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Airmanship

This presentation provides an overview of Airmanship in aviation. It is intended to enhance the reader's understanding, but it shall not supersede the applicable regulations or
airline's operational documentation. Should there be any discrepancy between this presentation and an airlines AFM /(M)MEL/FCOM/QRH/FCTM, the latter shall prevail at all times.

Introduction
This visual guide defines airmanship and
illustrates its importance to safe flight
operations. Its objective is to reinforce the
importance of airmanship as the basis of
safe flight operations. The material may be
used for self-study or as part of a formal
training presentation. The speakers notes
provide additional information.

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Contents
Airmanship Defined
The Building of Airmanship
Violations
Summary

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Airmanship Defined
Airmanship is the consistent use of good judgment and
well-developed skills to accomplish flight objectives.

The consistency required of good airmanship is:

Founded on a cornerstone of uncompromising flight discipline

Developed through systematic skill acquisition and proficiency

A high state of situational awareness completes the


airmanship picture and is obtained through knowledge of
ones self, aircraft, environment, team and risk.
(Kern, 1996)

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Consequences of Poor Airmanship

Accidents and incidents


Poor airmanship is a causal factor in almost all of the 70 percent
of accidents that are attributed to human factors

Operational weaknesses and inefficiencies


Poor airmanship is responsible for operational weaknesses and
inefficiencies that lead to increased safety risk, poor performance
and wasted money

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The Building of Airmanship

Judgment All of the


elements of airmanship
support good judgment and
decision making, just as all of
the structural elements of a
building support its roof.
Knowledge enables situational
awareness, but, like judgment,
it is also a trait that must be
developed.
In-depth knowledge of many
subjects will support the
thinking processes of
Airmanship.

Airmanship is founded on skills


and proficiency; it includes
both technical and nontechnical subjects.

Discipline is the bedrock of


airmanship; it is the ability and
willpower to fly safely.

Judgment
Situational Awareness
Knowledge
Self

Aircraft

Team

Risk

Environment

Mission

Proficiency
Skills
Discipline

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Discipline
Discipline is:

Behavior in accord with rules of conduct

Behavior and order maintained by training and control

An individuals personal commitment to comply with rules


and procedures

The willpower and ability to operate safely

The exercise of discipline requires:

Not accepting that rules must be broken to accomplish a job


effectively

Rejecting opportunities for shortcuts or doing things better

Resisting temptation to break rules to impress others

Control of personal attitudes and biases


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Skills
Skills are abilities that are learned, usually through training, to
achieve a desired outcome. Two basic classifications of skills are:

Perceptual-motor skills, which involve an interaction between a


perception and a voluntary movement. Perceptual-motor skills are:

Taught during initial and recurrent training

Required to fly aircraft in normal and emergency situations

Cognitive skills, which involve mental processes such as


comprehension, judgment, memory and reasoning. Cognitive skills are:

More complex than perceptual-motor skills

Related to learning and recall

Involved in gaining and maintaining situational awareness and in


decision making

Used when speaking, listening and understanding

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Hierarchy of Skills
Precision
Precise technical and non-technical
skills result from personal endeavor
Efficient
An aircraft commander controls the aircraft and
leads a team
Effective
Broader, non-technical skills and experience give
efficient operation
Safe
Continuing training, experience and
improving airmanship will enable you to
operate effectively as a crewmember
Unskilled
Basic training provides only
those skills necessary to be safe

The most skillful pilot had the most experience."


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Proficiency
Proficiency refers to competence in a specific area. Generally speaking,
research has shown that it takes practice four hours a day for 10 years for a
person to become an expert in a particular domain. With this in mind, it is
essential that pilots do the following to become proficient at flying:

Practice flying at every opportunity

Practice a variety of flying scenarios (e.g., nonprecision approaches, hand


flying, etc.)

Create meaningful situations that will expand your experience base (e.g., fly
new routes, learn a new aircraft, obtain an additional rating)

Practice often and practice consistently, so that skills become automatic

It is important to note that if a pilot transitions to a new aircraft, he/she may


have to learn new skills or relearn old skills in the context of the new
aircraft.

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Knowledge
Pilots must possess comprehensive knowledge about the aircraft, nature
of the flight, possible abnormal and emergency conditions, their own
qualities and the qualities of their team members. Pilots must have a
confident understanding of:

Aircraft

Procedures, techniques, limitations

Self

Physical fitness and flying proficiency

Sources of human error, methods of error detection, techniques for reducing the
effects of errors

Team

Capabilities and limitations of crew, ground staff, engineering and ATC

Common understanding of aircraft characteristics and operating procedures

Environment

Weather and terrain

Organizational, political, regulatory and commercial environments

Risks

Identification and assessment

Organizational standards designed to reduce risks

Mission Statement

Corporate culture, philosophy and safety policies

Organizations safety management system

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Situational Awareness
Situational awareness is knowing where you are, what is going on, where
you are going and what is likely to come next. It develops when you have a
mental picture based on accurate data. Situational awareness is a closed-loop
process in which a pilot continuously seeks more or better information to
gain and maintain it.

Three processes in gaining and maintaining situational awareness:

Gather information through basic senses (vision, hearing, balance, smell,


touch)

Integrate and interpret (i.e., comprehend) sensory information

Use information to project plans and actions into future

Pitfalls in the development of situational awareness:

The senses can be fooled in some situations (e.g., illusions)

Complete and reliable information may not be accessible, especially in


situations you have not encountered before

Information systems are not always reliable

Incorrect expectations

Distractions

Extremely high (emergency) or extremely low workload (boredom)

Overconfidence and familiarity with a situation that lead to failure to


accomplish and repeat the three processes

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Judgment
Judgment is the process that leads to a decision. Judgment is supported
by all the other elements of airmanship. Similar to judgment,
aeronautical decision making (ADM) is a systematic approach to the mental
processes used by pilots to consistently determine the best course of
action in response to a given set of circumstances.

Good pilot judgment and ADM require the ability and motivation to:
Discover and establish the relevance of all available information
relating to problems of flight
Diagnose problems
Specify alternative courses of action
Assess the risk associated with each alternative
Choose and execute a suitable course of action within the
available time frame. (Jensen, 1995)
Judgment always involves a problem or choice, an unknown
element and usually a time constraint and stress.

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Airmanship Priorities
Good airmanship based on sound judgment involves the
following order of priorities:

Fly the aircraft Check attitude, speed, altitude, instruments


and automation

Navigate Know where the aircraft is and where it is going

Communicate Discuss and review the issues, share tasks,


back up each other

Manage Take follow-up action and use appropriate levels of


automation

Monitor Check to see what has changed and take control


when unexpected events occur

These are the Golden Rules of flying.

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Airmanship Tips 1

Be alert and ready for the unexpected

Gather information before deciding

Challenge and validate information

Consult

Evaluate consequences

Ensure mutual backup and cross-check

Check results of actions

Be prepared to reject any constraint that would decrease situation control

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Airmanship Tips 2

Be alert and prepared for typical flight-phase-related emergencies

Consider trajectory as priority no.1 at all times

Adhere to published procedures, when available

Never leave a situation unresolved (ambiguity, doubt, disagreement, alert or


cockpit effect)

Prioritize tasks as a function of prevailing condition

Keep all options open and be ready to change initial plans

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Airmanship Tips 3

Stay ahead of the aircraft at all times

Share experience and lessons learned

and - last but not least

Be aware, to be mentally prepared.

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Summary
Airmanship is:

Founded on discipline (self, team, corporate)

Continuously striving for self-improvement and optimal personal


performance

Airmanship requires:

A wide range of perceptual-motor skills

A wide range of cognitive skills

A wide range of knowledge (self, aircraft, environment, risk)

Appropriate attitudes

Airmanship can be developed through training


and refined through practice and experience.

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References Links

Redefining Airmanship, Tony Kern, 1996, ISBN 0070342849

Flight Safety magazine, Australia CASA


http://www.casa.gov.au/avreg/fsa/index.htm

Airmanship, Measuring up, Vector magazine, CAA New


Zealand, http://www.caa.govt.nz/Safety Information, Publications,
Vector

Airmanship and Flight Discipline, Tony Hayes, Brisbane Valley


Leisure Aviation Centre
http://www.auf.asn.au/students/Airmanship.html

Jensen, R.S. (1995) Pilot Judgement and Crew Resource


Management. Avebury Aviation

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