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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 0366.PDF
contributors". The CAA points out the apparent paradox that aerobatics continues to be a factor in several accidents a year, but that international competi tion has a very good record. This is to be expected, according to Aopa's Campbell. "You have to ask who does it. We all show off to some extent. The question is how to balance the risk. Such pilots are a certain breed, but they all volunteer. Some never seem to learn their lesson; sometimes it's only a matter of time—they get close to the , curve and eventually exceed it. They do not always know what happens in a manoeuvre and they totally exceed all aircraft limits, but they have height to keep out of trouble." Campbell is not happy that hours flown is the basis for measuring safety, especially for comparing with other oper ations. The basis must be number of move ments . He points out that 60-68 per cent of accidents happen in the take-off or landing phase "when time is at a premium and things can go wrong". The number of general-aviation movements could be established without great difficulty, he feels, since flights average about 30min, after account is taken of the large amount of training and what has to be accom plished in training flights. Considering pilots' total flying time, Campbell reckons that there is an average of seven years from initial to final flight. "Some get only their PPL and then they have achieved their ambition. Private owners do more hours, and those who go for an IMC rating stay longer and take more care." He thinks that the average total time may be no more than 120hr, pilots clocking up 50hr in qualifying and then adding about 60hr over, say, six years. "It's quite common for a pilot to do only 5hr a year." He would go along with any move to introduce better records of flying time. The alternative is for experience to be given as "not known", which is unsatisfactory. Good judgement is far and away the biggest requirement, according to Campbell. "We not only need to teach well, but to get through the message about operating with good judgement. People tend to think that this teaching is not necessary." The Aopa chairman sees no new factors contributing to accidents: "only the same old reasons—low-level aerobatics or engine failures (usually mechanical or incorrect fuel management)". He looks forward to seeing what sort of weather is said by the CAA to have contributed to accidents last year. "People think of cloud, or low visibility on approach or en route. What about a crosswind? That is operat ing an aircraft outside its limits." Campbell sees no distinction between accidents involving private and club pilots. "The private owner would not buy an aircraft to fly very few hours, so he flies more often and maintains competency. We have no statistics to say that a pilot flying under the umbrella of a club or training organisation is less safe." Loss of control continues to figure in the largest number of accidents every year, which again Campbell puts down to bad judgement. "We have not succeeded in getting into instructors' minds the reasons for slow flight. It is so that pilots develop sensory percep tion to be able to fly by instinct without looking at the ASI. There is little oppor tunity to develop this feel except near the stall. We must try to increase this experience and hope that the impression sticks. The aim is to increase confidence by showing how simple slow flight is." Is Campbell worried that nowadays the world accepts higher risks, a suggestion floated by the CAA and appar ently evidenced by greater participation in "adventure" sports and a move away from the "nanny" state to Yuppiedom? "Technology has encouraged us. It is a competitive world. The object is no longer sport, but personal achievement. Children are brought up on it. That is not to say that it is wrong, but you can see where it could get us." "Our biggest problem will be selling any CAA recommendation to the industry," concludes McMaster. "We expect to need more information and better dissemina tion, since no one sets out to crash. We expect to need more people in the field to talk to operators and pilots, despite having historically delegated this to specialist interests (such as gliding and parachuting organisations). If we had full regulation, as in public-transport, then the cost would be enormous. We must find a solution without imposing an enormous cost on industry or the authority." S3 * Aircraft below 5,700kg, excluding helicopters, microlights, balloons, gliders, and aircraft used for public transport (except air-taxi flights where the hirer chooses the nominal destination). •12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 13 February 1988
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