Only my two bob's worth.
Hours – flight time – in the log book; duty hours – instrument hours – a 'book of hours'.
“The book of hours is a Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages.”
Sound familiar – it should. Using minimum 'logged' flight time during training is, IMO, a sensible practice, based on sound logic which allows the instructing pilot latitude to ensure that the lesson is 'learned'. But once that training period is over, I have often wondered if 'sectors' operated would not be a better yardstick. The bulk of any flight is 'cruise' time and once the aircraft is 'settled' in the cruise, the workload mostly decreases. The 'hard work' part is the planning and organising, departure, approach and landing. I've personally never placed much stock in 'hours' logged once a pilot is 'qualified'; how many instructor pilots have logged essentially the same hour a 100 times or more. Highly experienced within that hour – but that is not quite the same thing as say 100 hours on the old Bank runs – or charter – or any of the many aerial work tasks is it.
The CSF flights which kicked off this imbroglio came to grief during 'critical' weather related time periods. Neither should have occurred – but they did. CASA went for the easy fix – up the 'flight hours'. This 'solution' completely and utterly fails to address the radical cause of both accidents and will not prevent a recurrence. VFR operating into IMC – or even marginal VFR has been with us for a long, long time.
As you and I both know Thorny, there is a very fine line between being 'visual' at the bottom of an ILS and not. Most instrument pilots have made the decisions on continuing – or not – based not on hours flown – but on 'experience' – as in 'sectors' operated. But the VFR guys and gals simply do not gain that experience – nor are they taught the skills required to gain it.
So, how will an increased minimum 'hours' combat the problem? In short it will not. It is simply a cost impost without benefit. I'd bet my boots that AF could, without any bother, arrange a weekend 'briefing' course related to VFR operations in marginal weather conditions and even a morning spent understanding 'how' to translate the weather forecast as it applies to the sectors being flown. Another 'sensible' fix would be to ignore the total time logged and examine the 'sectors' operated, which has a much more direct bearing on 'safety'. I reckon they could even persuade some of the more experienced to 'ride-along' for a few sectors with a new chum – in the interests of 'education'.
There are many 'operationally sensible' things CASA could do – slapping an increase of 'hours' is not one of them.
Just stray thoughts with first coffee – What say you Thorny?
Hours – flight time – in the log book; duty hours – instrument hours – a 'book of hours'.
“The book of hours is a Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages.”
Sound familiar – it should. Using minimum 'logged' flight time during training is, IMO, a sensible practice, based on sound logic which allows the instructing pilot latitude to ensure that the lesson is 'learned'. But once that training period is over, I have often wondered if 'sectors' operated would not be a better yardstick. The bulk of any flight is 'cruise' time and once the aircraft is 'settled' in the cruise, the workload mostly decreases. The 'hard work' part is the planning and organising, departure, approach and landing. I've personally never placed much stock in 'hours' logged once a pilot is 'qualified'; how many instructor pilots have logged essentially the same hour a 100 times or more. Highly experienced within that hour – but that is not quite the same thing as say 100 hours on the old Bank runs – or charter – or any of the many aerial work tasks is it.
The CSF flights which kicked off this imbroglio came to grief during 'critical' weather related time periods. Neither should have occurred – but they did. CASA went for the easy fix – up the 'flight hours'. This 'solution' completely and utterly fails to address the radical cause of both accidents and will not prevent a recurrence. VFR operating into IMC – or even marginal VFR has been with us for a long, long time.
As you and I both know Thorny, there is a very fine line between being 'visual' at the bottom of an ILS and not. Most instrument pilots have made the decisions on continuing – or not – based not on hours flown – but on 'experience' – as in 'sectors' operated. But the VFR guys and gals simply do not gain that experience – nor are they taught the skills required to gain it.
So, how will an increased minimum 'hours' combat the problem? In short it will not. It is simply a cost impost without benefit. I'd bet my boots that AF could, without any bother, arrange a weekend 'briefing' course related to VFR operations in marginal weather conditions and even a morning spent understanding 'how' to translate the weather forecast as it applies to the sectors being flown. Another 'sensible' fix would be to ignore the total time logged and examine the 'sectors' operated, which has a much more direct bearing on 'safety'. I reckon they could even persuade some of the more experienced to 'ride-along' for a few sectors with a new chum – in the interests of 'education'.
There are many 'operationally sensible' things CASA could do – slapping an increase of 'hours' is not one of them.
Just stray thoughts with first coffee – What say you Thorny?