Newsletter Volume 30, Number 6

Calendar

John Martin was re-elected as President at the May general meeting and is continuing his work on Aces web page. He is joined now by Christoph Bohmann as the new Auditor and John Gould as Secretary who will start doing the newsletters next month. They are open to suggestions and can always use a little help along with them.

Kevin Shawhan and John Nogatch learning together and both soloed by Groom.

Tom Clark on the 2^nd
John Genise on the 18^th
New Ace Michael Martin on the 19^th
And Newest Ace Bart Kolodziejczak on the 21^st

June	100 hour Alaska round trip in a C-150 (if Groom can find his projector again!!)
July	Hiller Aviation Museum speaker and Fly-In
August	Sailing Monterey Bay after Moss Landing Picnic
September	Gould and Forster report on Oshkosh
October	Todd Whitmer provides speaker on gliders

It was November 6, 1999. My flying partner and I were ferrying her Commander AC114 across the county. It was 7:30 at night and the end of a long day. We had experienced cloud cover and winds along the route, which had not been predicted by flight service. This last leg was flown at 8,500 ft. for terrain clearance, as it was a dark night and terrain was difficult to see. We approached and landed at an unfamiliar airport. This airport had very poor lighting and non-standard markings near the fuel island. We struck the wing tip on an unlit pole near the fuel island. Were there perceptual and physiological factors that contributed to this mishap? Are there intervals during flights these types of mishaps are more likely to occur? The answers to these questions will be discussed in a later installment of this series. Each installment will discuss an area of general aviation, how a pilot's sensory input is influenced and how our safety can be effected by these limitations.

We, as humans, perceive the world through our senses. Unfortunately, our recognition of the world, as good as it is, is only a reasonable facsimile of reality. Our interpretation of our environment becomes less and less reliable in two major ways. First the environment itself can subtly trick us. Second the physiological capabilities of our senses experience limitations.

It is well known that most fatal aviation accidents occur as a result of VFR fight into IMC conditions. In 1996 that percentage was a walloping 87.9 %. Another interesting fact is that more accidents in IMC conditions, both fatal and not fatal, occur at night than occur during the day. If one thinks about this, it becomes obvious that in such conditions, pilots progressively lose the external sensory inputs needed to correctly interpret ones environment.

Instrument pilots learn to use the aircraft instruments to overcome these limitations. These pilots must constantly practice and retrain or loss these skills. Our inner ear takes over as our primary sensory feedback as eyesight is limited or eliminated. This is because there is a not so obvious strong neurological link between our eyes and our inner ear. To demonstrate that link, spin a friend around as though you are making him dizzy. Stop him and stare at his eyes. The eyes will be darting back and forth in an uncontrollable manner because the fluid in our inner ear is sill moving. This is called vertical nastagnous and can also result from drinking or drug use. If you spin your friend around enough, we all know he will become so disoriented (dizzy) he will have a hard time standing. When we loose our visual clues, our inner ear begins to tell us not only which way up and down is, but also which way we are moving though space.

The pilot with few outside references, or no outside visibility, has to deal with both the redirected g-forces acting on aircraft and also the movement of fluid in the inner ear. Perhaps the most well known flight maneuver where this problem occurs in IMC conditions, involves recovering from a bank to a straight and level attitude. As the aircraft reaches level fight, the inner ear fluid is still turning. The result is that the pilot thinks he is turning in the opposite direction. He tries then to recover and enters another turn. He now thinks, because of the redirection of lift and resultant g-forces, that he is straight and level and must be in a decent. He then pulls back on the yoke to recover, and only tightens the turn even more, resulting in a "grave yard spiral".

To reduce problems like this, a pilot should make as few movements with his head as possible and keep his head as straight as possible. Try not to look down and never lean your head to one side. Make small shallow turns, never more than "standard rate". Most importantly remain current on instruments and believe your gages. If you are a VFR only pilot, NEVER FLY INTO THE CLOUDS.

By Kenneth Pheley CFMEI

First gains since 1989!! Reprint of 1998 annual audit.
I have conducted a review of the Flying Aces Financial records for 1998. The records are thorough, complete and accurately reflect the financial conditions of the club. These records, as well as previous years' records, are on file in the manager's office.
I am happy to announce that for the first time in recent memory Flying Aces is in the black! Our total income was ~$9100 while our expenses totaled ~$8900, leaving us with a net gain of $200. Compared to the last couple of years where we suffered net loses of ~$3000 per year we had a great year.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Doug Groom, our Manager, for engineering this remarkable turnaround. Basically he reduced his salary in half so that we could maintain the financial stability of our club at its present size of about 40 members. So now, for as long as we keep on flying, enjoying our comradery and inviting our friends to join us, we will have a financially sound club.
Respectively submitted, John Martin, Acting Financial Officer