A balancing act

A common lament is that these young bucks come through to the flight deck without ever having cut their teeth in the real world of aviation – civil or military. There is no disputing that these young pilots may be low on experience and ‘stick and rudder’ skills, but for the training they have received they are generally quite proficient and definitely ‘book smart’. And if at times aspects of their attitude are seen as lacking by older pilots, then one would suspect that those particular traits are not necessarily confined to aviation, but are more generational in nature.

While many may criticise the lack of stick and rudder skills in a new pilot, the same concerns surround the industry-wide erosion of stick and rudder skills – even in experienced aviators. This is a function of so many things. Increased flight deck automation, fatigue management, company procedures, air traffic flow, safety culture and the onboard monitoring of flight parameters are just some of the contributing factors. Circuits and circling approaches have become fewer and farther between as RNAV approaches appear, even at the most remote airports. The flow-on is that the less these skills are practised, the less pilots are prepared to practise them in day to day operations. Catch-22.

The worrying fact is that the erosion of the skill is almost undetectable as sector after sector is flown under the guiding hand of the autopilot. Muscle memory, instrument scan and monitoring seem to decline in proportion to the rate at which the automation becomes better and reduces workload. However, we cannot purely blame automation and long for the good old days. CBT ground schools may not necessarily be ideal, but there were also some ground instructors in days gone by that should have left their chalk at home. There were also those old captains that never adapted to the new age and while their manipulative skills were sharp, they downright struggled with the flight management computer, or the limitations of the mode their aircraft was operating in.

Many of these problems occurred in the decades of transition, when the old dogs weren’t keen on new tricks and the puppies could do backflips but weren’t toilet trained. Each almost held each other in a low frequency hum that was a blend of unspoken admiration tinged with jealousy. As automation became more commonplace across entire airline fleets, progress was made, even if it was gradual.

There is no doubting that automation and technology brought with it enhanced safety. EGPWS, autoland, TCAS, precision approaches and RNP are all examples of devices that offer safety margins that a circling approach among the hills at night in a DC-3 never offered. ‘Fate is the Hunter’ is a classic book – a must read – but as an industry, aviation had to evolve. However, we could query whether the support structures have evolved as quickly as the technology.

The training systems have become more computer-based and whereas a new First Officer once had to be able to recite every item that was serviced by each individual hydraulic system and electrical buss, some systems information seems to be on a need to know basis only, in the modern world. Simulators have become so advanced that entire endorsements can be completed without a pilot ever setting foot inside an aeroplane. Once upon a time the endorsement was only signed off after a session of circuits in the actual aeroplane.

Undoubtedly cost plays a part in the equation, but so does balance. Simulators have reduced the cost of endorsing a pilot, but perhaps some of that saving can be returned into the system in the form of additional, regular, very manual, hand-flying training sessions. Training not checking. A sound CBT course is great if it is in co-operation with a knowledgeable human being that can provide genuine feedback to genuine queries. Automation can be a pilot’s greatest ally as long as the basic skills remain and the pilot retains the currency and confidence to use them if needed.

Technology is not going away, it is advancing and it is making the skies safer and more efficient. However, more and more it edges the human input a little to the side and then, when things go wrong, we are incredulous when the human falls short in the heat of the moment. Despite this human failing, passengers still reel back at the concept of the pilotless airliner. We need to find the balance and a means to retain it.

Greater minds by far exist that undoubtedly have some answers to the problem and obviously some cost will be incurred. However, at the moment it seems like a vicious cycle of retrospective criticism and finger-pointing every time that an aircraft comes to grief when some old-fashioned flying was all that was needed. There is no real mystery, this is not the Comet being lost as the jet age dawned.

We must draw upon the stick-and-rudder heritage of aviation.

The operational airline environment today, for better or worse, does not lend itself to the improvement and retention of piloting fundamentals and as a consequence, an over-reliance on automation can replace this. The benefits of automation provide enhanced safety 95 per cent of the time, but the 5 per cent shortfall is an unacceptable number. Somehow, we must find a balance.

We must draw upon the stick-and-rudder heritage of aviation and the skill of airmanship and blend it with our way forward. Just as the angle of attack and airspeed co-exist in a state of varying proportion, so must the pilot and automation, each doing their job in the required proportion as the particular situation dictates.