teaching how to divert

[Vector4fun]

When IFR, where is the closest VFR weather.
JAFI

Man, that was soooo drilled into me when I got my instrument rating, but doesn't seem like it gets the attention it deserves now. Everybody wonders about the NORDO questions, nobody asks "What if the whole electrical system packs up? Or the gyros all tilt? If I've got fuel enuf, I'm going where the sun does shine.

 

[belchfire]

First I would get them to list for me
some reasons to divert...

Then I'd start pulling CB's...especially the
GPS!!! Make 'em fly a damm NDB, enroute!
Heck, I do it on the line..."Ask center for
direct BR"...now everyone but me is confused
(or center is thinking "aw, $hit, him again")
almost noone goes direct to a beacon enroute.


There are many out there glad I never got
my chicken fried instructor ratings. Now I
get to try to straighten out instructors that
just got out of IOE for thier first 121 job...
geeze! They say you can't do training on
revenue flights! Ha!!! (me to new FO...
"ummm, hey dude, where the fuque are we
going???" is often more effective than a
30 minute a$$chewing...but ya have to do it
before center starts asking!)

Someday I'm going to ask the CP for hazardous
duty pay!

(sorry guys and gals, mostly it isn't that bad.
Some days though I wonder...) hehehe,

Belch

 

[Lead Sled]

Teach your students to always have an "OUT" of a situation. If the wx goes down what are the alternate airport(S - more than one if you can), if the engine fails, which field. Along the flight path, when is or how much fuel (lack of planned fuel at a specific point) cause to divert to a closer airport. When IFR, where is the closest VFR weather. Where/who to call for assistanse, how to find that information (can be part of pre-flight preparation or in flight). The better the preflight preparation the quicker you can decide in flight what/where to go. If they are not miles ahead of the aircraft, you need to teach them to be so.

There’s an old saying in aviation that says accidents occur when the pilot runs out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas at the same time. I always taught my students to have a realistic, legitimate and viable backup plan and always have a realistic, legitimate and viable backup plan to your backup plan. (It sounds redundant, but it’s not.) On a clear day, your backup plans might be simply, “We’ll go to this airport and land and if that won’t work we can go to that airport and land.” On those days when the weather or fuel are real issues your backup plans become very critical. What will you do if the visibility or ceiling falls below your personal minimums? Where will you go? What airports are nearby? The 2nd backup plan (Plan C) is used to get you safely on the ground when your original plans have gone “south”. It keeps you from getting in the dangerous position of having to “make up the rules as you go”. That’s the way many pilots have gotten themselves into serious trouble. Always have two workable and realistic alternative plans. When things get tough, the peace of mind they provide is priceless.

To this day, I always carry a satellite photo of the current cloud cover whenever I fly at night or when I expect to have to “play in the weather”. Although the chances are very remote, transport category jet aircraft have suffered total electrical failures in the past. It’s something that we train for in the sims every 6 months. We’re fortunate to be able to carry a lot of fuel. Most of the time we land with 90 minutes in the tanks and at 450+ knots that’s a lot a ground that we can cover to get into VFR conditions in the case of a total electrical failure, at night, in the clouds. That satellite photo is my “Plan C” – in the event of a total electrical failure, all I have to do is look at the photo and point the nose where there are no clouds. Chances are that within 500 or 600 miles I’ll find a VFR airport. (You can tell what my biggest fear is flying jets. You don’t fly them with jet fuel, you fly them using electricity.)
'Sled

 

[User546]

...almost noone goes direct to a beacon enroute.

We still fly direct to beacons (usually outer markers) fairly often, but we use our FMS to do it and never actually track the NDB needle.

Does that count?

 

[JonJohn82]

Remember to have your student note time and exactly where they are at the moment a diversion is needed.

 

[80/20]

In addition to the good suggestions above I would include playing the "what if game". Teach your students to stay ahead of the situation. I like to give some information in advance that should trigger the concern for a possible diversion. A candidate with a high level of situational awareness will start making a back up plan. This will reduce the workload during the diversion and generally lead to better decisions.