Ask a first time
jet pilot half-way through their simulator training what they find to be the
most difficult approach to fly, and you may get one of several answers. A single-engine hand-flown ILS, a circle to
land, or maybe a full NDB approach- depending on the aircraft in question and
the pilot' s strengths and weaknesses, any of a number of approaches are likely
to prove most vexing.
Ask that same
pilot the same question when he's just begun mentoring, and it's nearly certain
the answer will be the effect of, "I just can't nail that visual approach
yet." I can hear the laughing from
piston pilots, "What could be easier than a visual?" Yet every pilot I've mentored has struggled
with mastering visuals long after they could fly a single engine ILS while
reciting poetry.
Why? It's largely an unfortunate by-product of one
of the factors that makes flying jets so safe- how tightly scripted most
operations are. On a nice ILS with a six
to eight mile final, a properly trained pilot knows exactly when to be at
"X" speed, and have "Y" configuration of flap and gear
extension. There's a recipe cooked up by
the aircraft manufacture for optimal flight- follow the recipe and the result
will be pleasing every time.
In contrast, a
visual approach can feel like trying to whip up a gourmet dinner with the
dredges of a mostly empty pantry- not a lot of guidance, and often nothing good
to work with. Being cleared for the
visual from 5000' AFL to a runway with no instrument approach (while eight
miles out on base leg) requires creativity and improvisation that isn't
practiced much, if at all, in simulator training.
There are some
tips, however, a pilot can heed to make the visual work. First is recognizing that most new pilots in
this situation will find themselves on short final with an excess, not a
shortage, of energy. It is much harder
to take energy, either in the form of airspeed or altitude, out of a jet
aircraft than a prop. For this reason,
more often than not, the first reaction to being cleared for a visual approach
should be to bring the thrust levers to idle.
Slowing the aircraft so that landing gear and at least partial flaps can
be extended results in a much more draggy and easy to manage aircraft. Thrust can always be added back if it turns
out the energy state isn't excessive.
Along with
carrying too much energy, another common mistake is too quickly disengaging the
autopilot. Because the approach doesn't
fall into one of the typical scenarios practiced in sim training, the pilot has
a reflexive reaction to return to basics and hand-fly. For an inexperienced pilot this greatly
increases the workload, and usually decreases the quality of the approach. Using the autopilot in the basic heading and
vertical speed modes will let the pilot focus on keeping the big picture
looking good.
