During simulator training the instructor has to tread a fine line between defining facts (the correct approach speed for this landing is Vref+5 knots), and personal opinion (I suggest hanging on to the 1/2 the HW additives a little longer). An experienced instructor often has much to offer but how far should he push personal views based on perhaps hard won experiences as against strictly what is need to ensure the pilot is competent for the task - type rating for example.
The subject for discussion here is when should the pilot start glancing through the windscreen during an IMC final approach in order to pick up early visual cues. For my part the sooner one picks up visual cues the better as combined with electronic glide path and localiser information the better is the emerging big picture.
Others argue against looking up until either at the decision height or MDA - or maybe 100 feet above these figures. And if for instance the runway is sighted with a couple of miles to go while flying the ILS or VOR, then the PF call of "landing" is surely a valid call then; rather than wait until arriving at the minima and the PM calling "minima runway in sight" and then the PF replying "landing.' If it is obvious the intention is to land because you can see the runway well ahead of any published minima, then there is nothing to gain from delaying the decision call "landing." is there?
My personal preference has always been to commence glancing up to check for visual cues when the aircraft is about 500 feet above the decision height or MDA. The glance up technique is nothing more than a quick lift of the eyelids then back on the instruments scanning rapidly and repeating the look outside. The outside scan becomes an integral part of the instrument scan. A recently published report on Australian general aviation accidents in which pilot disorientation (PD) was suspected as a factor, revealed well known visual illusions such as black hole approaches etc can cause PD if coming off instruments too early and no glide slope aid available. But I am not talking about that.
I am interested in your points of view on when in your experience do you prefer to start looking ahead for visual cues during an ILS or VOR in IMC. Do you stay heads down until the PM calls visual? What if he fails to call visual because he is engrossed in some cockpit check or simply monitoring his own electronic flight path and forgets to have a look outside.
From long experience in aviation, I treat the PM with the utmost respect for his skills but I never put all my one hundred percent faith in the other crew member because we all have our limitations. Hence my own quiet and quick glances outside for visual cues when the approach gets tighter.
And back to the opening paragraph of this post and that is how much personal advice should you offer someone you are training in the simulator - or should you button your lip and let him learn the hard way in his own time - one line, in the real aeroplane?
Prefer not too much flak in any replies - just considered reasonable responses - because I want to learn from your experiences here. Thank you.
