Solo Workload/Capacity

[Chavey0201]

Hi All
I've come back to flying after a break of 5 years. Got my SEP revalidation 10 days ago after 4.5hrs dual prior to to proficiency check which went very well (told I didnt need so much dual, but did it anyway). No problem. Back in the hot seat again. Planned my first solo trip (did a full plog etc) for 5 years and flew it yesterday. Two legs of 35mins including an intermediate stop at relatively busy airfield, visual navigation all the way (no GPS), LARS interaction, lots of other traffic around (being a fine Sat morning)..and of course managing my climbs&descents when leaving/arriving base airfield (which is just inside London TMA). So I was busy. On the return leg, particularly as I was approaching my base airfield and the TMA I started to feel like I was running out of capacity..and consequently I realised when back on the ground and had time to reflect some mistakes had been made, such as:
1. Not setting the airfield QFE, I left the alt on the regional QNH.
2. I left the squark (given by Brize LARS) on..ie didnt switch back to 7000.
3. Didnt to a proper overhead rejoin. When straight into a deadside decsent.
4. Whilst tunring crosswind I let the a/c get very out of balance...i.e for some reason I stopped using sufficent rudder
5. Dropped 100 below circuit height (partly due to above)
6. Forgot to keep fuel tanks in balance during return cruise.
7. I lost situational awareness on departure from the intermediate airfield for a few min...specifcally..failed to keep track of where other traffic was.

Lots of things went well, like (most) of the actual handling, R/T and the navigation, but I'm still very dissapointed in making the above mistakes. In my previous flying I've undertaken considerably more challenging trips..including ILS approaches in cloud (used to have IMC)...but I was shocked as to how far the solo capacity line had dropped...despite handling all the dual flights prior to the prof check quite well.

Does anyone else notice significant reduction in capacity/confidence when flying solo if not having done so for some time? and am I right in assuming the only way to resolve this is to continue to "get back in the saddle"?!

Any other views on solo confidence/capacity very welcome...
Cheers!

[Fuji Abound]

I think you did rather well actually.

In my experience these issues start creeping in with most pilots who have not flown for around six months pretty much regardless of how many hours they have, unless they are very low time, in which case it happens sooner.

Most importantly you did well to spot the errors yourself :) .

[S-Works]

It comes with practice, try flying single pilot IFR!

Considering your time out you did extremely well. JUst get back into the groove, it all becomes easier!

[Whirlybird]

The more often you fly, the more you can take on, and vice-versa. As an instructor, when I'm flying helicopters every day it's no big deal to fly, talk, watch the student, keep a good lookout etc etc etc. But recently, after a week off with a cold and then two weeks holiday, I could do it, but it was much harder work. And when I used to only instruct at weekends, it was utterly exhausting, and I missed little things - I just didn't have the spare capacity. I fly fixed wing aircraft every month or so, and it's fine....but only if I'm careful and don't take on too much.

So I too think you did rather well after five years. And the more you fly, the more you'll find you can do without errors creeping in. But doing well or badly has nothing to do with it, and is a bit meaningless really. Everybody's different when it comes to how often they need to fly, and how quickly they get rusty. The important thing is that you know how it works for you. You ask if the only thing to do is get back in the saddle. Yes, but also do exactly what you're doing - notice when you make mistakes and realise it's due to overload/lack of practice. That way you gradually learn how much you can take on if you haven't been flying for a while. You can also start to notice in the air if you're getting overloaded; that's much harder, as there's not enough spare capacity for any bit of your brain to stand back and recognise the symptoms. But little things, like realising you missed a radio call, or can't keep your altitude, or just suddenly don't know where you are...they're all clues to have a look at what's going on, and take the pressure off yourself a bit if you can. I tend to carry a GPS, not even switched on; it's a useful backup if you get a bit overloaded, as you can at least ease off on the navigation for a bit. There's no shame in recognising that you've reached your personal limit. But what you experienced is perfectly normal; I'd be surprised if you hadn't.

Very important topic; thanks for bringing it up. :ok:

[hobbit1983]

I'll own up to making at least 2 of those errors, after a (much shorter) break from flying.

You're right - once you get back in the saddle, it gets much better. Practice makes perfect!

[greeners]

What whirly said, with knobs on!

As an FI I'd far rather fly with a pilot who is aware of what they might be missing or struggling with - far more worrying is the stude who makes a howling error without even being aware of it.

Well done for noting, even afterwards, the things that you would like to have or should have done better on - this awareness will help you to get to where you want to be in terms of capacity. The big thing IMHO is to ensure that you keep setting yourself higher and higher standards and work really hard to attain them - aim high! ;)

[Say again s l o w l y]

We all make mistakes on every flight. Anyone who thinks they are perfect, is kidding themselves and I'd rather not have to fly anywhere near them.

To me the "right" attitude allows the ability to debrief yourself properly and work on any problems you may have found. I fly everyday and have done for a number of years, it doesn't however mean that I don't stuff things up from time to time.

Well done for realising your mistakes and having the gumption to want to work on them.

Capacity is the first thing to go when you are rusty and what you have described, is nothing more than that. The key with making sure that these mistakes don't happen is practice and to try and find ways of making a flight "flow".

You've made mistakes this time that you probably won't make for quite a while.

We're only human afterall, so mistakes are a given!

[scooter boy]

Dear Chavey,
What you describe sounds like a normal flight for me.
You are right to set high standards for yourself but I think you are being a little hard on yourself.

Most importantly I hope you enjoyed the experience - I am sure everything will fall back into place in time.

Keep on truckin'
SB

[Chavey0201]

Thanks all for taking the time to reply - I really value the reassurance and views from more experienced aviators, and will remember your feedback for a very long time.

More flying booked this weekend (have started an ATPL ground course so need to keep flying to keep up the spirits!).

Cheers!

[IO540]

Not bad going at all, never mind after a 5yr absence.

I make mistakes on most flights; usually trivial ones. The best one was leaving the gear down all the way to FL120; I did wonder why the thing was climbing a bit slowly :)

This followed a stressful departure: flight plan not received, nobody around who could speak English, marginal GSM signal so I could not fax it, destination turned out to have no avgas and was not answering phone calls so route had to be re-planned to elsewhere and we had to top off but avgas had to be paid for in cash but we didn't have enough and had to get a bus back into town...

[TotalBeginner]

Certainly don't beat yourself up! The fact that you have identified these "mistakes" means that you're less likely to make them again!

Last time I flew (after a 3 week break), I made my worst error since gaining my PPL. During my cockpit checks instead of setting the altimeter to the airfield elevation, I managed to add 1000ft to it! After takeoff I glanced at the altimeter for a cue to raise the flaps and I got a shock. Something wasn't right! I couldn't have reached that height already, was the instrument faulty, oh dear! When I looked at the sub-scale and saw 1028 I realised that I had made a mistake. No A/G operator on duty at my airfield, so I leveled off to avoid busting the airspace above and tuned the ATIS of the nearest airport for the QNH. Had me sweating and I felt like such a pratt!!! Suffice to say I won't be making that mistake again in a hurry. :( :(

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Does anyone else notice significant reduction in capacity/confidence when flying solo if not having done so for some time?
Yeah, I'm noticeably worse after four weeks than three.

Maybe some instructors might like to answer this: When I have some sort of check ride, I tend to go through a list at some point of the things I've screwed up. Now, I'm not doing this in case the instructor didn't notice, because I'm sure he noticed everything I got wrong, didn't he, but so that

(1) he knows that I know what I got wrong, and
(2) he can tell me of anything else I got wrong that I didn't spot for myself.

Normally I get some variation on "yeah, well, that was OK after x weeks off, you're fine to fly solo now". Is this because I didn't miss any of my mistakes, or because the instructor reckons that my residual error rate is reasonable and safe for a low hours PPL?

[Whirlybird]

Normally I get some variation on "yeah, well, that was OK after x weeks off, you're fine to fly solo now". Is this because I didn't miss any of my mistakes, or because the instructor reckons that my residual error rate is reasonable and safe for a low hours PPL?

I don't know quite how to put this. I rarely see anyone "screw up". That implies doing something that would be likely to be fatal. Even "make mistakes" is ambiguous. Few of the people I fly with are perfect. Come to think of it.....neither am I!!! ;) So what I - and I'm sure other instructors - are looking for is whether someone can fly safely enough to carry on....and then improve by themselves. For instance, is not being able to keep your altitude within 50 ft a mistake? It depends on your point of view, your level of experience, the weather conditions, etc etc. But does it matter if someone can't do it? Generally, not in the least, from a safety point of view.

So your instructor is probably looking at the whole picture of your flying, rather than the number of mistakes, which I suspect is why you get the reaction that you do.

[Floppy Link]

I did two of your mistakes on my initial Instrument Rating test, having been flying the aircraft and procedures solidly for the previous 10 days! Thought I'd blown it, but like Whirlybird says, it's a "whole picture" thing...

[Bandit650]

I sometime wish instructors had higher expectations to be honest. I'm doing the CPL/MEIR shortly and despite mentioning this and asking for a higher level of scrutiny when I do take a trip with an instructor, I rearely seem to get it, maybe its because to scrutinise student flying at CPL standard you need to have done a more advanced instructor course? Not sure. As one of the other posters remarked, you usually hear "yeah, you handle nicely" or "no problems here". Yet, I know I haven't performed as well I was wanted to and would have liked a more thorough de-brief.

My ab-initio was with the RAF (UAS - yes I Know I was very lucky and spoilt at an early stage) and the required level of performance was very high and you soon got told (shouted at actually!) if it wasnt good enough. It would be good if that level of scrutiny was available to those who wanted it in the CAA FI world (not referring to the verbal abuse obviously- although personally I found it very effective!). The average FI, quite rightly obvioulsy, is content with a performance which gives him/her confidence you're not going to kill yourself....just wish the level of scrutiny corresponded to your hours to some extent...i.e 250hrs..you should be able to handle X so lets see how you do..

Not having a go at FIs by any means..never had a "bad" FI - they're a credit to the industry and certainly its backbone.

I have sought more advanced instruction and have eventually found some FTO's offering it, but it would be great if I could go to my club and ask for a CPL style instructional flight without getting a funny look.

[Bandit650]

I did two of your mistakes on my initial Instrument Rating test, having been flying the aircraft and procedures solidly for the previous 10 days! Thought I'd blown it, but like Whirlybird says, it's a "whole picture" thing...

Really? I thought pretty much any error on the IR was a fail...been led to believe you're a fail unless proved otherwise.....perhaps the IR needs de-mything a bit...!