Teaching 'Lookout'

[orionsbelt]

Anybody have any info on How to teach 'Lookout'
and how people can actually learn to See!

Have observed that all ex service mates have very good lookout technique, far better than most civies even if they wear specs.

How is it taught in Services and any other practical ideas appreciated

Cheers
Orion

[nosewheelfirst]

Having completed both my PPL and half of the RAF's EFT they answer is simple. It is drilled into you from day one in the RAF, not such an emphasis during my PPL training although I suppose it varies from instructor to instructor.

[MVE]

Here's the way I was taught,

1. Relaxed focal distance is about 5' so constant movement and deliberate 'looking out' is required so that you don't just relax and see 5' in front of you.

2. You will pick up relative movement, more likely with periferal vision rather than direct vision. So you have to pause in your lookout sometimes so that your brain gets a chance to pick up an objects movement in relation to the background.

So the actual method, or one way,

.............. is start at far, lower left of screen and move your eyes from left to right and up and down in a sine wave shape. Each time your eye reaches the horizon pause and give your brain a chance to pick up any objects moving. Each time you eye reaches the top or the bottom of the movement pause and again give your brain a chance to see. You will finds that this gives an efficient lookout in a very short time.

It's important to remember that you will sometimes pick up objects as they move in relation to the background and other times when your eyes rest on them when you are 'searching' for objects.

Finally teach them a reasonable way to point out aircraft that may be conflicting ..................with the clock code + expansion ie aircraft left 10 o clock low.............or helicopter right 1 o clock high etc etc.

Hope that helps,

[fireflybob]

Firstly, by demonstration - point out (using the clockcode, of course) any other aircraft that YOU see.

I quite often run a competition - if you see an aircraft before I do then I owe you a beer/£5 and vice versa - by the way, the instructor always wins!

That said I believe good lookout is an acquired skill and that nobody really knows how important it is until they operate in a (very) congested area and/or have an airprox!

Obviously teach them all the stuff about how the eye sees etc.

[dreamingA380]

fireflybob,

I used to play that one... and I pretty much always won... especially with early students. Until I flew this 12 year old kid on a trial lesson... little bugger must have had a bionic eye, as he thrashed me!

Hmm Always difficult getting your students eyes out of the cockpit ... but they need too. I introduce it right from day one, and teach a 'search scan' with S+L.

[poteroo]

Lookout? Wot's That?

The most common deficiency I see in Flight Reviews, (10 in the last 5 weeks, and all were from quiet country airports in WA).

You'd think that, because there's an absence of radio chatter, that pilots believe they are alone in the sky.

It's no different on the country roads either - people pull out of gateways and lanes without as much as a glance sideways!

happy days