Human Performance and Limitations

Every aviation incident has Human Factors as at least one of their root causes. So a lot of research has been put in that subject over the last few decades. Human Performance on the one side, but espacially the limitations. Man was not meant to fly, so we are taking man out of their natural environment, yet still expect them to perform above and beyond what is expected "on the ground". One of those limitations is the amount of information that can be processed. It has been demonstrated that the human brain, when overloaded with information, goes into "survival mode", where only the information that is perceived as essential for survival is processed, and the remainder is "parked" in short term memory, only to be collected again after the essential information pool is processed. Short Term memory has a limited shelf life, so it is well possible that information that is not perceived as essential, is not processed at all.
Now this is all well and understandable, but how does that affect me, the (student) pilot? Surely this will be applicable in a crisis situation, but even then ... I know what to do when things go wrong, so it won't happen to me, right?. Well, I can tell you this: you're WRONG!!!

Belated Valentine's Flight

After the cancellation of my first flight lesson this year, I enjoyed a lesson on January 12th. The next lesson I had planned for February 5th fell through because of rain, wind, and low clouds. The next one, Feb. 11th, was "blown away" by way too much wind. So, statistically, my flight planned for Valentines Day should go through, right?

On a roll!

Sunday the 12th was the day! My first lesson in 2014 :)This is the start of my practical PPL course. From here on, I'll be flying as much as the calendars (and my wallet) allow; from here, I start rollin'!
My first appointment, January 3rd, was cancelled due to bad weather. High winds wist too big gusts. But this time, the weather was exceptionally kind ,especially considering the autumn storms we've been having, those lase weeks.

PH-WVO leaving for circuit work, while Piet is retrieving the W&B form

Farewell Valkenburg

On Saturday, the 28th of September 2013, ACV (Aeroclub Vlkenburg) held their yearly fly-in. In itself nothing extraordinary, since they do that every year. Only this year was slightly different. Former military Airbase Valkenburg closed down quite a number of years ago already (I believe it was in 2003, or thereabout). The terrain remained state-owned, and nothing much changed, except the military operations seized to exist. Now, the airport is about to be turned into a pleasant, sustainable, eco-friendly living environment. So this was most likely the last fly-in to this 2.5 km (8200 ft) runway. I was lucky to to able to arrange a last-minute fly-along with a friend of a friend, Frank de Jong, through a quick facebook exchange of messages. We would go fly one of the Dynamic WT9's.

EHVB in de verte

New Year's resolutions

Fist of all, my very best wishes to all of you for the new year! Of course, this is the time of the year for resolutions, but I don't really do that. However, I dis plan to start my PPL lessons "full swing" from January, so that could be called my New Year's resolution for 2014. :)
I had already made an appointment with my instructor Piet, and booked the plane in the new booking system for Friday, Janusry 3rd. I had been saving up my leave days at work, so that I can use them for flying lessons as I need them, and this Friday was a day my company was closed, so I decided to start my PPL lessons on that day, to make best use of my "forced" day off.

JAR-FCL RTF / EASA ATO, and the consequences for my PPL Training

Just to throw out some more abbreviations here, I wrote another article on the changing legislation in the world of aviation. More specifically: the world of Flight Crew Licensing. I'm hoping to shed some light on the matter, for the benefit of those that have recently started their PPL training, or are about to start that training (like myself). It all started with a discussion on the legislation concerning training organisations, and the licensing of those organisations, and on what the consequences for students would be. Especially the transition from the "old" regime to the "new" regime, and in how far the "old" education would be recognised end fully creditable towards the "new" education. Lots of that discussion is based on the personal interpretation of the applicable legislation, so there's a certain uncertaincy in the arguments used. Therefore, I decided to ask the executive institute for the Netherlands (the "competent authority"), IL&T (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport)

Two down, Five to go!

I've just had my first two theretical exams for my PPL course. If I am to believe the preliminary answers, I passed both exams! :D Only five more to go ...

Totally nerveous, I arrived at the exam venue of CBR/CCV. That is the same institute that does the exams for drivers licences (CCV is the professional transportation section of that organisation). I was well on time, as usual, but not the first, this time! There were two others of my theory class already there. The rest of the group came in, minutes after me, so we were all in time. Five minutes before the start of the exam, we started question ing if we were in the correct waiting room ... One of us had a look, and sure enough we had to move to the second floor (no signs whatsoever on ground floor!). Just in time, we all got there, and were alowed in the classroom.