TIM'S ABCS

[epsalant]

Once upon a time I used the pneumonic TIM'S ABCS to set up for an
approach. I have forgotten what everything stands for (I believe it
begins Tune, Identify, Markers...).

Does anyone remember the rest? And do you know what book it's from?

Thanks!

Evan

[Rick Glasser]

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 08:29:24 -0800, epsalant wrote:

> Once upon a time I used the pneumonic TIM'S ABCS to set up for an
> approach. I have forgotten what everything stands for (I believe it
> begins Tune, Identify, Markers...).
>
> Does anyone remember the rest? And do you know what book it's from?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Evan

These are what my instructor taught:

AWOS/Weather
Brief the Approach
Checklist
DG check

--
Rick/JYO
PP-ASEL-IA
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[Doug]

West Coast Rail Road
Weather
Clearance
Radios
Review (the approach)

and for the missed its 5 C's
Cram it
Clean it
Cool it (carb heat and cowl flaps)
Climb it
Comunicate it

[Andrew Sarangan]

This is exactly the pitfall of memorizing acronyms. If you can't
remember what it stands for from the comfort of your home, do you
think you will recall it when flying in a dark and bumpy cockpit? It
is for this reason that I don't teach acronyms.


(epsalant) wrote in message >...
> Once upon a time I used the pneumonic TIM'S ABCS to set up for an
> approach. I have forgotten what everything stands for (I believe it
> begins Tune, Identify, Markers...).
>
> Does anyone remember the rest? And do you know what book it's from?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Evan

[Teacherjh]

>>
This is exactly the pitfall of memorizing acronyms. If you can't
remember what it stands for from the comfort of your home
<<

Well, an acronym helps one remember something that is being refreshed at a
medium frequency. If the task is refreshed at a high frequency, the mnemonic
is unnecessary, if it is refreshed at too low a frequency, the task itself
becomes unfamiliar.

Acronyms have their place. However they are not everything at all times.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

[Brien K. Meehan]

(Andrew Sarangan) wrote in message >...
> This is exactly the pitfall of memorizing acronyms. If you can't
> remember what it stands for from the comfort of your home, do you
> think you will recall it when flying in a dark and bumpy cockpit? It
> is for this reason that I don't teach acronyms.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who avoids them.

It would be nice if it worked out that the letters always stood for
the same thing, but it doesn't. Like "G". What does "G" stand for?
Gyro? Gear? Gust? Gyro (the sandwich)? Gas? It can't be Gas,
because don't call it Gas, we always call it Fuel. What does "F"
stand for? Fuel? Flaps? Fuses? Footlong? Argh.

I threw out acronyms altogether while trying to memorize GUMPS. I
knew one of them referred to the landing gear. The way I recalled it,
it went:

G - Gear.
U - Umm, something about gear.
M - Main landing gear.
P - Please tell me the gear is down.
S - Static landing gear is always down.

Forget it. I just stick to the manufacturers' checklists, which are
more appropriate anyways.

[Craig Prouse]

In article >,
(epsalant) wrote:

> Once upon a time I used the pneumonic TIM'S ABCS to set up for an
> approach. I have forgotten what everything stands for (I believe it
> begins Tune, Identify, Markers...).
>
> Does anyone remember the rest? And do you know what book it's from?

I think this is a John & Martha King mnemonic (pneumonic is a form of
the plague :-). I have it on one of those lapboard cheat sheets that
they send out for free with with their tapes.

Tune (nav/com)
Identify (nav)
Markers (test/on)
Setting (altimeter)

Align (heading indicator)
Brief (approach)
Computer (speeds)

[Teacherjh]

>>
It would be nice if it worked out that the letters always stood for
the same thing, but it doesn't. Like "G". What does "G" stand for?
Gyro? Gear? Gust?
<<

We'd need as many letters as words. Spelling would be easy, but I'd neverl
earn the alphabet!

>>
G - Gear.
U - Umm, something about gear.
M - Main landing gear.
P - Please tell me the gear is down.
S - Static landing gear is always down.
<<

Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Pitch, Seatbelts.

Pitch refers to propeller pitch.
G does refer to Gas.

Another acronym I have - in the piper archer and dakota I fly, the row of
identical switches (awful design, but all too common) are labeled, but in the
dark, in a rush, in a blur, one can't read the labels. So I use FLAP

In order, left to right (after the master) is
Fuel pump
Landing light
Anticollision (strobe) lights
Pitot heat.

So now it's not gas, it's fuel. But it works.

I once played with a device which was cobbled together from old parts of this
and that (it set up and ran Conway's game of Life on the TV screen), and it had
about four switches, but they were all different. It was a cinch to operate
because each function was assigned to a different KIND of switch. I could tell
by feel what everything did. Smart aircraft designers should do the same. (in
fact, all aircraft designers should take a lesson from this - it's not limited
to throttle, mixture, pitch, flap, and wheel)

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

[Henry A. Spellman]

I had the same problem on my Comanche with a long row of identical
switches at the bottom of the instrument panel. Two switches in the
middle of the row controlled the left and right wing tip landing
lights. At night, one could not see which switch controlled what. I
slid a short piece of clear plastic tube over the toggle of those two
switches so they feel different from all the others. I have not had a
problem since.

Hank
Henry A. Spellman
Comanche N5903P

Teacherjh wrote:

>Another acronym I have - in the piper archer and dakota I fly, the row of
>identical switches (awful design, but all too common) are labeled, but in the
>dark, in a rush, in a blur, one can't read the labels. So I use FLAP
>
>In order, left to right (after the master) is
>Fuel pump
>Landing light
>Anticollision (strobe) lights
>Pitot heat.
>
>So now it's not gas, it's fuel. But it works.
>
>I once played with a device which was cobbled together from old parts of this
>and that (it set up and ran Conway's game of Life on the TV screen), and it had
>about four switches, but they were all different. It was a cinch to operate
>because each function was assigned to a different KIND of switch. I could tell
>by feel what everything did. Smart aircraft designers should do the same. (in
>fact, all aircraft designers should take a lesson from this - it's not limited
>to throttle, mixture, pitch, flap, and wheel)
>
>Jose
>
>--
>(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)
>
>

[Ben Jackson]

In article >,
Henry A. Spellman > wrote:
>I had the same problem on my Comanche with a long row of identical
>switches at the bottom of the instrument panel. Two switches in the
>middle of the row controlled the left and right wing tip landing
>lights. At night, one could not see which switch controlled what.

Not only that, different Comanches I've flown have them in *different
orders*. I thought I had mine memorized, but I turned off the runway
the other night and turned off the landing light instead of the fuel
pump.

You've got a good idea there, I think I'll try it.

--
Ben Jackson
>
http://www.ben.com/

[Brien K. Meehan]

(Teacherjh) wrote in message >...

>> G - Gear.
>> U - Umm, something about gear.
>> M - Main landing gear.
>> P - Please tell me the gear is down.
>> S - Static landing gear is always down.
>
> Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Pitch, Seatbelts.

Umm ... thanks for completely missing my point, and simultaneously proving it.

[Teacherjh]

>>
Umm ... thanks for completely missing my point, and simultaneously proving it.
<<

Well, if you learn and use the acronym, it remains helpful. Disuse of anything
renders it subject to atrophy and bit rot - in that sense acronyms and other
mnemonics are no different from anything else. I see your point, I just don't
agree with it, mostly.

Jose


--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)