There is no piece of automation that can replace good ol' piloting skills. Granted automation can fly more precise and help with pilot fatigue, but you can't take being able to fly the plane by hand with a grain of salt.
In reading these articles,"Automation in the air dulls pilot skill" and "Should Airline Pilots Fly More -- Or Less?", what I see in most of the author's resolution is to get the pilot back to the basics and hand flying the aircraft to keep their skills sharp. Although this school of thought is true, you can't place to much emphasis on keeping sharp just by hand flying alone. The modern cockpit is full of integrated systems and controls, all of which are important for the pilots to be proficient in. The real word scenarios that are well documented should be made into training drills using all the capabilities of the aircraft. This is more than just concentrating on the basics of hand flying. This type of training needs to be conducted and structured so that pilots are forced to make decisions in flight all the way to completely disconnecting all automation, hand flying the aircraft in instrument and visual conditions, executing an approach, and landing safely on the ground.
In this discussion the old saying " they don't mak'em like they used to" is very fitting. Pilots of old were trained to fly using less automation in the cockpit. When faced with "automation surprise" the older more experienced pilots are better equipped to handle hand flying; not just because of their experience in the cockpit but because of their experience flying aircraft which were flown by hand more than by automation. These pilots have been retrained to fly modern aircraft filled with modern technology, however they still posses the pilot skills, albeit rusty, to handle just flipping off the autopilot, grabbing the controls, interpreting the instruments, and recovering.
Captain Sully in his comment that the pilots and the technology are failing together is an issue that I think needs to be very closely examined. The technology factor is never going away, and statistics don't lie, air accidents are declining due to technology. This leaves the task of integrating not only the aircraft with technology, but also how to integrate the human with technology.
Click here to read another article on the subject.
In reading these articles,"Automation in the air dulls pilot skill" and "Should Airline Pilots Fly More -- Or Less?", what I see in most of the author's resolution is to get the pilot back to the basics and hand flying the aircraft to keep their skills sharp. Although this school of thought is true, you can't place to much emphasis on keeping sharp just by hand flying alone. The modern cockpit is full of integrated systems and controls, all of which are important for the pilots to be proficient in. The real word scenarios that are well documented should be made into training drills using all the capabilities of the aircraft. This is more than just concentrating on the basics of hand flying. This type of training needs to be conducted and structured so that pilots are forced to make decisions in flight all the way to completely disconnecting all automation, hand flying the aircraft in instrument and visual conditions, executing an approach, and landing safely on the ground.
In this discussion the old saying " they don't mak'em like they used to" is very fitting. Pilots of old were trained to fly using less automation in the cockpit. When faced with "automation surprise" the older more experienced pilots are better equipped to handle hand flying; not just because of their experience in the cockpit but because of their experience flying aircraft which were flown by hand more than by automation. These pilots have been retrained to fly modern aircraft filled with modern technology, however they still posses the pilot skills, albeit rusty, to handle just flipping off the autopilot, grabbing the controls, interpreting the instruments, and recovering.
Captain Sully in his comment that the pilots and the technology are failing together is an issue that I think needs to be very closely examined. The technology factor is never going away, and statistics don't lie, air accidents are declining due to technology. This leaves the task of integrating not only the aircraft with technology, but also how to integrate the human with technology.
Click here to read another article on the subject.
I like how you expressed the integration of the pilot with the technology. This is a perfect way to state the issue. We need more in depth training of how they interact together and how to recognize failures before it's to late.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your sentiments about the real issue being the integration of pilots with the technology. And you're right - aviation is safer overall as a result of automation. For future reference, try to integrate your link a little more with your discussion.
ReplyDeleteI like your perspective. I am unsure of one aspect, privatization. Private company would have to do the same Job as the TSA but for a profit. otherwise there is no intensive for a company to do it. Then there is the issue of who pays for it. I do agree that the TSA need to move from reactive standpoint to a proactive. Looking at Israel's program would definitely be a good start.
ReplyDelete