About distraction and the cross check;
It's for this exact reason we do the cross check.
Distraction is something that every instructor working in the complex
environment should be dealing with from the first hour of dual with a pilot
moving up into complex aircraft. In fact, it's SO important, it should be
treated as a formal step into the complex checkout scenario.

The way the instructor handles this single issue will either produce a pilot
who has a habit pattern that will stay with him/her the rest of their flying
days, or simply one more pilot pushed through the complex checkout stage who
is a gear up landing waiting to happen. The role of the complex check pilot
is CRITICAL in creating this habit pattern in the pilot being trained.

The way it's handled will of course vary from instructor to instructor.

I suggest introducing the issue of distraction during the FIRST dual session
with a complex transition pilot; first stressing it's existence and dangers
in the retract gear environment in the multi-task scenario, then stressing
the need for the gear cross check on final.
Now this seems normal enough at first glance, and naturally every instructor
will do this.
But wait........there's more to creating a habit pattern in a pilot then the
first step!!!!!!!

Usually at this point, this information is simply digested by the trainee as
one more thing to remember, but the seed is planted. The next stage is
critical. Just planting the seed for a needed habit pattern is not nearly
enough, and this unfortunately is where many complex instructors fumble the
ball.
On EVERY FLIGHT with a complex trainee, before the flight, during the
flight, and after the flight, the need for the cross check on final should
be RE-INTRODUCED by the instructor. In other words, this single facet of a
complex checkout should be repeated on each flight several times. By doing
this, the CONSTANT REPETITION of a single item becomes ingrained as a
conditioned mental reflex that will function in a distraction environment.
Also, one more thing on distraction;
The cross check is SO important, and SO critical, that the way it should be
taught is that ANYTHING causing a break in the cross check requires a
RECHECK of the cross check itself!!.
The end result of all this is hopefully a pilot with a highly trained mental
trigger concerning his/her final cross check who will be on final and half
way through the final pre landing cross check as a distraction occurs. The
pilot will AUTOMATICALLY handle the distraction, then REDO the final cross
check.

If you train yourself to this level of awareness about your final cross
check, you should be just fine in the complex environment.
One additional thing; your "concern" about making a gear up landing is
actually a desired result of proper training for a complex pilot. It's this
"concern" that defines the edge that triggers the cross check.
So relax......you're perfectly normal!! :-)))))))
Dudley Henriques

Dudley Henriques




"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Dudley Henriques wrote:

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...

wrote:


http://www.sftt.us/cgi-bin/csNews/cs...iewone&id =41

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629804/posts

Yes, I've been flying a retractable for only two years now and am
paranoid about making a gear-up landing. It can obviously happen to
anyone.


Matt


You're right, and the way to approach this issue is by realizing exactly
this, then setting up a personal regimen for a pre-landing cross-check
that is deliberately formated to be an exact final cross check procedure
executed the same way as a habit pattern every time you fly.
There are many of these axioms in use, and every pilot has his/her own
favorite. It doesn't matter which one is used, as long as it's used
exactly the same way every time you fly and at the same place in the
approach every time. This has to become an ingrained habit pattern.
My own personal cross check in ADDITION to the required regular
pre-landing checklists, and the one I taught for years to every pilot I
trained was the following; done on final.
This cross check was always said aloud and each item had to be touched
and verified as it was spoken.
"All good pilots must land fine check"
Each word was spoken individually as it was checked
All: Altimeter
Good; Gas
Pilots; Prop
Must; Mixture
Land; Landing Gear
Fine; Flaps
Check; Carb Heat (if applicable)
50 years in retracts. No wheels up landings :-)))

I use the GUMPS check, but as you say, the important thing is to do the
same thing every time, no matter what the circumstances. This is
obviously easy to say, and easy to do assuming no distractions of any
substance. My concern is distractions.

I run the GUMPS check on downwind, after completing the turn to base and
after completing the turn to final. I then do one more check right before
crossing the runway threshold: I look at the runway lights and say
"lights, lights." Which is when I see the runway lights I double check
the gear lights. Takes just a second and it is one last reminder to
check.

I hope my two years becomes your 50 years! Although, I likely won't hold
a medical long enough for that to happen as I was mid-40s when I first
flew a retractable.


Matt