It's been a while since I've updated on here, but I'll get back into it now with a new topic - and one I'm sure I'll be back to a little bit - that is, the idea of flying what we call "blind" - i.e., in cloud or on a black night.
How do we do it? How do you as passengers know it is safe?
I shall reveal...
Firstly, flying in cloud is what we call "flying on instruments". Literally, this means that because we cannot see out the front window, we look down instead and refer solely to the instrument panel. The panel provides us with all the information we need in a range of dials and screens (depending on the aircraft!) - to fly.
It provides us with an "artificial horizon" so we can see what way is up, how far over we are turning, etc.
We have compasses. Speed indicators. Altimeters for altitude (height off ground). Weather radar that picks out thunderstorms and the nasty stuff and helps us avoid it. Traffic radar that detects other planes and, if we get too close, even gives us the exact directions to avoid that plane.
That's all without even getting into the navigation instruments - which, to keep it simple, use a combination of radio signals and balance gyros to work out exact positions. More on that at a later date though.
The point is, while driving a car in fog or near blind is frankly, a scary experience, flying a plane blind is totally different - because planes are built to be flown this way. Even on a clear day, we don't NEED to look outside! In fact, the only time we need to look outside is when we are on the ground, ironically - so we can see where to park, lead in paths (taxiways) to the runway, etc.
Did you know...in many airports now worldwide (London-Heathrow was the first) - it is possible to actually LAND a plane without even SEEING the ground?
Yep. The guidance instruments to land are so precise, you can touch down without even seeing the runway. Which is great of course in bad weather - which London is well known for!
So, that covers the plane, more or less. To fly on instruments means literally that - just read the instruments. Between them all, they provide a perfect "3D" mental image of the plane's position - height, speed, direction, climbing/descending/turning, and navigation.
But what of the pilot?
A commercial pilot is NOT allowed to fly "on instruments" with just a commercial licence.
In aviation, we pilots have a somewhat unusual licencing system - where the licence is the "backbone" or the grounding of our qualification, but on top of a licence, you earn "ratings" - which are, to compare, like extra add-ons. Similar to taking on more subjects or a post-graduate course for university. Taking the basic qualification and adding to it.
Two of these key ratings that all airline pilots must have - and any pilot must have to fly on instruments - is a night rating (for night flight in clear conditions) and what is called a "command multi-engine instrument rating" or CME-IR. For short, instrument rating.
As the names suggest, these two licence add-ons are extra courses to qualify a pilot to fly at night/on instruments.
I have completed both and I can tell you this much...the instrument rating is the HARDEST aviation qualification to obtain. I'm not joking. It is unbelievably intense. If you want to make a pilot sweat and panic, just mention the "instrument rating exam" to him or her! It is a massive challenge - and that's just obtaining it, let alone "keeping it" (more on that in a minute).
The reason I tell you this is simple, though. Instrument flying is not just a "skill" - like riding a bike or even basic aircraft handling. It really is a change in the thought process - and the instrument rating is as much about, if not more so, training your brain for this new way of thinking and imaging, than it is about the actual skills.
Remember when I explained each variable has an instrument? Speed, direction, etc? Now you have no outside reference, your mind can easily get led astray and believe the wrong thing - believe you are turning when you are not, all kinds of weird phenomena. The key to overcoming this is what we call "situational awareness". This is a very broad term, and it is learnt through all stages of flying - but becomes literally the difference between life or death for an instrument pilot.
Situational awareness refers, basically, to an ability to inherently understand and picture - and then anticipate - what is happening to the aircraft all around. Is it climbing? Turning? Accelerating? Combination? It's hard to explain but it becomes a deep mental awareness - being able to interpret multiple different, changing information sources at once and then process them to lead to this image.
Situational awareness is the key thing instrument pilots learn. You CANNOT pass an instrument rating flight test if you are lacking in it - trust me. I had two goes at my initial instrument rating issue (which isn't unusual - most people take between 2 - 4 tests to achieve) - because several times in the first test, I slipped on situational awareness - dropped the ball, and was deemed unsuitable. So back to training I went. Next time around, I'd developed the skill and passed.
But for pilots, that's just the beginning.
To keep an instrument rating current, you must fly on instrument conditions once every 90 DAYS. At least. In addition, you must fly a precision approach every 35 DAYS. So in effect, once a month. Considering to fly that approach you need to fly on instruments, the 90 days doesn't really count!
Also, every year, you must re-sit your entire instrument rating flight test. Four hours of pure torture, frankly, and your brain is ready to explode at the end. The reason it is so miserable is to, honestly, push and push you to your limits, to make sure a pilot can handle ANYthing in flight and still keep situational awareness.
If you prove you can, you pass and keep your rating. If you fail - then you lose your rating.
So in summary, there are many ways to fly "blind". But all of which require professionalism, dedication, skill and ability - and these attributes are tested and re-tested throughout a pilot's entire career.
At the end of the day, this means for you, the travelling passenger, you can rest easy - because we pilots never rest easy when it comes to flying on instruments.
