Student Diversion
 

Whilst at work today monitoring 121.5 I heard a student who had become lost on a Navex. D&D handled it in a professional manner as always and steared him to Cranfield. I hope the young man made it down without incident.

Good to hear someone was taught well enough to be able to not only admit when lost, but also know the correct procedure to follow when lost. I heard it was a little misty / hazy in places, maybe not his time to go just yet... :)

All without an iPad!
 

This was a learning exercise with hopefully an excellent outcome. The student's actions are to be applauded. But the interesting question is how do we now teach people to become "un-lost?" I can't recall ever being taught or learning such a procedure. I've been "lost" quite a few times, like missing Australia by 90 miles and a planned landfall point by a similar amount on a different day. I even went to the wrong airfield on my CPL NAV test (& passed!) All without navaids or moving maps. So I was wondering how do we teach people nowadays?

PM

There was one in my PPL text books (remember them? - bits of dead tree) ... and there's a procedure for getting un-lost in the club's flying order book which every renter has to read and sign every year.

Surely "lost procedure" is a standard part of nav? I certainly teach it, and have used it myself when, for example, doing long distance microlight trips and becoming temporarily uncertain of position.

G

Traditional 'lost procedure' was fine and dandy in the days of Tiger Moths when there were few airways and even less controlled airspace about which to worry.

These days the best course of action is to admit to yourself that you're lost, then get on the radio and ask for help. Otherwise you stand every chance of becoming an infringement statistic in most of the UK.

The student diversion to Cranfield was a classic example of what people should be taught!

Indeed. And operating near to that bit of airspace myself, our club SOP is the same - get on the radio to D&D.

Doesn't D&D stand for distress and diversion?

Which is no doubt why the club's FOB includes (amongst other stuff)

Personally if I lose the picture - and I can't be that lost, I knew where I was two minutes ago for heaven's sake! - I look around for a bit first before calling for help.

If we were using appropriate technology and not teaching 18th century navigation techniques, no-one would ever get lost in the first place.

The danger there is that they'd be permanently lost, but the technology wouldn't be - if properly operated. Then one day the technology fails and.....

........ You call D&D? :8

To answer the OP, yes he did get down safely. But we nearly met him without warning as we climbed away on a missed approach under a procedural service from Cranfield. It was about 15mins after sunset so perhaps that was the reason for the diversion.

Ahh was it already twilight on the surface. I was up at 380 so still in the sun as it was unfolding. Glad he got down safely. Using D&D incase of getting lost was something I taught and practiced with all my students before letting them loose. Glad it worked out for him.

Eighteenth century navigation techniques work when your fancy gadgets let you down. But the 20th century radio is really nice to have when temporarily uncertain of your position near controlled airspace! The student in this case did exactly right, and got sorted. I've been there.

And once I was there flying IMC in the US, (with an Instrument Rating) Filed a flight plan, climbed up into the murk, viz about 20 feet all round, no problem, being followed on radar of course and separated from other traffic....except the radio went very quiet. too quiet.

This does get your attention. We are trained in case of radio failure to follow your flight plan, and everybody is in theory supposed to get out of your way. Except I can never remember which code to key into the transponder....

Radio failure - 7600. Someone gave me a great way to remember that. Remember the song '76 trombones'?

Just visualise all those trombones blasting away.... but no-one can hear them!

7 5 taken alive. 7 6 in a fix. 7 7 going to heaven. FAA mnemonic???

Something that doesn't get considered much is a student getting lost in the circuit (or anyone else!).
Years ago a student was asked to extend downwind to let a twin in first.
By the time the afiso said it was ok to turn base the student had completely lost site of the airfield. Twas a bit hazy.
Lucky to have VDF on site, the student was asked to call and given hdg's.

I would be surprised if a student was not taught basic lost procedure, whilst I would agree that a call to D&D is abvisable, Sod's law says that at some time those who rely on electronics will at some time have an electrical failure, at that point they not only get lost because the GPS has failed but they cannot call on the radio because that has failed as well, this is when having learnt the basics come into their own!:ok:

Which is why having a stand alone iPad is also a good idea!

AFISO acting as a Controller and using VDF; seems highly improper to me!
Appropriate trechnology involves using the bit between your ears, whikch unlike the plastic brain was around long before the 18th century!