Pilots Forgetting How to Fly 1

[ESPcomposites]

Automation in the Air Dulls Pilot Skill:

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-automation-air-dulls-pilot-skill-070507795.html

The parallel is that engineers are also becoming overly reliant on computers and forget (or never learn) how to be engineers. Some of the younger generation do not see a need for "old school" classical methods. They want to use high tech software or FEM everything.


Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[ESPcomposites]

Right, automation/computers are certainly a good thing as a whole. The key is that "over reliance" may not be.

Over reliance tends to offset their benefit. We may still be at a net positive, but not where we can/should be.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[cloa]

Planes computers should be taking the next step and working as a member of a team- basically AI. They can be involved in pilot management and informing pilots of information considered to manage indicators.

 

[panamarenko]

This is an interesting treat:

http://www.powershow.com/view/13b0ff-OTMwY/Lateral_flash_ppt_presentation

it is about algorithms to improve motion cueing fidelity of Full Flight Simulators to such an extent that training manual flying skills becomes possible. Conventional wash-out filters generate spurious side forces. These are apparently minimized with this approach and on-top it delivers matching visual- and vestibular cues with no phase shift.
Today pilots do need to train their manual flying skills in a safe environment (a simulator). Today, even state-of-the-art simulators do not provide motion fidelity. Learning to react on vestibular cues in the right way in case of abnormals, crap weather, X-wind landings, etc… could save lives and aluminum.
David Learmount from Flightglobal wrote a few interesting articles about it:

http://www.flightglobal.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=Lm²&IncludeBlogs=166

some of the PPT movies you can find back on their webite:

http://www.sfa-d.be

Dre

 

[berkshire]

The experimental aircraft association recently did a survey on the problem of pilot skills being dulled by gadgets.
here are their findings:
"" In response to recent discussions about air crew becoming too dependent on their gadgets, we asked you last week if you thought GA pilots were at risk of becoming "addicted to technology." Apparently, a lot of you are concerned about this very thing, as 79 percent said yes.""

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[GregLocock]

If you look at a plot of fatalities per PAX mile flown decade by decade, this argument vanishes.

Planes /as systems/ are enormously safer than they have ever been been before, and are still getting safer.

The blobby things at the pointy end may be having their failings recorded and revealed more often, which annoys them. And good news doesn't sell.



Cheers

Greg Locock


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[ESPcomposites]

I don't think we are trying to compare with or without automation (that is a different matter). Rather, compare proper use of the benefits of automation to over reliance upon automation.

The other thing to consider is the long term effect. Some believe that over use of automation will dull skills. If so, then progress may stall or a competitive edge may be lost.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[kontiki99]

This is a hugely complex issue. Which skills, which aircraft? The human factors side adds to the enormous complexity.

As someone that has worked on and around aircraft for 30 years, been working with airline cockpit avionics every day for the last 15, and a novice pilot with about 350 hours, my imagination literally explodes with possibilities every time the subject comes up.

Of course, skills are forgotten if not exercised. Just migrating from one airplane type to another, even with simple airplanes does that. With small single engine piston aircraft; you start to forget you have rudders migrating from a tail dragger to a tricycle gear aircraft.

In a complex multi engine airliner or a fighter (wildly different universes) there are similarities but hugely more variability.

GA pilots love to point out instances where an airline pilots seems to have forgotten stick and rudder, short field landing and upset recovery skills.

In addition, the human brain likes to assume an activity performed hundreds of times in exactly the same manner will be just like all those previous times to the point the brain may mask an irregularity to the conscious human, when it's observed.

So to some point, even checklists don't work to 10E-19 failure rate, much less sophisticated cockpit automation.

At fault are humans in the loop, which IMO is also fairly presented to the public. Pilots get blamed and are responsible for a lot of the problems.

But, that needs to be put in perspective. Any airplane is a useless pile of materials without a pilot. It is capable of doing nothing, nada, zero that is useful or fun without a human at the controls. The most important system on any airplane is the pilot! It is required for everything to work.

Yes there are some primitive automated flight routines, but it's still at it's infancy.

Humans aren't reliably logical either. Training has a lot to do with it.

I believe we train people to ensure they go through some pre-defined process before they emotionally feel good about taking an action. Academic training alone is not effective.

Humans respond by impulse and emotion. That's why scientists believe in supernatural creatures and bankers live in debt, it's their emotions and impulses runing the show.

I went to an FAA pilot training seminar a couple weeks ago. They show a recording of a pilot safety briefing filmed at American Airlines. I've tried to find a copy to share with coworkers (other Avionics Engineers). It's sometimes called Automation Dependency and the speaker is Warren Vanderberg. Some times it's also called Children of the magenta. It is a real eye opener. I recommend it to everyone in the business.

If anyone knows where to obtain a copy of the video, I'd sure like to get one. In fact, I think I'll call the FISDO and ask today.

I'm not sure how someone distills any subject so complex down to a few root causes. It's certainly an area that is worthy of serious research.

 

[kontiki99]

Typo on the previous post,

I wanted to say, At fault are humans in the loop, which IMO is also NOT fairly presented to the public."

My poor proofreading skills are at fault.

 

[KENAT]

"The most important system on any airplane is the pilot! It is required for everything to work."

Well, except for the aforementioned UAV's. Now some are true 'Remotely Piloted Vehicles' such that there a 'pilot' or 'operator' located somewhere other than on the vehicle. However, others are pretty autonomous as I recall.

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[kontiki99]

I believe there limited autonomous systems but they are limited.

I don't think they handle:

the decision to go or not go

where to go if there is a sudden change in weather

how to address on board or ATC surveillance failures

 

[kontiki99]

Maybe to put it better, autonomous vehicles dispatch even if it means they will be destroyed.

Sometimes good, sometimes not.

 

[berkshire]

Kenat
You said " "The most important system on any airplane is the pilot! It is required for everything to work."

Can I quote you on that?
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[KENAT]

I don't think I said that did I, wasn't I arguing the opposite by alluding to UAV's?

I may have quoted someone else though, I thought maybe Kontiki's 22 Sep 11 7:34 post.

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[berkshire]

Kenat,
You are right, it was Konti who said that.
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[kontiki99]

Pretty good video on Automation Dependency.

It illustrates how human factors, training and automation all come together for better or worse in a modern cockpit.

http://vimeo.com/29642656

 

[debodine]

kontiki99 thanks for sharing that vimeo, it was good to see how the aviation community is trying to correct the idea from the 90's that pilots would become automation managers instead of pilots.

I recall seeing a cartoon in the 90's that illustrated this intent in a funny way. It showed two cockpits side by side, one labeled Douglas and one labeled Airbus. The Douglas cockpit was crammed with controls, dials, buttons and levers and the Airbus cockpit had two buttons - one for UP and one for DOWN.

I always referred to it as the "George Jetson" cockpit. )

 

[drawoh]

I found this reading The Register.

What Really Happened Aboard Air France 447, from Popular Mechanics magazine.

JHG