Drifting off Center of the Runway

[Slick Goodlin]

In this day of cheap video cameras - why not mount a few to video the landings to help identify what is happening.

On airliners? The union would lay an egg.

[Liquid_Charlie]

I would think that most who have had sim experience in training have experienced the "bald cam" (called that because it reveals the hair lines ) I have actually watched my play backs and have witnessed things where the reaction is "did I actually fucking do that" It was painful and not anyone's favourite thing but what an eye opener and learning tool. Thankfully it was not used 100% of the time.

Sometimes issues like centre line are just to bring up the concentration level of the pilot. Few questions like, does it happen the same way and end up in the same position every time. Does it happen when the work load is higher such as in a xwind. There is obviously a "quit flying" subconscious issue, especially if landings and approach are good. The candidate needs to "fly" the aircraft until slow speed. Take him to a grass strip and see what that does. Training wheel equipped aircraft usually are far easier to maintain centre line if you hit it in the first place. Quiet hands and feet are the secret, it's not a bicycle.

[Colonel]

Helmet cams are pretty standard in aerobatic aircraft. The
best pilot I know, Rob Holland, records every second of his
flights and reviews them afterwards to see exactly what he did.

That closed-loop post-flighting is one of the reasons why he
is so good. He doesn't practice his mistakes, and he works harder
than any other pilot I know of. Unbeatable combination.

A good example of this is:

www.pittspecials.com/movies/acb_roll.wmv

I rather liked that four-point roll when I flew it, but as Peter
pointed out to me, if you slow it down, you can start to see
all sorts of small errors that need to be corrected to achieve
perfection.

I think cameras in the cockpit - pointed both at what the pilot
sees, and pilot does - are very educational, but this idea has
not been greeted warmly by the unions, I understand.

it's not a bicycle

Some pilots do too little. Some pilots do too much. My experience
is that a good approach leads to a good flare which leads to a good
landing which leads to a good rollout.

If you're Bob Hoover, you can do a magic trick, and somehow push
a bad approach into a good landing. If you're not Bob Hoover, don't
try to do that. When shit gets bad, your left arm goes straight and
you get the fuck out of there. Set up again, apply the lessons you
learned from your last approach - eg compensate for a ridiculous
tailwind on base - and get a good one.

Another .2 in your logbook won't kill you. Honest.

This doesn't seem very complicated, but 91 people died recently
because my advice was not followed when a four bar tried to fly
a perfectly serviceable airplane in good wx, straight and level
from one very large airport to another very large airport.

[Eric Janson]

In this day of cheap video cameras - why not mount a few to video the landings to help identify what is happening.

On airliners? The union would lay an egg.

We already have all the flight data recorded. External cameras are already mounted on a lot of aircraft - but they don't record (yet).

Most companies have inserted a number of parameters which will cause an event to be triggered.

Depending on how serious the event is it can lead to termination.

I had requested a animated graphic of one of my landings as I felt I may have been too low on short final. Amazing the amount of data you can see!

[Colonel]

I wrote some software for a locomotive data recorder system, and they
had cameras connected to it. Different union, I guess.

[Slick Goodlin]

I wrote some software for a locomotive data recorder system, and they
had cameras connected to it. Different union, I guess.

The CP guys were pretty incensed at the idea that such a thing even existed. I guess they lost that fight.

Personally I don’t mind having data logged on my flights at the big airline. While some are scared there’s a manager reviewing their every move, but who really has the time?

[Nark]

We have monitored data every flight.
An agreement between the union (ALPA) the company and the FAA, we basically police ourselves. Not like SMS, but if I fuck up, and don’t lower the gear until 200’, that will trigger an “event.” The union committee will look for a report from me, de-identify it and pass it too the company/+ FAA for review. If I was being an asshole, then there are triggers that can identify me, and be disciplined.
The idea is to admit mistakes, learn from them and let others know as well. Sometime there is a system trend and things can change.

[Liquid_Charlie]

FDM is a wonderful tool if managed correctly. My company had some issues at first but ALPA was instrumental in getting it setup and good contract language. Getting the right provider as well. Animation was invaluable.