Pre departure briefings - a necessity?

[GroundBound]

In the last year or so I have made a few flights with instructors for local checkouts and IMC training etc. One comment made by two of the instructors was a lack of pre-departure briefing.

Now, when I look back, I gained my PPL at the end of the 60’s and such a thing was unheard of. After a long gap, I regained my PPL at the beginning of this century, I basically had to do a “refresher” type training, and pre-departure briefings didn’t figure in it.

I also fly from aerodromes/fields where there is more than enough runway (700-2500m) for a spamcan. In one field, you can chop the throttle at 300ft, full flap, land, roll and take off again. So, I don’t do pre-departure briefings.

Is there a spin off from airline flying in this, or is it really a necessity - both instructors were CPLs (at least)? If a necessity, what does it consist of, and why?

Any thoughts?


GB

[benhurr]

Well I always tell my passengers to keep hands and feet away from the controls in a spam can. Do what I say if things go a bit pear shaped and thats about it.

In a bigger aircraft I do a full briefing - lifejackets, oxygen masks etc. But I also include a bit about exercising the wobbly props and the noise changes after take - off.

A pre-T/O brief is a required part of the CPL or IR so I guess the instructors might be harping back to that.

Personally (as an instructor) I would recommend telling passengers the essentials while there is plenty of time on the ground rather than during the emergency but you need to balance this with not causing unnecessary concern or alarm. As for the full spiel of "In the event of an engine failure below 60kts etc etc" totally irrelevant in a SEP - you are stopping or landing straightish ahead. In a twin on a test then clearly it has a point, i.e. to confirm to the examiner that you have things clear in your own mind.

So after all of that - in answer to your 2 questions the answers are "Yes" probably a spin off from their training and "yes" it is important that they know to keep their hands and feet off the controls and what the brace position is.

But I reckon you knew this already

Ben

[FlyingForFun]

Are you talking about a pre-departure briefing for pilots? "This is a departure from runway 28. The wind is straight down the runway, there is more than enough runway for us. If the engine quits, I will lower the nose and look for a field....." That kind of thing?

That's what the airlines do. It's what is taught at CPL level, because the CPL course is training future airline pilots. But to my mind, it is almost irrelevant in single-pilot ops.

I say "almost", though, because there is one exception, and that is for checkout flights. In this case, particularly (but not exclusively) if the instructor is not familiar with the aircraft, it is vital that both parties know who is to be in control should an emergency occur. The chances are that the instructor would prefer to keep out of the way if he doesn't know the aircraft type as well as the other pilot. If both pilots are expecting the other one to deal with the emergency, the results could be pretty nasty.

On the other hand, if you're talking about briefing pax, then I agree pretty much 100% with benhurr.

FFF
----------------

[rustle]

I've always thought of the pre-departure brief for my own benefit as much as the passenger's.

Yes the passengers need to be briefed in emergency procedures, where the door/first-aid/fire-fighting kit all are etc., but if I have also "said aloud" what will happen if the/one engine fails or some emergency happens my reaction time will, I hope, be shorter as I have already made the decision and heard it/committed to it whilst on the ground.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I always do one, and consider it a safety necessity to make sure I've not missed anything.

If I'm flying on my own or with a non-pilot next to me, I may do so silently and only articulate the (ANO required) safety brief part - but I still do it.

Put it another way, is there any good reason not to?


And by the way, if you are convinced that 700m is ALWAYS enough for a spamcan, I suggest you do a few sums to check.

G

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Fully believe in briefing passengers especially if crossing the pond.

"Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted"

I still tell them the bucket and spade is in the back

seriously though, just a short concise brief is well worth it.

[High Wing Drifter]

If you fly several types, it helps ensure you know your rotate, climb out and glide speeds. Other than that rest of the content such as how to handle an engine failure seems obvious. But I guess, if you have verbalised it beforehand, the brain can react that much quicker to the failuer, etc.

[Mike Cross]

I still tell them the bucket and spade is in the back

There's your problem Chris, you can't build sandcastles with shingle.

Mike

[Gertrude the Wombat]

I say again, re briefing pax:

Tell them where the sick bag is. That way the won't waste the entire flight worrying about what to do if they feel sick.

(From personal experience. But it's in LASORS somewhere too.)

[Miserlou]

There is an element of spin-off from the airlines in the departure briefing but when you consider the safety record that's not necessarily a bad thing.

It is always a good idea to be very clear as to what you are going to do as soon as you get in the air as you don't need to be trying to read how many miles it was you were supposed to turn at or whatever.

The 'in case of failure' isn't totally wasted in a single-engined aeroplane in that knowing where the highest MSA is and which direction you want to turn to be into wind are still relevant. Even which way to turn to be able to crash on the airfield could save your life (Sioux City).

The two most important questions for instrument flying are, 'What am I doing Now?' and 'What am I doing Next?'

Your instructors should have told you what it consists of but here's an idea.
1. Speeds and configuration.
2. SID, initial few points to get you airbourne and to a safe height.
3. NAV set-up. Check that the radio aids are set according to what you have just briefed (or do it as you read it). Check for airbourne frequencies too.
4. In case of failure...Published engine failure procedure. XX height, full flaps and land straight ahead or left or right as applicable. Bear in mind there are other heights which will enable other courses of action and that a turn away from the wind leaves you with less of a turn to get into wind.
5. MSA.

[Mike Cross]

Since I learnt to fly gliders the BGA have added a letter "E" to the mnemonic for pre-departure checks. It stands for "Eventualities", i.e. "What will I do if something goes wrong?"

It's no bad idea to add it to your checklist and if you are flying with another pilot it is no bad idea to say it out loud to him.

Pre-flight briefing is another thing. There are plenty of things to tell someone who has not flown in a light aircraft, or who has not flown in your particular type.

Don't touch the prop or put yourself in its arc, even if stationary.
Where to push and where not to push if you are moving the a/c
How to get in and out without putting a foot through the wing or standing on the flaps.
What bits he can or cannot use to pull himself in and out.
How to work the door locks and seatbelts and check they are secure.
What to expect in terms of noise and turbulence, and how the intercom works.
If you see another aircraft point it out to me, I may not have seen it.

And I always talk him through the walkround.

That way your passenger knows what is happening and why, is more confident, and will enjoy the flight more.

(The use of the maculine gender above in no way implies that I would treat a lady differently should I have the good fortune to meet one willing to fly with me )

[GroundBound]

Thanks for the thoughts, everyone.

It was my feeling that the comments were made relevant to the actual departure itself, not so much passenger briefing.

What I supposed was meant was one or more of the following (we are talking VFR for a plain PPL here).

1) departure procedure - climb on runway heading (track) until airfield boundary, left 20 degress for noise abatement, climbing to 500ft, left turn to crosswind, remaining north of radial xxx from yyy, level off at 800ft, cross canal and turn downwind.

2) short field take off with 20 degrees flap, rotate at 55kts, climb at 70kts, flaps 10 at 300ft, flaps retracted at 400ft.

3) Anticipated take off distance is xxx m, rotate just beyond displaced threshold. If speed not sufficient by point x, abort take-off, cut power maintain centreline and apply brakes. If engine fails below 200ft, full flap, inform ATC, and land. If above 500ft, expect off field landing, select best glide, check carb heat, fuel pump, and fuel selector. In between 200ft and 500ft is anybody's guess.

I can't say its wrong, but we aren't talking Airbusses and Boeings here, just a simple SEP.


GB

[Miserlou]

That's the way Groundbound,

Do mention configuration but don't go on about how to fly an aeroplane. That much you can be pretty sure you know, having got as far as you have. ;-)

Just say "abort take-off if not airbourne by..."

The logical extension is that you go on to say "and at Vr I will ease the yoke back and the nose will rise..." and nobody will listen anyway.

[Send Clowns]

As an instructor I consider it vital: there are two people who might have the controls at any stage of flight. When we're near the ground (the bit that might kill me) I want it to be quite clear, at each stage, who should have control! I always start with who is going to be hands-on for the take off.

Agree with many here about situations where only one pilot or the passenger is not expecting control at any time - it is a useful self brief, in addition to a good time for a safety briefing.