ANC Academy Blog

I recently did a flight with a flight instructor, practicing circuits at my local airport. Climb at Vy, establish at circuit height, turn downwind, do my BUMFICH (GUMPS for the North American readers), call downwind, set up for the approach, touch-down, get back in the air, and repeat. I notice however, during the downwind, that the instructor is getting increasingly uncomfortable until I make radio call, before relaxing again. Sure enough, during the debrief, the instructor tells me that I'm taking too long to call downwind on the radio, and that I should do it sooner. This for me, was an excellent example of the subject of this post. I can tell you that the acronym ANC - aviate, navigate, communicate - is crucial to the success of any flight. These three simple words represent the three primary tasks that a pilot must constantly prioritize in the cockpit. Aviate refers to the physical act of flying the aircraft. This includes maintaining a stable and safe altitude, speed, and att...

As pilots, we like to believe that we are rational, logical beings who make sound judgments based on the facts at hand. However, the truth is that we are all susceptible to cognitive biases, which are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. These biases can lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, and illogical interpretation, and they can have serious consequences that can lead to dangerous situations in flight. There are many different types of cognitive biases, including anchoring bias, confirmation bias, and availability heuristic. Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions. Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. The availability heuristic is the tendency to overestimate the probability of an event based on its availability in memory. In the field o...

The other day I was teaching a student on flight simulator. After he picked up the ATIS I asked him what the crosswind was going to be for take-off. I wanted him to start thinking about the information he had in his hands, and not making a habit of listening to the ATIS just something that he was doing simply because he was going through the motions. He responds by pulling out his calculator and doing the accurate measurement. I asked him if he carried a calculator in his real world PPL lessons, and he admitted that he didn't. So how was he supposed to calculate crosswind? This article outlines the simple trick of doing this. Once the wind direction has been received (i.e via the ATIS), the pilot calculates the angle difference between the runway heading and wind direction. The pilot then imagines the minute hand on a clock face indicating on that number of minutes. For example, if the difference is 15 degrees, the pilot imagines the hand pointing at the 3 on the clockface. The amo...

Airmanship is the art and science of safely and efficiently operating an aircraft. It involves a combination of technical knowledge, physical skills, and decision-making abilities that enable pilots to navigate the complex and ever-changing environment of flight. In this article, we will delve into the details of airmanship and explore what it takes to be a proficient and proficient pilot. At its core, airmanship is about understanding how an aircraft works and how it reacts to various inputs and conditions. This includes knowledge of the aircraft's systems, such as the engines, hydraulics, and electrical systems, as well as an understanding of the physical principles of flight, such as lift, drag, and thrust. Pilots must also be proficient in the use of the aircraft's controls and instruments, as well as in navigation and communication. But airmanship is more than just technical knowledge. It also involves the ability to make good decisions under pressure and to adapt to ch...

Pilot threat and error management (TEM) is a set of strategies and techniques that pilots use to identify and mitigate potential hazards and mistakes during flight. It is a critical aspect of aviation safety, as it helps pilots to anticipate and prevent accidents and incidents from occurring. TEM has a long history in the field of aviation, with early efforts to address human error in aviation dating back to the 1930s. One of the key concepts in TEM is the recognition of threats. A threat is any factor that has the potential to compromise the safety of a flight. Threats can be external, such as bad weather or a malfunctioning piece of equipment, or internal, such as fatigue or distraction. It is the responsibility of the pilot to identify and assess these threats and to take appropriate action to mitigate them. The next step in TEM is error management. Errors are actions or decisions that deviate from the correct or expected course of action. They can occur at any stage of flight and c...