SPORTPILOT
A CONSTANT LEARNING CURVE As summer falls upon us and we begin the exit of what can only be described as a tumultuous year, my mind returns to flying. Throughout the year I haven’t had many opportunities to fly much and so the thoughts in my head centre on how to get back to aviating in a safe manner.
MICHAEL MONCK Chairman Michael is the Chair of the Board of RAAus and has held this position for 7 years. He holds flying qualifications from RAAus and CASA and advocates for the broader industry in a number of different forums. Michael is an active pilot and owns a CTLS aircraft which he regularly flies throughout Australia. michael.monck@raaus.com.au
I am not an instructor and consider myself as a pilot who is still learning. I like to think this attitude will prevail right through to the day when I choose to stop flying and in the meantime will take every opportunity I can to reflect on my flying, seeking out the lessons I can learn. One that stands out to me as relevant, right now, is that we get rusty when we don’t get the chance to practise our skills. To this end, I will be taking care to get it right when I turn the key next time. My approach will be fairly simple. I will take the time to go flying with someone who is more current than me. This may be an instructor or it may simply be someone that has had more flexibility than me and who has managed to stay current. I feel that even if I can’t find someone who is current, I will seek out a trusted and experienced person to come with me. Here’s my logic behind that. We often hear the discussion around incidents that have occurred because of the Swiss
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cheese theory where the holes line up and then the unthinkable happened. By reducing the likelihood of the holes lining up we can reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring. Even better, taking the holes away means they can never line up. With two experienced aviators in the cockpit the likelihood of both forgetting something is reduced. Forgot to remove the pitot tube cover? Chances are that your trusted partner in crime will let you know. Of course, none of this will work unless we all remain open-minded. In airline operations, there is much focus on crew dynamics and the cultural aspects of interactions between junior and senior flight crew. A well-managed airline will encourage junior people to speak up when they see something that is not quite right. This must be done in a respectful manner, however the outcome is that things that might otherwise go unnoticed and potentially contribute to a less than
