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Collision avoidance involves much more than proper eyeball techniques. You can be
the most conscientious scanner in the world and still have an in-flight collision
if you neglect other important factors in the overall see-and-avoid picture. It
might be helpful to use a collision avoidance checklist as religiously as you do
the pretakeoff and landing lists. Such a checklist might include the following nine items:
Check Yourself
Start with a check of your own condition. Your eyesight, and consequently your
safety, depend on your mental and physical condition.
Plan Ahead
Plan your flight ahead of time. Have charts folded in proper sequence and with
handy reach. Keep your cockpit free of clutter. Be familiar with headings, frequencies,
distances, etc., ahead of time; so, that you spend minimum time with your head down
in your charts. Some pilots even jot these things down on a flight log before takeoff.
Check your maps and the special general and area notices in AIM in advance for
restricted areas, oil burner routes, intensive student jet training areas and other
high density spots.
Clean Windows
During the walk-around, make sure your windshield is clean. If possible, keep all
windows clear of obstructions, like solid sun visors and curtains.
Adhere to Standard Operating Procedures
Stick to Standard Operating Procedures and observe the regulations of flight,
such as correct altitudes and proper pattern practices. You can get into big trouble,
for instance, by "sneaking" out of your proper altitude as cumulous clouds
begin to tower higher and higher below you, or by skimming along the tops of
clouds without observing proper separation. Some typical situations involving
in-flight mishaps around airports include entering a right-hand pattern at an
airport with left-hand traffic; or entering downwind so far ahead of the traffic
pattern that you may interfere with traffic taking off and heading out in your
direction. In most in-flight collisions, at least one of the pilots involved was
not where he was supposed to be.
Avoid Crowds
Avoid crowded airspace enroute, such as directly over a VOR. You can navigate on
VFR days just as accurately by passing slightly to the left or right of the VOR
stations. Pass over airports at a safe altitude, being particularly careful
within a 25-mile radius of military airports and busy civil fields. Military
airports usually have a very high concentration of fast-moving jet traffic in
the vicinity and a pattern that extends to 2,500 feet above the surface. Jets
in climbout may be going as fast as 500 mph.
Compensate for Design
Compensate for your aircraft's design limitations. All planes have blind spots;
know where they are in your aircraft. For example, a high wing aircraft that has a
wing down in a turn blocks the area you are turning into. A low wing blocks the
area beneath you. And one of the most critical midair potential situations is a
faster low-wing plane overtaking and descending on a high wing on final approach.
Equip for Safety
Your airplane can, in fact, help avoid collisions. Certain equipment that was
once priced way above the light plane owner's reach, now is available at reasonable
cost to all aviation segments. High intensity strobe lights increase your contrast
by as much as 10 times day or night and can be installed for about $200 each. In areas
of high density, use your strobes or your rotating beacon constantly, even during
daylight hours. The cost is pennies per hour - small price to pay for making your aircraft
easier for other pilots to see.
Transponders, available in quick installation kits for under $1,000, significantly
increase your safety by allowing radar controllers to keep your traffic away from
you and vice versa. Now mandatory for flight into many high density airport areas,
transponders also increase your chances of receiving radar traffic advisories,
even on VFR flights.
Speak Up, Listen Up
Use your radio, as well as your eyes, When approaching an airport. If you are
operating close enough to the airport in terms of altitude and location
to be near traffic going to or from that airport, consider making a call to state
your position, altitude and intentions. Find out what the local traffic situation is.
At an airport with radar service, call the approach control frequency and let them
know where you are and what you are going to do. At non-towered fields, listen to the
common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) to develop a mental picture of traffic around
you.
Since detecting a tiny aircraft at a distance is not the easiest thing to do, make
use of any hints you get over the radio from other pilots. A pilot reporting his position
to a tower is also reporting to you. Your job is much easier when an air
traffic controller tells you your traffic is "three miles at one o'clock."
Once you have that particular traffic, don't forget the rest of the sky. If your traffic
seems to be moving, you're not on a collision course, so continue your scan and
watch it from time to time. If it doesn't appear to have motion, however,
you need to watch it very carefully, and get out of the way, if necessary.
Scan, Scan, Scan!
The most important part of your checklist, of course, is to keep looking where
you're going and to watch for traffic. Make use of your scan constantly.
Basically, if you adhere to good airmanship, keep yourself and your plane in
good condition, and develop an effective scan time-sharing system, you should have no
trouble avoiding in-flight collisions. As you learn to use your eyes properly,
you will benefit in other ways. Remember, despite their limitations, your eyes
provide you with color, beauty, shape, motion and excitement. As you train them
to spot minute targets in the sky, you'll also learn to see many other important
"little" things you may now be missing, both on the ground and in the air.
If you couple your eyes with your brain, you'll be around to enjoy these benefits
of vision for a long time.
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