Any pilot with an available airplane can’t pass up a severe clear, less than 5 kts forecast. Why would you? There’s breakfast to be eaten, landscapes to be seen, and avgas to be burned. Sounds like the perfect morning really. The morning flight has many benefits – the best of which is the weather. Typically it’s less bumpy and windy which makes for a pleasant flight. Also, there’s less traffic. I’ve been flying under these conditions for my last dozen hours or so. Life is good, call me a fair weather flyer.

It was on my latest flight that I got a little more wind and turbulence than I’m used to. On my flight from Sporty’s (I69) to Portsmouth, OH (PMH), I got bounced around the entire TRIP and the wind began to gust up to 15 kts. My C172 with nothing but a trim wheel and my abilities got a workout that flight. By no means did I feel unsafe or under-prepared for the flight, but I got a little wake up call about how easy I’ve been making it on myself with flying conditions.

The flight back was nearly the same weather conditions but with a little more cloud cover. Naturally, I adjusted my route to avoid any possible IMC situations. The modified route was perhaps a blessing in disguise since the river route back along the Ohio River is well worth the 10 extra minutes of flight time.

Getting back into I69 was a little unsettling given the high volume of traffic. However, with a full traffic pattern and lots of inbound traffic, again I found myself realizing how spoiled I’ve been making myself with these early morning flights before the pattern fills up. Thankfully like every time before, training kicks in and the 360 degree turns for spacing were a fine option on this day.

So what’s my takeaway from this day of flying? Well, I reminded myself of the power and importance of training and how important it is to rely on a solid foundation of knowledge in addition to experiences. What would I have done had the clouds filled in on my southern route? What if the winds picked up beyond 15kts? What if some real weather had moved in? These are the real questions I found myself asking as I make my notations in my logbook. 

First, I always try to stay up-to-date with the latest training material. To build on my weather knowledge I used the online course Aviation Weather – A Pilot’s Guide. It’s new from Sporty’s and has hours of practical weather information for VFR and IFR pilots alike. It includes segments from meteorologist Scott Dimmich as well as inflight video from Matt Guthmiller. I would surmise this program as weather training for the pilots of today. They cover useful modern topics like ADS-B weather, reading between the lines of PIREPs, using EFB apps for weather, and new weather tools that the books can’t stay up to date on if they tried. This course is available in the Pilot Training App and online here. 

Second, I’m seeking diversity in my flying. Breaking the routine of my standard flight is going to be a fun exercise for me. No matter if you’re building hours or just flying for fun, don’t get in a rut. That makes for stagnant flying skills and a false sense of security that you’re staying sharp. Find somewhere new to fly or finally go on that dream trip you’ve been thinking about forever. Before you do, make sure your training knowledge is up to date with the latest information available. After all, a good pilot is always learning.

I narrowly escaped a midair collision. However you may choose to define “luck,” credit this phenomenon with another save because, by the time we saw the other airplane, it was too late for our climbing turn to have prevented an impact if it were meant to be. And by virtue of the other airplane never having taken evasive action, I’m confident they never saw us. We were clearly flying at nearly the same altitude in opposite directions.

I was acting as a flight instructor at the time, and was nearing the completion of a local, instructional flight in our flight school’s very familiar designated practice area. My client, Mike, was a Commercial pilot applicant very close to the completion of his training program. We had completed a series of Commercial maneuvers in final preparation for a checkride and I had just directed our flight back to the airport. We were only about 8 miles away.

I opted to make some notes for the debrief while Mike flew our C152. Moments later, my head still down in the cockpit, Mike shouted a slew of expletives through the headset and I felt the positive G-load against my seat as he aggressively entered a climbing left turn.
“What happened Mike?” is what I managed. “Look behind us” was the only response he could muster.

As I turned my head, the low-wing Piper was still close enough that it appeared I could reach out and touch it. In the matter of an instant, the big-sky theory forever debunked. And we were fortunate to have been left to provide this cautionary tale.

Midair collisions occur on good weather days, especially the weekends, and close to airports where airplanes tend to congregate. Who’s responsibility is it? It’s everyone’s responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft regardless of operating rules and regardless of weather conditions.

Looking for traffic conflicts is an active process. The eyes naturally focus somewhere even without a clear target. If the eyes aren’t purposely refocused the natural focal point will relax to a more comfortable distance at roughly the edge of the spinner in a light, general aviation airplane.

Effective scanning is accomplished with a series of short eye movements that bring segments of the sky into our central field of vision. Each movement should not exceed 10 degrees and we should also be aware that our eyes will likely require several seconds to refocus when switching between sky segments or back and forth between the flight deck.

Peripheral vision can be very effective at spotting threats. Each time a scan is stopped and the eyes are refocused, the peripheral vision takes on more importance because it is through the peripheral that movement is detected. Therefore, it’s important to quickly shift your attention and focus and consider potential action whenever movement is detected.

What can be do to better our chances?

More time outside – proper vigilance is the constant division of attention between flight deck tasks and actively searching for potential conflicts. And it’s a better view! Stop staring at the iPad and take a look around. Be sure to check blind spots – those areas behind wing struts or directly in front of you if in a prolonged climb (by occasionally lowering the nose). Lift a wing before making a turn for a visual clearing of the area. And don’t blindly follow ATC instructions or believe that you’ll be alerted by ATC of potential conflicts. It’s a team effort. Trust by verify.

Follow altitude rules – by regulation we’re required to fly at odd thousands of feet (+500 for VFR) while eastbound (000 – 179 degrees) and even thousands while westbound (180-359 degrees). It’s prudent to do so in the interest of reducing collision threats.

Include all of your resources and technology – traffic awareness technology such as the traffic broadcast available through ADS-B is enlightening to say the least. There are gaps especially for those flying aircraft not equipped with ADS-B OUT, but the picture is becoming more reliable every day. Technology doesn’t replace the need to see with your own eye, but is provides a worthy supplement.

Take advantage of VFR flight following anytime you’re within radar coverage. It’s provided on a workload permitting basis, but serves as another valuable set of eyes. And established communication coverage can be of benefit if any form of emergency service is available.

Enlist the assistance of those in the aircraft to also be responsible for seeing and avoiding traffic. It’s engaging and entertaining for everyone to be an active participant in the process.

Vigilance during higher-risk operations – maintain a heightened state of awareness when approaching and traversing high traffic areas such as airports, points of interest over the ground or in areas of intense training activity. Consider routes and altitudes to help mitigate the increase risk.

Increase your visibility – operation lights on. Take advantage of anti-collision or recognition lights, navigation lights and taxi or runway lights in high traffic areas. Turn on your landing lights when beginning the takeoff roll and keep lights on when operating below 10,000 feet, day or night, especially within 10 miles of any airport, or in conditions of reduced visibility

Talk and listen – especially in the vicinity of non-towered (pilot-controlled) airports, adhere to both standard traffic pattern procedures as outlined in the AIM and standard communication procedures. Take the time to listen thoughtfully to other position reports and anticipate the location of potential traffic conflicts. And always assume there could be other traffic in the area not communicating as expected.

It also helps to be a good aviation citizen. Concede your position in the patter or place in line for landing if it means greater safety margins.

How about your scariest moments? What did you learn?