Norcal, January 1999

Module 1:February	The Fresno Flight Standards District Office *"State of the District Presentation"*	A review of the accidents, incidents, pilot deviations and events in 1998. Presentation of up coming seminar’s, activities, and speakers. Also at announced airports, TCAD, TCAS (Traffic & Collision Alert Device / Systems). Discover how TCAD works and how it can help the GA pilot.
Module 2: March	Evaluating in-flight Weather (Video courtesy of AOPA Ò & FAA 1990)	Simplifies receiving and recording aviation weather broadcasts in-flight, enables pilots to decide confidently, not guess, whether to continue on course, land early or divert.
Module 3: April	Maintenance Records Information all Pilots should know. (FAA Video- What is a 100 hr / Annual Inspection)	Is your aircraft Airworthy? Legal? Whether you own, lease or rent your airplane, you as Pilot-In-Command need to know this information for your own peace of mind.
Module 4: May	Runway Incursions (FAA Video- Runway Incursions: The unseen danger)	Safe airport operations is a team effort. Increased airport congestion requires that all personnel pay closer attention to factors such as clearances, communication, ground navigation, and awareness.
Module 5: June	Mountain Flying (Video courtesy of AOPA & Jeppesen Sandersonã 1991)	Flying in the mountains presents its own unique challenges and rewards. Learn the necessary information and techniques on mountain flying and how to avoid the associated hazards.
Module 6: July	Flying to Baja, The Pacific Side and the Gulf Side (Video courtesy of Skycam Productions ã 1996)	Back by popular demand! See how easy it is to Fly Baja. Learn about U.S. and Mexican customs, also valuable tips on avgas and autogas. View the beautiful Pacific coastline. [Note: Two video segments of two hours each, watch for the newsletters announced locations]
Module 7: August	*Aerodynamics, engine performance and the summer weather (heat)* (Video: On Landings 1,2,3 by FAA Aviation Safety Program)	Density altitude, what’s that? Flying out of Lake Tahoe is no big thing......or is it? Review the basics of takeoff and landings during high temperatures.
Module 8: September	Fuel Management and Cockpit Resource Management (Video-courtesy of FAA Aviation Safety Program)	Back to Basics Presentation on fuel information, equipment and procedures. Is auto-gas a possibility for your aircraft?. Review FAA’s regulatory requirements for VFR/IFR. Additionally, how well organized are you in the cockpit? Do you fly with a second pilot? Do you run your checklists religiously, or do you ‘wing’ it? Learn about good checklist construction.
Module 9: October	Preventive Maintenance The FAA’s point of view.	Is it true that I can change my own oil, spark plug and filters just like I do with my cars? Discover the low-down on what’s OK and what’s not in aircraft owners preventive maintenance.
Module 10: November	Air Traffic Control, Controlled Airspace and You	Review your airspace knowledge. Put your questions to a real FAA ATC tower supervisor. Discover how ATC "vectors" IFR & VFR traffic into your local airport. Relearn your ABC’s of airspace.

SIC SAC
*Significant Information for Pilots*
Decisions, Decisions. It seems you can’t even take a short flight anymore without making some major Decision. For instance take the decision to taxi the aircraft without the gear being down. This decision is usually made while on down wind, when you decide to talk to your passenger instead of doing your pre-landing checklist. This decision will also require the use of a lot of power to get the aircraft moving once you land on the belly of the aircraft. Or take the decision to do some impromptu aerobatics. This decision is usually made when you decide not to get a proper preflight weather briefing and fly into an imbedded Thunder Bummer, whoops, I mean Thunderstorm. This decision however will probably require taking a crowbar along on the flight. You might ask just what a crowbar has to do with flying? Well, assuming you are able to land the aircraft in one piece after and encounter with a thunderstorm it may be necessary to pry yourself out the twisted fuselage. If you think I am kidding, just check a few of the NTSB accident reports citing a causal factor of flying into a thunderstorm. These "Decisions" of course, are ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ decisions and are usually the result of a departure from accepted good pilot practices. If, indeed an accident occurs while flying an aircraft statistics show it will probably be the result of a bad decision where the pilot made a bad judgment. My experience has taught me that if I want to make a good judgment I am going to have to take the time to learn good flying practices and accomplish a good preflight check list before I attempt to alight in one form of flying machine or another .Such a checklist is not only the checklist you use to preflight an airframe and engine before flight, but is also a checklist you need to tell you whether you are physically and emotionally capable of making the flight. In the General Aviation Pamphlet FAA-P-8740-53 "Introduction to Pilot Judgment," Hazardous Attitudes also contribute to unsafe flying conditions and poor decisions. These attitudes, along with a suggested antidote, are contained in the following list:
Hazardous Attitude	Antidote
1. ANTI-AUTHORITY: "Don’t tell me."	"Follow the Rules. They are usually right."
2. INPULSITIVITY: "Do something quickly"	"Not so fast. Think First"
3. INVULNERABILITY: "It won’t happen to me"	"It could happen to me."
4. MACHO: "I can do it."	"Taking chances is foolish."
5. RESIGNATION: "What’s the use?"	"I’m not helpless, I can make a difference"
So if you as a pilot are influenced by one or more of the preceding thoughts you will probably make one or more bad decisions or exercise bad judgment on your next flight. Other factors contributing to bad judgment or bad decisions are what are known as Stressors. Stressors are any internal or external stimuli that is perceived as a threat to the body’s equilibrium and causes a reaction in the body to cope with the threat. Stressors can be either physical, physiological, or psychological. An example of a group of Stressors would be an approach to landing in a high performance aircraft, with low fuel, a rough engine, a 25 kt crosswind, an hysterical passenger, a very strong urge to go to the bathroom, and to top it off, the FAA waiting to talk to you on the ground. So if you want to avoid the situations that cause bad judgment and bad decisions my suggestion would be to educate yourself on its’ probable cause, keep yourself current and proficient in the aircraft you fly, and don’t take any hysterical passengers along on your flights.

SIC SAC
Significant Information for Pilots

Decisions, Decisions. It seems you can’t even take a short flight anymore without making some major Decision. For instance take the decision to taxi the aircraft without the gear being down. This decision is usually made while on down wind, when you decide to talk to your passenger instead of doing your pre-landing checklist. This decision will also require the use of a lot of power to get the aircraft moving once you land on the belly of the aircraft.

Or take the decision to do some impromptu aerobatics. This decision is usually made when you decide not to get a proper preflight weather briefing and fly into an imbedded Thunder Bummer, whoops, I mean Thunderstorm. This decision however will probably require taking a crowbar along on the flight. You might ask just what a crowbar has to do with flying? Well, assuming you are able to land the aircraft in one piece after and encounter with a thunderstorm it may be necessary to pry yourself out the twisted fuselage. If you think I am kidding, just check a few of the NTSB accident reports citing a causal factor of flying into a thunderstorm.

These "Decisions" of course, are ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ decisions and are usually the result of a departure from accepted good pilot practices. If, indeed an accident occurs while flying an aircraft statistics show it will probably be the result of a bad decision where the pilot made a bad judgment.

My experience has taught me that if I want to make a good judgment I am going to have to take the time to learn good flying practices and accomplish a good preflight check list before I attempt to alight in one form of flying machine or another .Such a checklist is not only the checklist you use to preflight an airframe and engine before flight, but is also a checklist you need to tell you whether you are physically and emotionally capable of making the flight.

In the General Aviation Pamphlet FAA-P-8740-53 "Introduction to Pilot Judgment," Hazardous Attitudes also contribute to unsafe flying conditions and poor decisions. These attitudes, along with a suggested antidote, are contained in the following list:

Hazardous Attitude

Antidote

1. ANTI-AUTHORITY: "Don’t tell me."

"Follow the Rules. They are usually right."

2. INPULSITIVITY: "Do something quickly"

"Not so fast. Think First"

3. INVULNERABILITY: "It won’t happen to me"

"It could happen to me."

4. MACHO: "I can do it."

"Taking chances is foolish."

5. RESIGNATION: "What’s the use?"

"I’m not helpless, I can make a difference"

So if you as a pilot are influenced by one or more of the preceding thoughts you will probably make one or more bad decisions or exercise bad judgment on your next flight.

Other factors contributing to bad judgment or bad decisions are what are known as Stressors. Stressors are any internal or external stimuli that is perceived as a threat to the body’s equilibrium and causes a reaction in the body to cope with the threat. Stressors can be either physical, physiological, or psychological. An example of a group of Stressors would be an approach to landing in a high performance aircraft, with low fuel, a rough engine, a 25 kt crosswind, an hysterical passenger, a very strong urge to go to the bathroom, and to top it off, the FAA waiting to talk to you on the ground.

So if you want to avoid the situations that cause bad judgment and bad decisions my suggestion would be to educate yourself on its’ probable cause, keep yourself current and proficient in the aircraft you fly, and don’t take any hysterical passengers along on your flights.