamental value than that - namely whether they are a risk-taker or not. Same could probably be said of low flying - where it's Capt Gung-ho who'll be doing the beat-ups rather than F/O 'Cautious' who's been suitably impressed by his instructors demonstration of the perils of LL.

 

happy days,

 

 

[ifr duck]

A dangerous lie.

 

178 seconds to live, is a dangerous lie because it does not tell any thing like the full story, and it creates in the mind of the reader (pilot) an apprehension of inevitability that is by no means true, and that in fact is probably more responsible for a bad outcome than the lack of skills themselves. It has also contributed to the undesirable effect of shrouding instrument flying in a mythical world of 'difficulty and danger' that it is not, and preventing reasonable exposure and instruction in the training curriculum which would go a long way to debunking the 178 second myth, and saving lives. It has been used as part of a a misguided strategy to keep untrained pilots from entering instrument flight conditions when either they or their aircraft is unequipped for those conditions.

 

Let me first qualify what I am saying.

 

I am speaking of a pilot flying an aircraft that has a working Directional gyroscope, Artificial horizon and Airspeed indicator.

 

Secondly, it has not been the pilots intention to enter instrument conditions but has been caught by circumstances not foreseen for whatever reason with the only way of escape being a 180 turn or a climb or descent out of the cloud.

 

So to be clear, if you get into cloud with no instruments the story does apply to you and you will die failing a miracle.

 

However to the facts of the 178 second story.

 

It was derived from a study done in 1954 by the University of Illinois entitled 'The 180 Degree Turn Experiment'

 

At that time private pilots had no instrument training at all and the 20 pilot subjects had no instrument training and minimal hours.

 

On the test flight the AH, DG and the RofC indicators were covered up with only a T&B and ASI available.

 

The test was performed in a Bonanza which the students had never flown before and was a fast sophisticated aeroplane for the time.

 

After 2-3 hours of instrument training the pilots repeated the test and not one lost control.

 

There are a number of aspects to the experiment that would not be used today. However the purpose of the experiment was to examine the effect of a minimal amount of instrument training on the survivability of the otherwise untrained basic private pilot. The outcome was deemed an unqualified success and basic instrument training became part of the PPL syllabus.

 

So lets all absolutely stick to the rules regarding flight in instrument conditions but also make sure that if flying suitably equipped GA aircraft, we have someone qualified give us some of that 'under the hood' practice. Then if we get 'caught' through carelessness or stupidity we can as an emergency, exercise those basic instrument skills that will save the lives of all those on board. If we do this it is most likely that there will be a good outcome!

 

Safe Flying.:thumb_up:

 

 

[bushpilot]

Out of this thread comes something that I have struggled to get good information / advice on, over many years.. That is, how to judge when the weather is closing in, as against a bit of temporary fluff on the nose (No inuendo intended;)) that will clear..

 

The commonly used 'weather and aviation' books seem to step around this topic.. Can anyone out there help? Is there any written resource that deals with identifying (pre-flight or during flight) blue turning into poo..?

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

 

 

[Yenn]

I have been told bu a couple of pilots about their straying into iFR conditions and surviving. One agrees he was very lucky to get out of it and the other insists that he can fly straight by ensuring the compass heading does not change and he keeps airspeed correct. I would like to see him try it in an IFR equipped plane with an instructor.

 

Personally I have enough instrument time to think I would be very hard pressed to survive in a well equipped plane and have no hope in my present plane which has no DG or AH. If anyone wants to try their luck, spend a few dollars and get checked out by an instructor in a GA plane. The cost will be less than the funeral fees and your family will probably be happier.

 

 

[Guest airsick]

the other insists that he can fly straight by ensuring the compass heading does not change and he keeps airspeed correct.

It tends to be a bit bumpy in cloud. How does he maintain a constant heading on a compass when it is bouncing around? I am assuming he isn't using a DG or something else.

 

 

[Chird65]

Airsick one more post to make 500.

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Yeah I am just trying to think of something meaningful to say in my 500th.

 

 

[Guest airsick]

D'oh! Buggered it up! :p

 

 

[facthunter]

IF flight.

 

Airsick, the statement that you have highlighted as a Quote would have to rank amongst the silliest that I have heard on this subject. I'm not suggesting that you & Ian don't think likewise.

 

Please believe that proficient instrument flying requires :

 

The correct training.

 

Recent practice.

 

A set of instruments appropriate to the task, that you can have absolute TRUST in.

 

Why absolute trust? Because your butt will tell you different to the instruments, (it's really the hairs in the circular canals in your inner ears) and you have to ignore their message, and respond ONLY to the instrument indications. This does not occurr with a simple simulator as there is no motion , so it is much easier.

 

Many mechanical A/H's will tumble when certain limits of roll or pitch are exceeded. These are caged (locked on the stops ) before you do aeros.

 

The minimum instruments that you would need would be Altimeter, airspeed indicator and some STABLE heading reference.

 

The normal means of determining direction, (the magnetic compass) is all but useless except in calm conditions and unaccellerated flight, so you need the back-up of a gyro stabilised heading indicator or a gyro driven turn indicator. As a turn indicator gives rate of turn, (and I am a purist) I prefer it to a turn coordinator,

 

Flying on a limited panel is very stressful, and requires a much higher level of training and recent practice, and nobody can do it for very long.

 

Chris, I know your question is genuine. I can only say this.

 

Do your very best to stay out of the "poo" and always try to have an escape route available. Don't fly into valleys under a low overcast that may get lower. If you get sucked up or lured into the base of a bit of fluffy stuff, take power off and descend straight away, while you are still aware of where the ground is, and you have clearance from it. After a few more minutes you may not be sure, Get visual again. Nev...

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Airsick, the statement that you have highlighted as a Quote would have to rank amongst the silliest that I have heard on this subject. I'm not suggesting that you & Ian don't think likewise. Please believe that proficient instrument flying requires :

The correct training.

I haven't done IF except for that which is part of the PPL training. It was however enough to convince me not to do it without more training. I recall doing unusual attitudes in the sim and in the air and not being too fazed about it all but the real kicker came during my pre PPL flight.

 

We took off and the instructor basically put me under the hood straight away. I had often heard about the 'funny' sensations you get but never really experienced them until this flight. After some time under the hood (rather than the short bursts they normally give you) it really became apparent that your senses are telling you something that doesn't correspond to reality. It feels like you are turning, descending, climbing, etc. when you're not. This really nailed the point home for me.

 

Back to the compass thing though. Maintaining a heading while in still air isn't too hard using one but introduce a few bumps, some climbing and descending and some acceleration and deceleration and, as you said, it gets a bit more difficult. The old ONUS acronym is useful but I can imagine that in bumpy conditions with no outside references it would soon lose it usefullness. Furthermore, without the other instruments you are pretty much stuffed.

 

I think Ian and I (and you) are on the same wavelength here but I will go as far as to agree with you and say that this is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard too. If I knew who the pilot in question was then personally I would make the effort not to fly with him.

 

My simple opinion is - if you have no reasonable cause to believe you can make it through the cloud then live to fly another day by turning away from it. Prior IF training, currency and an appropriately equipped aircraft is about the only thing that would give me reasonable cause.

 

 

[facthunter]

Training.

 

AS.... Thanks, I fully agree.. Nev...

 

 

[motzartmerv]

compas and airspeed for IFR, is that a joke??...seriously.. me reckons anyone who tried that wouldn't be around to tell us how bad it went..

 

 

[Yenn]

My post has raised some hackles and that is what I intended. The pilot in question is a good pilot as far as controlling the plane in VFR, but has an enlarged ego and I believe really thinks he can do it, even though he has had plenty of advice saying opposite.

 

Personally I would hate to try to fly a steady course in rough conditions using only the wet compass and no horizon. With the compass turning in what appears to be the wrong direction I think I would hard pressed to correct a turn in cloud and have no intention of trying it. I have managed to do circuits under the hood, from start of roll to short final, but that was where the strip was aligned with a VOR radial and a NDB was conveniently placed abeam the point where you wanted to be at 500'. Good fun, but only with an instructor.

 

 

[Geoff]

No matter what indicators you use, remember the key to recovering from unusual flight attitudes:

 

1. Stop the turn;
    
    
   
2. Level the wings;
    
    
   
3. Control the airspeed
    
    
   

 

 

 

 

[ifr duck]

Climbing a stairway to heaven??

 

For Bush Pilot, (and anyone else interested) re assessing wx.

 

First a couple of quick observations for the post.

 

I have had quite a few goes in good conditions (smooth) and for fun, trying to fly the ASI and mag compass in cloud (no T&B).

 

Until I got into some rough stuff I was under the illusion that I might be able to sustain it for a while. When that happened I reckon it was about 2 minutes before 'the fear' and I gave up.

 

Second observation.

 

Once your gyros topple, (if you have them) you are basically just going along for the ride. It is very difficult to regain control after you lose it on the limited panel. It often takes several thousand feet of altitude to recover. You need to have a real good understanding of your slip/skid turn/bank instrument and know what it is telling you while you are suffering and thinking you are going to die. As well as that you have to be able to think about power, control positions, rudder, trim etc. If you are REALLY lucky it won't be night (10 times as hard) and you will have room to recover after you drop out of the cloud, if you still have your wings on. Is there a message here????

 

Most important thing about instrument flying....Don't lose control.

 

However you can be over-fearful about weather. After all, if you only fly in perfect conditions (and there is nothing wrong with that) you won't learn any thing about the weather from experience, and that will restrict your flying a fair bit, unnecessarily. Also the weather often looks worse than it is and forecasts can be overly pessimistic.

 

The trick is to find a safe way to learn and gain the experience that the text books can never give you. With experience comes confidence, and confidence coming from experience greatly increases aviation safety.

 

This is the process I would follow.

 

1. Where do I want to go? Is it over rough country with hills and valleys or flat country. Is it in to rising ground?

 

2. Does it have plenty of spots to put down safely or is it Tiger country?

 

3.Do I know the route? This means having flown it enough times to have good local knowledge and I can recognize things quickly and easily.

 

4. Is it early or late in the day? Is there plenty of time before dark, ie hours to spare not minutes. Weather tends to deteriorate later in the day as the temps fall and the Relative humidity increases. Fading light, especially in cloudy weather makes navigation and things harder to see, and can hugely increases the pressure and stress on the pilot.

 

5. What is my aircraft type? Is it slow or fast? Is it equipped with an AH and DG? If I have some instruments and can use them it increases safety.

 

It is much safer to do a 180 degree turn away from bad weather in a slower aircraft, and you have much more time for decision making.

 

6. What are the actual WX conditions where I am? ie cloud base, rain, and visibility? (Why go if any of these are 'bad?) Remember, you are flying for fun, not to die or scare the hell out of yourself.

 

7. Find out what the WX is like where you want to go.

 

8. Talk to someone with experience and ask them their opinion. Better still ask them to come with you and give you some tips.

 

9. Tell someone your exact intentions, route, times plans etc.

 

10. Take some safety gear, ELT, mobile ph, GPS food water etc.

 

OK, you decide to go.

 

Pick a minimum cruise altitude, say as a minimum 800agl, then add 300ft to it giving you 1100ft agl. If you cannot reach that altitude on departure for ANY reason, or the visibility is less than a good 6kms immediately return and land.

 

You may not be able to reach this altitude on departure for a number of reasons.

 

Cloud base too low.

 

Your visibility is too limited ahead due to rain, haze, lowering cloud, mist and even the effect that rain has on the windscreen of reducing visibility.

 

Remember, if you do not have a clear horizon ahead it means that something is obscuring it...beware.

 

The distance to the horizon you can see must not be less than 5kms (LAW) and if you are smart in bad WX you will give yourself more.

 

If you can safely reach your cruise altitude plus 300ft, and as long as this altitude can be maintained and you can see at least 5kms horizontally to the horizon then you are safe.

 

If at any point you start to see wispy cloud at or close to your altitude or the horizon comes closer or starts to become unclear because the visibility is reducing, then reduce power, lower the nose and make an immediate 180degree turn back the way you came. Do not hesitate or think things might improve shortly.

 

Turn back and live.

 

The conditions that trap most pilots are the combination of low cloud AND poor visibility because of rain, mist etc.

 

If visibility is good ie plus 10kms, you can fly all day with the cloud base at 800ft agl and never have a problem. It is the combination of low cloud AND poor visibility which will trap you.

 

Even though I fly in instrument conditions regularly, I am very respectful and careful that I stick to these guidelines when flying my 'bug-smasher'!

 

The good thing is that I am still here!!!

 

 

[facthunter]

Comment.

 

Good stuff, ifr duck, Nev...