Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

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By bladerunner911
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906271
Hi everyone!

I'd like to know if other students and the more experienced pilots here occasionally have brain / memory failure on certain procedural / memory items in the cuircuit and when en-route.

A couple of times I've made a 'final' call as 'downwind' when things have got very busy, I usually notice straight away, but once my instructor had to correct.
I also seem to randomly forget carb heat to cold for the same reason.
Is this just part of learning as a student, or has anyone had this happen as a qualified pilot, just curious to know of others experience!

Thanks!
tr7v8, T6Harvard liked this
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By VRB_20kt
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906275
It’s normal. It’s simply an illustration that you’re not ready for test yet. The circuit feels very busy and fast when you’re a low hours student and consequently you lose mental capacity. With a little more experience the pieces jigsaw together nicely. Keep plugging away.
T6Harvard liked this
#1906288
I'm at a similar number of hours to you and I've made all the mistakes you mentioned! Indeed it does seem to be getting easier for me now at least in the circuit (usually notice after a second or two if I do forget carb heat etc) and I feel I have more time to check things, although now I'm doing navs there is a whole load of new stuff to forget and mess up :-)
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By Genghis the Engineer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906356
Hell yes.

At 2000hrs and a bit, I have had my share of silly mistakes, and as an instructor I have seen plenty in my post PPL and sometimes more advanced students.

The trick is to have enough capacity to spot your own errors and deal with them in good time, and to be procedural enough to error trap. And when you do make these mistakes, make a note to learn from them, but don't beat yourself up about it - or that in itself becomes a distraction.

The odd wrong radio call, missed check, incorrect action, is embarrassing and annoying without a doubt, but if your overall flying is robust enough, all of these will put themselves right.

The dangerous pilots are those lacking self doubt, or who think they never made mistakes.

G
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By bladerunner911
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906384
Thanks GtE for sharing your advice and perspective, I do try to make mental notes like you say when I make a mistake, and I try my best to correct any mistakes as soon as possible. I'm a perfectionist by nature and learning to fly is teaching me lots about myself, and how I underestimate my abilities both in life and when flying an aeroplane.
Fortunately I have a very encouraging instructor which helps a lot. A shout out to all the great instructors - we really appreciate you!! :thumleft:
T6Harvard, Cessna571 liked this
#1906509
When a student, I once landed and then called “downwind” whilst backtracking for no apparent reason!

If you miss a downwind call, it’s important to report where you actually are, rather than quickly do it when you’re not even there.

“late downwind”
“turning base”
“short final”

are all regularly heard.
T6Harvard liked this
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By Milty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906520
Yep, one all the things you mention. Called downwind on final. Called touch and go when landing. Was frequently missing carb heat on turn to base. My current one is forgetting carb heat away at 300. All just things to work on until it’s muscle memory.
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By Grelly
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906530
I think everyone has forgotten carb heat at one point or other.

I managed to forget the phonetic alphabet once when presented with an aircraft xxxND and claimed to be xxxNovemberDecember

Don't worry. Basically you practice and practice until you get it right. Then you practice and practice until you can't get it wrong. Mostly :D
T6Harvard liked this
#1906540
The thing with forgetting carb heat, when you go around and go “oh, this is sluggish” you also go “ah… carb heat”.

My instructor taught to leave it on until touchdown, and put it away when you increase throttle on a touch and go, but that was in a Cessna where they are right next to eachother.

I’ve since seen it taught in about 4 different ways.

Personally I think it’s important to know what it is. It’s unfiltered air through the exhaust shroud. We had an exhaust shroud break up, (long story), some members of the group were amazed when that concerned me greatly. A small piece of aluminium straight in, unfiltered, could really ruin your day.

I’ve seen a race engine ingest a 6mm nut, which was not pretty.
Milty liked this
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1906561
Milty wrote:Called downwind on final. Called touch and go when landing.

This sort of thing is very common.

In my expert :wink: position as armchair psychologist, I'd hazard a guess that it's a combination of

- knowing that there's a radio call to make,
- not yet having the much more complete situational awareness that comes from experience
- and being under a workload much higher than you'll be under with that experience.

So you open your mouth and the fact that a radio call is to be made supercedes the thinking about where you actually are, and the workload is high enough for it not to occur to you to do it consciously. It's very easy to do, and I wouldn't worry about it at all - just try and get used to thinking briefly about what you're about to say, even if the workload is high.

I haven't announced that I'm somewhere in the circuit when I'm not for the last 25 years. But it's not because I'm better than anyone else, it's because I've done it thousands of times and knowing where I am in the circuit isn't something I need spare capacity for any more.

That isn't to say that I don't (very) occasionally lose situational awareness and talk **** on the radio myself - again, invariably in a high workload situation. I can occasionally get west and east the wrong way round, but I've done that often enough to be super-aware of the potential mistake, so I think before I speak.

Top tip: the word correction sounds way more pro than erm. :thumright:
By pipvac
#1906579
I completed my first take-off and landing in the last two weeks. I've certainly had my fair share of 'brain-farts' where rather than a helpful thought, I just get an engaged tone. You are not alone!

Typically, this happens to me when there is a flood of information coming at me all at once, and I am not completely fluid on the procedure. Like an overflowing cup, capacity is exceeded and you cannot retain everything that you want to.

Each lesson, as the skills become a little more automatic, and muscle memory more assured, so that fog lifts, and I find myself being able to process everything and react appropriately.

My CFI has me use FREDA every 10 minutes or so on cruise. Fuel (Levels and Tank switch), Radio, Engines (T&Ps, Carb Heat if you have it), Direction (Orientation and Instrument check), Altitude.

For landings, there are many versions. US pilots I believe use GUMPS (Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Prop and Seatbelts). I have heard BUMPFFICH.... Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture, Prop, Fuel, Flaps, Instruments, Carbs, Harnesses (and lights).

Frankly, I'll take any advice I can get to help me remember everything. One thing I am certain of, I will continue to make mistakes and forget from time to time. But I can control how I react to that, and plan for next time.
T6Harvard liked this