A Story of VFR Into IMC: I have never been so happy to be on the ground

Yes, I am finally back. It was extremely busy this month with an internship with my flying club's maintenance division and Lunar New Year, but I have been flying and today I shall be writing about my flight today!

So this morning I woke up and looked at the METAR, TAF and Area Forecast and it all said the same story, Few clouds at 1500, scattered at 2500 and visibility of around 9 kilometers. Despite the low few layer, it should be fine right? Or so I thought.

Rocking up to the airfield, I already see the originally scattered clouds above give way to more sunlight, and despite the cloudy and still sort of marginal conditions towards the training area, it was looking rather optimistic for some nice afternoon under-the-hood instrument flying with my primary instructor, who also just returned from an extended holiday so I was super excited to fly with him today again!

I did my usual dump-everything-into-the-locker-and-then-dig-out-the-flying-stuff routine and went to get the weather and of course something to drink and eat, gotta fulfil the IMSAFE checklist. After seeing the NOTAMs and knowing that no restricted or danger areas are active today, I sat down on the nice couch we have in our office and just had some casual chit-chat with another pilot about some flying and aviation related topics. It was pretty routine, with the faint sound of radio chatter emanating from the Yaesu base station of our flight operations office. Weather looking like it's clearing up, awesome. Now I'm just waiting for my plane to come back in. Oh and I also filed a flight plan! Awesome!

And my aircraft arrived early, perfect, I love it when it happens. After completing an uneventful preflight, I went back in and met up with my instructor and we set off.

Rotating at 55 knots, we were climbing at a good rate at around 80 knots pretty soon, we do an overhead departure through a gap in the mountains we call, "Kadoorie", as the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden is shrouded in that valley, or "gap."

I turned overhead and levelled out at 1500 feet and it was the first sign of trouble, I switched frequency to "Hong Kong Information" which provides traffic advisory service and the first thing I heard was, "Visibility deteriorating in Fan Lau to around 2000 meters."

I thought to myself, "This doesn't make sense. The forecast says it is staying at 9km!" So I pressed on reassuring myself with that knowledge (Confirmation Bias!), my instructor is completely hands off as I am an overseas license holder, he likes me to act as if I am PIC. That's why I love flying with him, he gives me great and no BS feedback but also allows me to fly and develop my skills myself. But that's not the point of today's write-up, let's carry on.

I made my call, and all was well until we flew right past the valley and crossed the border to the sector, "New Town."

"Shit!" I thought to myself, "It was worse than I thought."

I put on my hood, but really he was only giving vectors to me so we can stay clear of clouds, however I could see from the edge that the visibility was quickly deteriorating and I ripped off the hood to have a better look. In retrospect I don't even think we had 2000 meters of visibility, I could barely see the ground or anything in front of me, we were skimming the clouds at around 1600 feet only and I was already weaving between clouds sticking out of the sky. I looked directly behind me and saw the valley we departed from, I can just barely make out the outline of the peak on the right, just as I was about to call it quits, my instructor told me to turn back.

They say great minds think alike, I say sane minds think alike. We never made it to Tolo, our training area.

I did my 180 degree turn back into the valley at rate 1, anticipating that if we ever go into full IMC I wouldn't become disoriented anyway. However a glance at the Direction Indicator (actually a HSI) confused me.

It froze, it wasn't showing a left turn.

God dammit, we now have an inoperative instrument! I strained my neck to keep sight of the slowly disappearing peak that signified kadoorie gap, and thank God it didn't disappear into the abyss of mist and clouds.

I looked over to the left in shock, I was right next to what appeared to be rolling mist coming in from the south, I could barely see the mountain ridge that was meant to be on my left, I sped up to around 115 knots to headed back as quickly as possible. We couldn't even enter at 2000 feet, which is our SOP, I was at 1800 and already wanting to descend ASAP.

Over to the west it was slightly better, and the direction indicator decided to work again, so I donned my hood once again and we did some descending and turning. Wonder why there was no climbing eh?

Both of us have had enough, I ripped off the hood and did the overhead join for runway 11, just as I was descending through 1500 feet I went right into cloud and lost all sights of the ground. Instinctively I chopped the throttle to full idle and dumped the nose right down, I watched as the IAS climbed above 120 knots with the altimeter unwinding like a broken wind-up toy. Thank whoever is looking out for us, we broke out at 1000 feet.

I was tired, shaken, scared (unbelievable eh?) and sweating (scorcher of a day today, never had the chance to adjust the air vents). Still with the thought of what could've happened I completely and royally f*ck up my first approach, high, fast and unstable. As soon as I turned final I called go-around, however it was the wrong decision, I didn't even try to fly a slip, because in retrospect a slip would've got us where we want, Why was it a wrong decision? The weather was closing in, the mist was rolling in, the clouds were locking us in. My instructor gave me the look as if I was insane.

This is why you never dwell in the past, I was shaking slightly, my breathing rate noticeably increased (This is the first time in my life I have ever encountered such misadventure).

We joined a quick and late downwind, and realised I was landing in a slight but noticeable tailwind, however there is no time for a runway change, and this time with a slip I was only slightly high. However the flare and hold off took forever, it's surprising how much difference only a couple of knots of tailwind can do to you. It wasn't a good approach, it wasn't a good landing, however I am so glad to be on terra firma again.

I threw the window on my side open as we backtracked the runway, for the first time in this flight I could say I relaxed.

After I shut down, my instructor said, "Sorry, we had to turn back." Without knowing I was going to make us turn back even if he said, "Carry on."

I simply said, "At least we made it back."

Reflection:
Sitting in flight operations, I reflected on the statistics, 75% of VFR into IMC are fatal. On average it would be 178 seconds before impact to the ground, I felt so stupid for even going today, both of us did. It was exactly what happens in most of these incidents, we decided to go out and "have a look," most pilots who were involved in such accidents also wanted to, "have a look." However I was grateful that both of us upheld our personal minimums and didn't go get "a closer look."

There were many human factors that came into play today such as confirmation bias and hazardous attitudes. I blame myself for my little regard to a little detail in the Area Forecast, "TEMPO Visibility 3km in rain/mist." Just because it usually doesn't happen, doesn't mean it wouldn't. Yes, we all learn from mistakes, but some of us never have such blessing to be able to live through our mistakes and learn from them.

I have been a licensed pilot (albeit an Australian license) since July now, although not officially licensed in Hong Kong yet, I find instructors here treat me like the PIC with the knowledge of my license, which is why I do take responsibility of what occurred today. With this, I became lenient, slack and complacent and really I admit that. Today was perhaps God's message to knock me back on my toes and off my boat of complacency.

As I went home, I checked the weather webcam of the airfield and find Kadoorie to be completely socked in with fog, and if we proceeded to Tolo with airwork, it would be around that time we are attempting to return. A SPECI was also issued with visibility as lot as 2100 meters and clouds as low as 600 feet. It confirmed that my, or our decision earlier to turn back and land ASAP was a right decision, or else we might find ourselves scud running at 500 feet with nowhere to go except to the front cover of tomorrow's newspaper tabloids perhaps.

The ground had never felt so comfortable under my feet before

However, enough of feeling sorry about myself, this is exactly the reason why I write this blog, so the future me can look back at how stupid the young me was. On the flip side, today was a great experience which knocked me out of my complacency, and now I know to take weather forecasts seriously.

Until next time,

Have fun, fly safe!

--
Howard

Aviation Headset Review: David Clark DC ONE-X

After using my H10-13.4 also by David Clark for my ab initio training, I decided it was time to upgrade to a headset with active noise reduction to protect my hearing and also to make me feel more comfortable during and after the flight. So naturally I hopped onto the internet and researched and narrowed my choices to the Lightspeed Zulu 2 or the Bose A20, however as I scrolled through the David Clark category in Sporty's, I found their newly released high-end competitor, the ONE-X. After reading reviews, I have determined that the ONE-X is the most well-built and has very competitive ANR characteristics which is great, however unlike the A20 and the Zulu 2 the ANR isn't

The ONE-X offers a familiar look, but modern technology

so aggressive that you can hardly even hear the engine sound. With a price of $895USD, it was reasonable as well for a high-end competitor in the headset market, so I took the plunge and went from green dome to another green dome.

Also kudos to Sporty's, excellent customer service and very helpful with shipment tracking, I recommend buying anything from them as they have a wide range of supplies to choose from.

When I received it:
It came in a white box with a prominent and iconic David Clark logo and the contents were well packed with the headset nicely wrapped up and the batteries to power and ANR unit nicely stored in an anti-static container. The headset also comes with a nice compact David Clark headset bag and it is free and included with this headset. It includes 5-year warranty and of course it is covered by the Sporty's 30 day test flight guarantee.

Comfort:
Comfort is arguably the most important feature in any pilot headset as you, as the pilot will be likely wearing the headset for an extended period of time and comfort is required to stay alert and to reduce fatigue, and the ONE-X does not disappoint.

Comfort, performance and good looks (Maybe not, I don't know)

The headset features swivel hinge stirrups, plush leatherette ear seals with slow recovery foam and an Outlast fabric headband. The hinge stirrups does a great job of distributing headset pressure and creates a very snug seal that is good enough for last week's near severe turbulence and also provides excellent PNR. However, that being said the clamping pressure is significantly lower than all passive noise attenuation headsets however is slightly higher than the Bose A20 and is slightly "clampier" than some ANR headsets however the ear seals are very soft and as it is slow recovery foam it works with my sunglasses and normal glasses very well without compromising performance. The headset is secure on your head and is not fatiguing to wear. Also, in contrast to the A20 and the H10 series headsets, the Outlast fabric and the leatherette ear seals manage heat buildup excellently and after a while I simply forgot that I was wearing the headset. The headset is also very light at only 12 ounces which also contributes to the increased comfort.

Quiet:
To many pilots, the quietness of the headset is also a very important feature especially if you fly a light GA piston aircraft. The droning of the engine can cause a lot of fatigue and can cause low frequency hearing loss, which is one of the most frequent types of occupational hearing loss reported by people working in or near aircraft. There are 2 types of noise reduction, Passive Noise Reduction relies on how hard the headset clamps and seals the ear which requires no electronics and therefore is pretty cheap. However this headset has not only decent Passive Noise Reduction from the ear-seals, but I think has excellent hybrid Active Noise Reduction (ANR). The ANR in this headset works by using one external dome mic and one internal earpiece mic in order to sample sound, and the sound waves run through a small microprocessor and then plays an anti-noise which reduces the unwanted low frequency sound. The NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) for the ANR is rated at 30dB at 150Hz, but is only for absolute headset geeks as we learn that NRR decreases as the frequency of the noise increases as these headsets only aim to reduce the low frequency rumble which is apparent in piston aircraft that these headsets are intended for,

Now enough of the geek nonsense, it's time to answer the question: Does the ONE-X hold up to the fierce competition between Lightspeed and Bose?

After holding the ANR power button down for 2 seconds, the ANR circuitry fires up and the engine noise gradually fades out to a quiet rumble at a higher pitch. I can still hear the engine, but there's just a whole lot less noise in my world compared to the time when I still used my old H10 passive headsets. Unlike the Bose and Lightspeed, I did not feel as if I was plunged into a world of utter silence, and perhaps both of those long-running brands in the premium ANR market has the edge over total ANR.

However, I actually appreciate the less aggressive ANR that David Clark developed. I feel as if David Clark has taken into account some incidents where ANR has delayed a pilot's recognition of an abnormality in the engine and aircraft systems as their headsets were simply too quiet. It's hard to describe how the ONE-X ANR performs because undoubtedly it is very quiet and it makes flying much more enjoyable, however it still lets in just enough noise so I can set throttle by ear and I am pretty confident I can pick up unusual changes in engine noise if that were to ever happen.

It's after the flight where you can feel the difference. Yes, you can still fly by hearing, yes you can still definitely hear the engine, but just much less of it. I remember that the H10 lets in so much engine noise sometimes that it becomes off-putting and simply a nuisance and the ONE-X removes much of that sort of engine noise. After the flight with the ONE-X, I feel cooler and much more refreshed thanks to reduced low frequency noise, and noise in general!

Sound Quality (Comms and Bluetooth Music):
Combined with the excellent active and passive noise reduction characteristics, the sound quality for the communications are excellent. I am not sure of ATC or my instructor can hear me any better but I hear them with no issue. The volume is adjusted by push buttons on the control module and it is straightforward and I find that the communications seems to have a tad more bass in it compared to the cheaper models, which resembles more of a normal conversation. I almost forgot I was talking through a mic and listening through a pair of headsets actually!

The ONE-X also comes with Bluetooth Music which defaults to audio mute whenever there is an ATC transmission incoming. When anyone speaks on the intercom, the music volume is decreased by 80% and I find this setting to be just fine and shouldn't be changed as this offers a good balance between musical enjoyment and ultimate safety of flight. The music quality is just as good as medium-high end consumer products with enough bass and clarity to allow me to enjoy a good dose of Kenny Loggins whilst flying.

Ease of Use:
This headset is very easy to use and well designed, especially the ANR control module. It is small and has a very nice mounting clip, everything is straightforward and the Bluetooth pairing is also very simple. There's a very useful pilot guide that comes with the headset and it is well written and clear with instructions.

My only gripes are that the headset defaults to a folded state which is great for storing but can be a little annoying when you have to spread it out every time in order to wear it, also the mic seems to be a little bit on the short side so audio reception if not adjusted correctly can be a little intermittent, but with proper adjustment to 1/8 inch away from lips it is fine. Make sure to adjust it so the mic is in front of the entire mouth, not only half of your lips.

The headband is easy to adjust and is detented to allow for precise adjustment, also it is tight enough so you do not have to adjust it for every flight and can be adjusted and left as is.

Reliability/Durability:
Currently it is a new product and I only used it for 2 hours but it feels sturdy with metal alloy headband and after all it is David Clark... They are well known for sturdiness and lasting forever. Other than that, I cannot comment any more as I am still new to this product.

Conclusion:
In closing, these $895 were money well spent, the headset is comfortable, well built and it's quiet but not too quiet to be functional and safe in an aviation environment and I strongly recommend any pilots looking to upgrade into the world of ANR to give these a good consideration, and I am happy to say that David Clark can finally compete in ANR! This headset is especially great if you are conservative with such choices and want to stick with the familiarity of the green domes, you will not be disappointed.

Have fun, fly safe

--
Howard

Instrument Flight and a new way of doing Forced Landings!

First of all, Happy New Year and I wish all of you reading a prosperous and enjoyable 2017!

The first day of 2017 I did my first flight of the year and already I am ticking off one box of my new year resolutions (which are ALL aviation related). I begun instrument flying for my 4 hours required to be a private pilot in Hong Kong! So here are the details of the flight:

We managed to start early, an entire hour early because my instructor's student simply forgotten that he had a lesson booked for today, presumably due to the alcohol and partying from New Year's Eve. But never mind that, it was awesome we can start early as we have quite a schedule for one hour. PFLs and Instrument Flying!

After a quick preflight, we got on and got started. We taxied out to the undershoot area for our engine performance check as another one of our 172s, B-LUW followed along, the aircraft was piloted by a well-known actor in Hong Kong and he was taking his two sons up for a New Year's Day ride, which is a great father and son(s) bonding activity to be perfectly honest.

We took off into the calm skies of this beautiful Sunday afternoon and departed the Shek Kong airspace via the Fire Station Gap, which gives us a perfect view of our neighbor city, Shenzhen. However, we quickly turned back into the training area and my instructor handed me the hood, time to "TRUST YOUR INSTRUMENTS HOWARD!"

The instructor remarked that my instrument flying was "An easy A grade, CPL standard." Well I did hold altitude within 50 feet and heading within 5 degrees, I must credit this performance for my first time flying under the hood to my numerous amounts of hours in FSX. However to any students wondering, yes you do feel the illusions as taught in human factors, and it does take practice to ignore it. I felt the sensation of the aircraft banking when in reality I was wings level, however I rectified it before the bank angle even exceeded 3 degrees. This is the thing about instrument flight is that if you spot a slight deviation, fix it there and then as a small deviation will very quickly exacerbate to a huge deviation. Also limit turns to no more than 20 degrees or around rate 1.

The Constant Aspect Forced Landing Technique:
After 20 minutes, I was cleared to use the actual horizon again and I took the hood off and we proceeded to do some PFLs, this is the fun part. Instead of doing the traditional square circuit with fixed "key" points, which if you are a pilot would probably be aware that it is on very rare occasions that you actually arrive at those points at the said altitudes. So it can be said that those altitudes are absolutely worthless. This is because there are many factors that come into account, such as wind and aircraft loading or even pilot technique! But the rules of thumb stays the same, maintain best glide speed, land into wind as much as practicable.

As the engine fails, the status quo remains, pitch and trim quickly for best airspeed as you look for the best field, preferably to the left and slightly in front, however do not limit choices to only that. I will not go into incredibly technical terms when it comes to field selection. Once the field is selected then you will first plan the general flight path and only then do the checks.

As I previously mentioned, the traditional way to execute and practice forced landings is by a square circuit with fixed key points with fixed altitudes, but in practice they are rarely met with any precision. This is why the Constant Aspect Forced Landing technique is a much safer and easier option. Consider the diagrams below:

Credits to the Royal Air Force

Credits to the Royal Air Force

These diagrams make up part of the RAF Bulldog Flying Instructor's Manual the better illustrate the Constant Aspect technique. The idea is to set a high key point (only for training, in the real world it will work at most normal flying altitudes).

As shown on the diagram on the right, an IAP (Initial Aiming Point) is chosen which is around 1/3rd of the way down the selected landing site, and the idea is to fly a left circular pattern in order to keep the SLA (Sight Line Aspect) the same during the entirety of the circuit. This is not flown so you can maintain sight line but flown like this as it allows for better fine corrections and takes away all the complicated extrapolation and guesswork from the gliding descent. Note that one must maintain coordinated flight throughout the circular loop and also maintain the best glide speed as it will allow for the most ideal glide ratio.

As shown on the diagram below the previously mentioned diagram, the SLA Angle is the angle between the horizon and your sight line towards the IAP, and by eyeballing it should be around the neighborhood of 45 degrees so you wouldn't be too high or low. Note that while flying this technique the key positions and altitudes can be completely forgotten and your eyes should be 90% of the time looking out of the window. Basically it's like flying a straight in final approach, you keep this aiming point at the same point in your windscreen and this removes most, not all of the judgement calls you have to make during a traditional key position technique for forced landings.

The judgement calls the pilot still has to make is whether their SLA is too excessive (Aircraft too high, overshoot) or not significant enough (Aircraft too low, undershoot).

What if you are too high? First of all this is a more ideal position as it is easier to lose height than it is to gain the lost height when your engine has packed up. There are a couple of things in your power to do if this was the case:

• Widen out the circuit - Slacken your turns a little bit and wait for the SLA to correct itself.
• Use flaps - However be aware that premature use of flaps may cause a too low situation.
• On final, overshoot - Like the first technique.
• Slips - Great to lose a whole bunch of height, however proximity to Vso and the ground may be factors against such technique.

Most of the time, widening out and slacking the turns will be sufficient for the SLA to correct to a more ideal 45 degrees. Just note, the 45 degrees is just an eyeballed estimate like anything in flying, don't get out a protractor on your flight test!

Most importantly at the end of the maneuver, watch your altitude, don't get carried away with the oh so amazing glide approach thanks to the RAF. The minimum altitude according to the rules of the air is 500 feet away from any persons, structures or vessels. So remember to start climbing away at or before 500 feet to stay within the minimums!

So my advice now? Go up with an instructor familiar with this technique, or talk to your instructor about this technique and practice safely, use reasonable bank angles and watch your airspeed. Eventually you will find that you can use this technique in any sort of power off landing maneuver like a glide approach or for the Americans, the power off 180. This technique takes away all the nuanced effects of wind and load, and brings it all together with one simple rule: Keep the SLA constant, you will make it down alive. As the landing field is made, apply full flaps and complete your security checks. 

How do you improve in the judgement of overshoot or undershoot? Well it all boils down to constant practice. So maybe this will be one of your New Year's Resolutions, to practice forced landings and be a better, safer, more competent pilot.

My flight path yesterday

So that's it for now, headset review coming up next!

Have fun, fly safe

--

Howard