by Susan Parson
Reprinted with permission from FAA
Mythmakers and copywriters love to write about the 'magic' of flight, and many
pilots enjoy perpetuating the idea to passengers and friends. After all, flying
can truly be a magical experience that fills our hearts, even as it empties our
There is, however, no mystery
or magic involved in safe flight operations. Safe flying is all about harnessing
the immense power of solid knowledge, sharp skills, and professional attitudes
to assess the hazards and manage the risks associated with manipulating the four
forces of flight when you are several hundred (or several thousand) feet above
Mother Earth. Knowledge that you left in the book is just as useless in aviation
as fuel that you left in the truck. That's why there is so much emphasis right
now on finding effective ways to incorporate the right knowledge, skills, and
attitudes about risk management and aeronautical decision making into all levels
of flight training.
The federal aviation
regulations (now known as Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations or 14 CFR) have
long required pilots to acquire knowledge by mandating that the pilot in command
(PIC) 'become familiar with all available information concerning that flight'
(14 CFR '91.103). The specific regulation, CFR '91.103, provides examples of
what that information 'must' include list several important preflight actions
(e.g., checking the runway lengths at airports of intended use).
As pilots learn in their very
first private pilot ground school course, there are many sources for this kind
of technical information. However, 'all available information' is a much broader
term. There are actually many sources for information and knowledge about all
other aspects of the flight, including the vitally important risk management and
decision making components of flight planning and flight operations. Some exist
only on paper. Many are available online. The FAA developed some. Others were
created by industry.
Since it is not possible to
benefit from knowledge that you don't even know about, the first challenge for
pilots and flight instructors is to find what is available or, in other terms,
to know what is 'know-able.' Because valuable knowledge emanates from so many
different sources, pilots and flight instructors currently find information in
much the same way as we might use a non-directional beacon (NDB): we find a
discrete bit of data and track it to its source. We have no really good way of
knowing what other pieces of valuable knowledge, information, and experience
might be around.
To help pilots and the flight
training community navigate more efficiently to the knowledge needed for any
given flight operation, the FAA is working to build the knowledge equivalent of
a GPS database for general aviation. As currently envisioned, this database, or
'sourcebook,' will list FAA and industry safety goals, objectives, and
statistics. It will provide a glossary of GA safety programs and explain how
they relate to one another. It will include a list of available safety
publications, products and tools. It will describe and explain safety standards
and guidelines, including changes to practical Test Standards (PTS), FAA
knowledge tests, and other technical standards and guidelines. The sourcebook
database will provide a who's who' list of general aviation flight training,
mentoring, and safety resources for pilots and flight instructors. Finally, it
will provide information on events, such as flight instructor refresher clinics
(FIRCs), safety seminars, initial/recurrent standardization clinics for pilot
examiners, and other such events.
To ensure the widest possible
availability, the annual GA sourcebook will be produced in both paper and
electronic forms. Pilots would be able to use the electronic form of the
sourcebook in much the same way as they use a GPS today: call up a categorized
list of tools and topics, highlight the one you want, and navigate 'direct to'
the knowledge you need to plan and carry out a safe flight.
Watch for a Spring 2005 launch
of the first edition!
Susan parson is an active
general aviation pilot and flight instructor who recently joined the FAA as
special assistant in the General Aviation and Commercial Division of the Flight