5 ms·

I think this a case for better GA trining. Expecting engine failure on takeoff, building the counterintuitive pitch-down reflex to avoid stall, and so on. Knowi

I think this a case for better GA trining. Expecting engine failure on takeoff, building the counterintuitive pitch-down reflex to avoid stall, and so on. Knowing your minimum maneuverable speed (and marking it on your air speed indicator). Expecting something to go wrong is the key mindset. A GA death happens roughly once a week for the reasons you outline. Emergency situations are not time to learn new skills, you need to have it down.

Zak 7y ago
This system appears to be designed primarily for situations involving pilot incapacitation, not compensating for deficits in pilot skill.
HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
All of that was covered, to the point of automatic reflex, during my Private Pilot training. I'm pretty sure it was standard, and not just my Instructor.
- appstorelottery 7y ago
  Private training varies, I have a friend that didn’t build that reflex properly until training for instrument cert. If you ask lots of private pilots - what’s more important: constant awareness of minimum maneuverable speed, or stall recovery - I expect most will answer stall recovery. Commercial pilots will answer the opposite. It’s a different mindset that’s been driven by commercial airlines. My point is GA training can be improved, and it’s not hard - just a change in mindset towards risk and preparedness.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
    I agree that that answer is strange. I would have assumed that everyone would answer that it's better to avoid the stall in the first place than have to deal with recovering from it. Clearly, I'm wrong!
bdamm 7y ago
That's true, but, we also accept a certain risk as GA pilots being non-commercial. The risk we accept is translated into a larger GA industry that makes flying as a hobby "affordable" to mere mortals (read: wealthy non-millonaires and not career pilots.) We can require more training for GA, but the training burden is already pretty high, and the GA industry is still shrinking last time I checked. Boosting safety requirements in the form of additional training for GA may save a few lives, but also those gains could be simply because there will be fewer hobby pilots. The fact is that GA planes falling out of the sky just doesn't kill very many people. It obviously feels terrible to the families involved in a crash, but relative to automotive deaths, lung cancer, murders, etc, it is a tiny tiny blip in the numbers. Obviously being a GA pilot boosts your chance of dying in a small airplane crash, in the same way that learning to ride a motorcycle boosts your chance of dying in a motorcycle crash. The alternative of killing off recreational flying, is worse.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- appstorelottery 7y ago
  I’m not talking about making training harder - just changing the mindset of GA pilots. I wrote more in a reply below if you’re interested.

Zak 7y ago

This system appears to be designed primarily for situations involving pilot incapacitation, not compensating for deficits in pilot skill.

HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago

All of that was covered, to the point of automatic reflex, during my Private Pilot training. I'm pretty sure it was standard, and not just my Instructor.

appstorelottery 7y ago
Private training varies, I have a friend that didn’t build that reflex properly until training for instrument cert. If you ask lots of private pilots - what’s more important: constant awareness of minimum maneuverable speed, or stall recovery - I expect most will answer stall recovery. Commercial pilots will answer the opposite. It’s a different mindset that’s been driven by commercial airlines. My point is GA training can be improved, and it’s not hard - just a change in mindset towards risk and preparedness.
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y ago
  I agree that that answer is strange. I would have assumed that everyone would answer that it's better to avoid the stall in the first place than have to deal with recovering from it. Clearly, I'm wrong!

bdamm 7y ago

That's true, but, we also accept a certain risk as GA pilots being non-commercial. The risk we accept is translated into a larger GA industry that makes flying as a hobby "affordable" to mere mortals (read: wealthy non-millonaires and not career pilots.) We can require more training for GA, but the training burden is already pretty high, and the GA industry is still shrinking last time I checked. Boosting safety requirements in the form of additional training for GA may save a few lives, but also those gains could be simply because there will be fewer hobby pilots. The fact is that GA planes falling out of the sky just doesn't kill very many people. It obviously feels terrible to the families involved in a crash, but relative to automotive deaths, lung cancer, murders, etc, it is a tiny tiny blip in the numbers. Obviously being a GA pilot boosts your chance of dying in a small airplane crash, in the same way that learning to ride a motorcycle boosts your chance of dying in a motorcycle crash. The alternative of killing off recreational flying, is worse.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
appstorelottery 7y ago
I’m not talking about making training harder - just changing the mindset of GA pilots. I wrote more in a reply below if you’re interested.