Memory aids galore
As pilots there are a lot of things we need to remember to do things correctly. Many of us come up with memory aids to help it stick better. Here are a few that I've made up or adopted to keep things going.
One thing that I've learned for myself is that any mnemonic needs to have the key nouns in it for me to store and retrieve it. If the initial is based on an adjective that is not critical to the meaning of the sentence, I won't remember it. I redid a bunch of CFI FOI mnemonics based on that approach. The best example is the one for factors that affect Vmca: someone told me about SMACFUM, which has a handful of them (e.g. "Most unfavorable weight"). I still forget it after teaching over a dozen CMEL and MEI students. Instead, I came up with MAD B WED (the "M" stands for "Mass"), which stuck. If this also applies to you, rewrite non-memorable memory aids or make up new ones.
One thing that I've learned for myself is that any mnemonic needs to have the key nouns in it for me to store and retrieve it. If the initial is based on an adjective that is not critical to the meaning of the sentence, I won't remember it. I redid a bunch of CFI FOI mnemonics based on that approach. The best example is the one for factors that affect Vmca: someone told me about SMACFUM, which has a handful of them (e.g. "Most unfavorable weight"). I still forget it after teaching over a dozen CMEL and MEI students. Instead, I came up with MAD B WED (the "M" stands for "Mass"), which stuck. If this also applies to you, rewrite non-memorable memory aids or make up new ones.
approach requests: PAST
I see a lot of instrument students struggle with making approach requests. They request something, then the controller requests clarification, and pretty soon you've spent 30 seconds playing ping-pong. An easy way to remember is PAST:
Place (airport name)
Approach (approach name
Starting (IAF or VTF)
Terminating (full stop, published missed, alternate)
If you do several approaches, you can write PAST in columns on your scribble pad, then add a row for each one in sequence. No more ping pong or guessing if you'll get vectors or a different IAF than you put in the box.
Place (airport name)
Approach (approach name
Starting (IAF or VTF)
Terminating (full stop, published missed, alternate)
If you do several approaches, you can write PAST in columns on your scribble pad, then add a row for each one in sequence. No more ping pong or guessing if you'll get vectors or a different IAF than you put in the box.
Crosswind corrections: "wing for wind, step on the stripes"
Crosswinds can be tricky because they force you to un-coordinate the airplane. I like wing-low approaches in Cessnas for a number of reasons, mostly because it's easier to deal with puffy breeze. When you're crabbed, you need to re-crab in every puff and lull, which increases workload. An easy way to remember what to do in a wing-low crosswind is as follows:
Wing for wind: roll toward the wind to point some lateral lift against it.
Step on the stripes: to prevent yawing off centerline, step on the rudder to keep on centerline. If the centerline stripes drift left, step on your left rudder. Stripes right, step right.
I recommend practicing this in a swivel chair to get the hang of it on the ground. That will cheaply build muscle memory so you don't need to think as hard in the airplane.
Wing for wind: roll toward the wind to point some lateral lift against it.
Step on the stripes: to prevent yawing off centerline, step on the rudder to keep on centerline. If the centerline stripes drift left, step on your left rudder. Stripes right, step right.
I recommend practicing this in a swivel chair to get the hang of it on the ground. That will cheaply build muscle memory so you don't need to think as hard in the airplane.
Level-offs: llapt
A lot of students level off below their target airspeed and set power, probably because someone taught them to "pitch, power, trim," which they then did very rapidly. As the aircraft accelerates, the speed-trim couple on the tail results in a slight climb. Instead of doing that, I recommend breaking it into 5 discrete steps:
Lead the level-off by climb rate / 10.
Level at your target altitude.
Accelerate to your target speed.
Power back as you approach target speed to the target power setting to hold that speed.
Trim to hold altitude and speed.
Explicitly following all 5 steps should help get those level-offs dialed in better.
Lead the level-off by climb rate / 10.
Level at your target altitude.
Accelerate to your target speed.
Power back as you approach target speed to the target power setting to hold that speed.
Trim to hold altitude and speed.
Explicitly following all 5 steps should help get those level-offs dialed in better.
Maneuver Checklist: CREACS
A good way to make sure you set your maneuvers up cleanly is to have a mnemonic that forces you to get everything right. Especially for advanced ratings, you need to be on top of this to avoid busting a maneuver on something avoidable.
Clear and Call: make a set of clearing turns, a call on the practice freq, and check your fishfinder.
References: pick your outside references and set your altitude and heading bugs.
Emergency outs: brief where you're going if an engine quits. If it's hokey, pick a new spot.
Altitudes: where are we starting and concluding the maneuver? Where are the nearby Bravo shelves? How far AGL do we need to be? This is especially important for accelerated stalls (ASEL) and Vmc demos (AMEL). It's an easy way for an evaluator to bring out the hammer if you get this wrong.
Checklist: complete any required items before proceeding.
Setup: brief your energy settings and run your floor-to-door check to make sure you get your gear, cowl flaps, and any other configuration items set how you want them.
Clear and Call: make a set of clearing turns, a call on the practice freq, and check your fishfinder.
References: pick your outside references and set your altitude and heading bugs.
Emergency outs: brief where you're going if an engine quits. If it's hokey, pick a new spot.
Altitudes: where are we starting and concluding the maneuver? Where are the nearby Bravo shelves? How far AGL do we need to be? This is especially important for accelerated stalls (ASEL) and Vmc demos (AMEL). It's an easy way for an evaluator to bring out the hammer if you get this wrong.
Checklist: complete any required items before proceeding.
Setup: brief your energy settings and run your floor-to-door check to make sure you get your gear, cowl flaps, and any other configuration items set how you want them.
Stability on final: CAPES
If you want a way to make sure you're stable on final and keep yourself honest, go with CAPES:
Centerline: are we aligned?
Airspeed: on target, no trend.
Profile: is our flight path vector pointing at our aim point?
Energy: is it set within a normal range to maintain profile and speed?
Setup: gear down, flaps as needed, no changes inside 400 AGL.
Make a callout on final as soon as you turn the corner. If you're still fixing one of these inside 300 AGL, go around. Our friends at the NTSB keep reminding us to get stable or go around, else we substantially increase our odds of becoming their next project.
Centerline: are we aligned?
Airspeed: on target, no trend.
Profile: is our flight path vector pointing at our aim point?
Energy: is it set within a normal range to maintain profile and speed?
Setup: gear down, flaps as needed, no changes inside 400 AGL.
Make a callout on final as soon as you turn the corner. If you're still fixing one of these inside 300 AGL, go around. Our friends at the NTSB keep reminding us to get stable or go around, else we substantially increase our odds of becoming their next project.