Learning to operate an aircraft safely in the flight environment is essential. If we want to become a proficient, professional pilot and show this to our passengers in such a way that they feel safe flying with us. Then there are some things we need to become very good at. The first thing we will discuss is the one thing that is very important when flying: collision avoidance. I have had my share of near misses in the past, ranging from light twins to F-16 fighters, so looking out of the windows is one of my main priorities.
Remember that when two aircraft approach each other head on at 100Kts (not an uncommon speed) they travel over 3 miles per minute. And if visibility is 1.5 miles then you have less than 30 seconds to react before you first see the other aircraft.... if you were looking in the right direction.

Flying safe part one

Scanning while flying
The most effective way to scan during daylight is through a series of short, spaced eye movements in 10 degree sectors starting from left to right. On the way back to your left to take a glance at the instrument panel to check what is happening before starting all over with this visual scan. During the outside scan it is wise to focus on distance objects on the ground before 'staring' into the blue sky. Else the phenomenon described below can arise very quickly.

Looking without seeing, empty field myopia
When looking into a featureless sky, be it grey haze or clear blue sky, the human eyes tend to focus on a point about 10 to 30 feet (3 to 10 meters) away, without you ever knowing it. Thus you are looking without really seeing anything. Probably missing a lot. No need to say that this can be very dangerous. To avoid this, when scanning in 10 degree steps from left to right also look at several points on the ground at different distances from the aircraft. This keeps the eyes focused on distance. Also avoid 'staring'.

Flying into the sun, especially during sunset and when there is a light haze, good scanning is very important. Aircraft or other objects are much more difficult to see when the sun is behind them (and in front of you) in such circumstances. Even when landing into such conditions. Wearing sunglasses that filter out the blue color of the spectrum (Serengeti drivers for example) can help a great deal and add to safety.

What you can't see sometimes really is there, aircraft blind spots
Aircraft blind spots are by design. There you have it, no more no less. High winged aircraft are great for sightseeing because the wing is on top of the aircraft. More fun when you have people aboard and they want to fly over their house and take pictures. Low wing aircraft have a great view of the sky but looking down can be a problem, but are great when turning to final as the runway remains in sight in contrary to a high wing aircraft.

Basically you have to keep in mind the shortcomings of each design, not that there's anything wrong with it, but the wing (and the fuselage) gets in the way of the pilot who needs to see other traffic especially when flying near airports or other points of interest. Just be very aware of it and you'll do just fine.

When climbing with a high wing aircraft make shallow turns to watch for traffic overhead, the opposite goes for low wing aircraft in descents, just make shallow turns so that lower flying traffic can be spotted sooner.

On an VFR approach to an airport the situation could arise where a high wing aircraft is flying lower than a low wing aircraft. Especially when the low wing aircraft is descending to a reporting point and the high wing is flying level toward the same point. Both can not see each other and a collision could happen.

What you see sometimes really looks quite different
Runways that are wider or narrower than we normally land on or even with an up or down slope can be very deceiving. We've made a table for you to sum up all these illusions. Just think about it and it will make sense.

When doing the preflight, take note on how the destination airport is situated. With the above table in mind most suprises can be avoided (like coming in too high because the runway is twice as wide than normally used to, I've seen this happen with a student and the touchdown was a bit harder than normal).

Encountering wake turbulence
Wake turbulence caused by airplanes can be really dangerous for light aircraft. There are some points to remember to keep the flight as safe as possible:

• Landing behind a large aircraft on the same runway, touchdown prior to the point the aircraft rotated
• Landing behind an aircraft which has just landed, stay above its flight path and land beyond its touchdown point
• Departing behind an aircraft than has just lifted off, plan your lift off before its lift off point (that were the vortices start), this is also valid for crossing runways
• Parallel runways, take note of the wind and see if turbulence can be blown on your runway

Wake turbulence can also be encountered in flight. Vortices of large aircraft trail behind and descend about 500' to 1000' below its flight path on a distance of 5 NM from the aircraft.

Structural Ice
Reports as PIREPs, SIGMETs and AIRMET provide us with information about icing area's. If you encounter ice while flying and its not in a drink (what are you doing with a drink up there?) act immediately! Remove yourself from the scene, with airplane, before disaster strikes. Ice on the propeller, airframe and or induction system creates severe hazards when an airplane is not equipped to do something about it.

We have a couple of ice types:

• Clear ice: very dangerous. Its heavy, glassy, adds weight and almost not detectable because its clear.
• Rime ice: sort of opaque, milky white color. Accumulates on leading edges, antenna's and changes the aerodynamics of the wing.
• Mixed ice: combination of the above.
• Frost: semi white coating forms when moist air contacts a cold (subzero) surface. Frost disturbs airflow and affects the aerodynamics.

Carburetor Icing
Two types can develop here: fuel / throttle and induction ice. Evaporation of fuel causes a drop in temperature, when enough moisture and the temperature drops below freezing (in the carb throat) ice will form on the throat of the carb, causing a restriction. It is imperative to understand that this can happen in summer too! It all depends on temperature drop and moisture content. Throttle ice forms on the valve. Apply full carb heat when an unexpected RPM drop or MAP change (constant speed prop) sets in.
Induction ice forms when flying in circumstances where ice will form on the induction system restricting the flow of air to the carb. Applying carb heat doesn't work here, the use of alternate air is the only solution.