“Let’s try that again, Dave,” said the calm voice of Norm Thompson, senior instructor of the Baron program at FlightSafety in Wichita.
It was day two of my annual recurrent in the Baron 58 simulator. I had just rolled to the left after an engine failure, five seconds after rotation, and before I retracted the gear. I should have lowered the nose, reduced power on the operating engine, and put the plane back on the runway.
But I didn’t. Instead, I plowed ahead with too little air speed. Too little power. Now, struggling and behind the power curve, my decision was doomed. For a few moments, in slow motion, I realized that we were going to crash. And I was helpless to do anything to change the outcome. We slammed down hard off the runway. My copilot, Doug Moss, was likely seriously injured. My ego was devastated.
But I was right where I wanted to be. In a simulator and not in my PBaron. There are a critical few seconds on every takeoff in a piston twin that can be fatal. Between liftoff speed, gear retraction, and VYSE (best single-engine rate of climb speed) is a kind of “no man’s land.” And if an engine fails during those seconds, the only safe decision is to abort on the runway.
to encounter in the simulator
Norm reassured me that I was not alone. “That is the hardest one of the abort scenarios, but you need to be ready for it every time you take the runway,” he emphasized. That crash will stay with me for a while. My family could have been on board. I owe them the best pilot I can be.
Norm let me think about it overnight. I didn’t sleep well. The next morning, he slewed the sim back to the takeoff point, and we tried it again. This time, I was ready. We made it.
For 6 hours over three days, Norm took Doug and me through multiple challenging situations. Engine fires, electrical failures, split flaps, ADC and AHARS issues, icing, and manual gear extension, to name a few. Combined with classroom instruction, we entered the FSI building at 8 A.M. and left at suppertime. We were exhausted, and we loved every minute of it. And that’s what is so valuable about spending the time and money to do sim training. It’s about those few seconds that may save the lives of your passengers. You simply cannot safely practice those moments in a real aircraft. Unfortunately, too many pilots won’t make the investment to be as safe as they can be
There’s no other way to say it.
I train at least twice a year, once in the airplane and the simulator. It’s especially necessary for those of us aging pilots. Give it some thought.
Fly safe.
Well stated as always, Dave.
Tom