Good habit or bad habit?

azblackbird

azblackbird

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azblackbird
I've got a little seat time in various types of aircraft and one of my habits (whether VFR or IFR) is I was always scanning for a place to land. When in the Rockies I was always looking for that meadow, mesa, glacier field, or back country strip we could set down if the need should ever arise. When flying over the plains I was always looking for that fresh cut wheat field, county road, private strip, or dry lake bed. Same when I occasionally go flying with some of my buddies here in AZ. I'm always (I don't ever let them know that though) scanning for a spot to land.

Now that I'm getting serious about getting my private and instrument and wanting to fly on my own, would my habit of always scanning for places to land be considered being overly paranoid, or possibly a hindrance or bad habit that I would need to break?
 
Think it's a good habit, so long u r not obsessing. Pre solo here, take my word with a bag of salt

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
good habit....

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Also good to look at places as you drive...the comparison to what you'd see from the air can be educational.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Also good to look at places as you drive...the comparison to what you'd see from the air can be educational.
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Funny you should mention that. As an avid dirt biker and OHV'er I'm always finding cool places that I think to myself... "hey, I could probably land a plane here". My eventual goal is to get an XCub or a Maule and play around here in the AZ back country.
 
Definitely good habit. If the fan quit now where would I go?
 
Good habit...I fly with an eye out the window and the mentality "where would I land when my engine goes out"

...when, not if.
 
Not a bad habit, I think, but just not all that important to my mind, depending on airplane. You can walk away from a 172 forced landing on a decent sized patio. Maybe of more value in airplanes with higher approach speeds.
 
Sundancer said:
Not a bad habit, I think, but just not all that important to my mind, depending on airplane. You can walk away from a 172 forced landing on a decent sized patio. Maybe of more value in airplanes with higher approach speeds.
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We were always in a 210 or 421 depending upon the distance and terrain. Nothing I really ever obsessed over, but was always in the back of my mind as a "what-if" type of situation. Mostly just for something to do.
 
Good habit, if you are the co-pilot and have nothing better to do.
IMHO bad habit as permanently keeping a suitable emergency landing field is sight is a pretty exhausting and occupying task. Why spend a majority of your attention on the possible improvement of the outcome of a very unlikely event?

Personally, I rather spend some thought on my flight planning, trying to avoid hostile terrain and fly relatively high, to ensure good radar coverage, good radio contact with ATC and to have more options in case of an engine failure. Once I am on my way, I scan for traffic, keep track of the weather, my progress and the engine instruments - including the remaining fuel, which is the number 1 cause of engine failures.
 
Good habit, as long as it does not detract from the tasks to fly the airplane attentively.
Also a good idea to not only size up clear space to land but be cognisant of which direction the wind is coming from at ground, and how you might set up the approach as well.
 
GRG55 said:
Good habit, as long as it does not detract from the tasks to fly the airplane attentively.
Also a good idea to not only size up clear space to land but be cognisant of which direction the wind is coming from at ground, and how you might set up the approach as well.
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AP did 90% of our flying, so the remaining tasks were just normal cockpit management. You're right on the wind direction. Always watched the trees, tumbleweeds, and tall grass/crops in the summer time. Watched for blowing snow, cattle/horse positioning, chimney smoke, etc. in the winter time.
 
azblackbird said:
You're right on the wind direction. Always watched the trees, tumbleweeds, and tall grass/crops in the summer time. Watched for blowing snow, cattle/horse positioning, chimney smoke, etc. in the winter time.
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One other thing to look for that I didn't find quite as obvious until my seaplane instructor pointed it out is the surface of the water. If you look at a lake, the side from which the wind is blowing will be calmer since it's sheltered by trees (maybe not someplace like Kansas), whereas the surface of the water on the other sides of the lake will be rougher.
 
skier said:
One other thing to look for that I didn't find quite as obvious until my seaplane instructor pointed it out is the surface of the water. If you look at a lake, the side from which the wind is blowing will be calmer since it's sheltered by trees (maybe not someplace like Kansas), whereas the surface of the water on the other sides of the lake will be rougher.
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Good point.
 
azblackbird said:
I've got a little seat time in various types of aircraft and one of my habits (whether VFR or IFR) is I was always scanning for a place to land. When in the Rockies I was always looking for that meadow, mesa, glacier field, or back country strip we could set down if the need should ever arise. When flying over the plains I was always looking for that fresh cut wheat field, county road, private strip, or dry lake bed. Same when I occasionally go flying with some of my buddies here in AZ. I'm always (I don't ever let them know that though) scanning for a spot to land.

Now that I'm getting serious about getting my private and instrument and wanting to fly on my own, would my habit of always scanning for places to land be considered being overly paranoid, or possibly a hindrance or bad habit that I would need to break?
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Very good habit.
 
azblackbird said:
AP did 90% of our flying, so the remaining tasks were just normal cockpit management. You're right on the wind direction. Always watched the trees, tumbleweeds, and tall grass/crops in the summer time. Watched for blowing snow, cattle/horse positioning, chimney smoke, etc. in the winter time.
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It's not possible for the AP to do 90% of your flying.

You do look for traffic, right? That's a big chunk of routine flying effort, especially over mountains where there may be NORDO gliders around.
 
MAKG1 said:
You do look for traffic, right?
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Yea, that kinda goes with the territory. Always scanning for traffic. Just wondering, why can't the AP do most of the flying? I never had a problem unless hitting some heavy turbulence which was usually short lived anyways.
 
azblackbird said:
Yea, that kinda goes with the territory. Always scanning for traffic. Just wondering, why can't the AP do most of the flying? I never had a problem unless hitting some heavy turbulence which was usually short lived anyways.
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Learn to hand fly first then use the AP. You won't be using the AP for your maneuvers.
 
azblackbird said:
Yea, that kinda goes with the territory. Always scanning for traffic. Just wondering, why can't the AP do most of the flying? I never had a problem unless hitting some heavy turbulence which was usually short lived anyways.
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You seem to think flying means handling controls.

That's part of it, but there is much more to it than that.

I find I can rather easily outfly a two axis autopilot in light turbulence. It's not that difficult.
 
i switched my training to a new to FBO plane that doesnt have a AP. 1 less headache and 1 less crutch. wish it didnt have the G1000 and this one also have traffic thats a distraction when u hear "traffic" during climb-out at 100 AGL and its a false call from the one holding short somewhere
 
Did G1000s ever come without autopilots? The older ones came with crappy autopilots (KAP 140).

But yes, not having to deal with coupled flight plans and especially VNAV is a big simplification. Now, if you could just do away with that highly unnecessary MFD. Too bad the rear avionics fan is required for day VFR, or you could just turn the avionics #2 bus off.
 
MAKG1 said:
Did G1000s ever come without autopilots? The older ones came with crappy autopilots (KAP 140).

But yes, not having to deal with coupled flight plans and especially VNAV is a big simplification. Now, if you could just do away with that highly unnecessary MFD. Too bad the rear avionics fan is required for day VFR, or you could just turn the avionics #2 bus off.
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apparently it does. my flight school just bought it from UND... none of their planes (172s) have AP and all of them have G1000. the other ones i used to fly had KAP 140 in them, i have no frame of reference but i thought that was awesome. but again, anything that flies better than me is awesome to me.

i am fixing the PDF / MFD situation myself... if i can ever find a plane that i like, have everything i want (yeah, not gonna happen) and within my budget (definitely not gonna happen)...
 
WannFly said:
apparently it does. my flight school just bought it from UND... none of their planes (172s) have AP and all of them have G1000. the other ones i used to fly had KAP 140 in them, i have no frame of reference but i thought that was awesome. but again, anything that flies better than me is awesome to me.

i am fixing the PDF / MFD situation myself... if i can ever find a plane that i like, have everything i want (yeah, not gonna happen) and within my budget (definitely not gonna happen)...
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Well, you could push the red (reversionary) button, and then you'll have two PFDs. Personally, I'd prefer a simpler plane for this.

The GFC700 autopilot is substantially better and more closely integrated into the flight deck. But that's really not important for a student pilot. A good pilot can outfly a KAP140 with ease (meaning better turns, smoother flight, more positive interceptions, etc.).
 
Yes. Any awareness habits are better than not.

Always assume you'll lose an engine 300 ft after takeoff and know what you will do. What will be the minimum altitude to attempt a turn back to the airport.

Always know where the good landing areas are.

I have a method to teach this for students with over 10 or 15 hours teaching them emergency preparedness. I bring a lunch bag with me and put a egg timer in it and set to some unknown length of time. I tell the student that when that timer goes off, no matter what you are doing or where you are I will pull the engine.
Of course, I won't under any circumstance...but he doesn't know that.

They learn quickly after about two of those adrenaline pumping, jump out of your skin episodes to be constantly aware of what to do.

tex
 
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So when the s***t. Hits the fan you want to guess which way to go for an emergency landing. Spatial awareness,is always a good thing.
 
Heck, I'm not only always looking for places to land, but I'm always calculating which airport is closest should an emergency arise. It's just good situational awareness, as far as I'm concerned.
 
Good habit. Whenever you feel like there's "nothing to do" in a cockpit, there's always the "check the plan, check the weather, look for a suitable landing field" mental game to keep the brain engaged.
 
Absolutely. My instructor taught me to roll right every now and then in cruise to get a look at the ground over there too (low-wing airplane). Smoke and bodies of water give good indications as to wind direction on the ground.
 
Also I suggest reading some soaring books about landing out. We glider pilots give it a great deal of thought.
 
denverpilot said:
Good habit. Whenever you feel like there's "nothing to do" in a cockpit, there's always the "check the plan, check the weather, look for a suitable landing field" mental game to keep the brain engaged.
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What you talking about? That crap would interfere with my nap.
 
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