| On every glider flight, other than those that
take place entirely within the confines of the circuit area, the pilot will be required to
make a series of decisions in relation to flight management. The complexity of these
decisions will vary depending on the nature of the flight, the prevailing conditions and
the instrumentation available.
What follows is written from the perspective of local soaring, rather than
cross-country flying, although the major considerations are the same in both cases.
In simplistic terms, the culmination of a successfully managed flight is a situation
where the glider enters the circuit joining area at an appropriate altitude and on a
downwind heading, without having violated any airspace requirements along the way.
To achieve this outcome a glider pilot must be consciously and continually making
operational decisions. These decisions can be divided into two broad categories –
flight performance and flight management:
Flight performance decisions relate to such matters as speed to fly,
flap settings and identifying and using sources of lift.
Flight management decisions are concerned with ensuring that a normal
circuit and landing can be conducted at the conclusion of the flight, and that all
relevant airspace requirements are observed.
While performance decisions are clearly important in relation to flight
duration/distance and pilot ego, flight management decisions are critical in terms of
safety.
For example, a pilot might make all the right operational decisions in terms of
thermalling techniques and be achieving the best possible rate of climb for the current
conditions, but end up in an emergency situation through failing to realize that he/she is
drifting away from the field and that the overall situation is worsening and not improving
even though height is being gained.
It is therefore absolutely essential that the flight management decision making process
be a deliberate and ongoing one throughout every flight. In some cases the outcome
can be as simple as deciding that no further management decisions are required until a
certain height or location is reached. But this would require a situation with no
immediate airspace problems and an absolute certainty that the intended landing area can
be reached with sufficient height to perform a normal circuit and landing. If this
is not the case, then a flight management decision is necessary before any new heading is
selected or direction of turn decided.
The relative importance of the various flight management considerations will vary from
flight to flight and will frequently change as the flight progresses. Some of the
more important factors that must be taken into account are wind direction and strength,
glide angle to the intended circuit joining area, visibility (clouds), standing airspace
height restrictions, short term airspace considerations (parachutists and other traffic)
and the objective of the flight.
It is all to easy to become engrossed with prolonging a flight, or taking a passenger
to a particular location, or achieving a particular flight sequence, and then realize all
too late that the glide angle back to the field is horribly shallow.
On a more fundamental level, when just “stooging around” close to the field,
turn directions and new headings should always be selected with a view to eventual circuit
entry while at the same time keeping clear of the active side of the circuit and any
parachute or other such activity in the general circuit area. With the high activity
levels now being experienced at YCAB, particularly on weekends, this aspect of flight
management is of critical importance. At times there will be aircraft operating on a
different runway to us which means that there can be more that one live side of the
circuit area to keep clear of below 1500 ft. In such circumstances, good flight management
is of paramount importance as is keeping a good radio listening watch and advising other
users of your situation when appropriate.
The best way to improve performance in this area is to critically review each flight
from an overall management point of view, no matter how routine the flight might have
been. To quote from an article on risk management in a recent copy of Flight Safety:
"Honest and forthright self-examination is one of the most powerful and
cost-effective risk-management tools available and should be performed regularly."
In the current context this means undertaking a deliberate post flight self appraisal
to establish whether appropriate consideration was given to management aspects and whether
correct decisions were made at all stages of the flight. The fact that the eventual
outcome was a "text book circuit" does not necessarily mean that flight
management had been faultless. Perhaps an incorrect decision at 1500 feet was compensated
by some strong lift at 1000 feet! If you are unsure as to what you should have done
in a particular situation, then discuss the matter with an instructor. But above all lean
from the result of your review and discipline yourself such that effective flight
management decision making becomes second nature.
The Bottom-Line. The outcome of successful flight management is
the opportunity to fly a normal circuit and hence reduce pilot workload for the approach
and landing phases of the flight. Conversely, the consequences of poor flight
management can at best be the requirement to fly a modified circuit and at worst can be
fatal! Which is a very good reason why you should be continually seeking to improve
your performance in this critical area.
Brian Wade
July 2007
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