Task saturation entering IMC

Obviously a little difficult when handflying but on autopilot setting alt, qnh and sqawk while the controller says it and then reading it back off these instruments helps and provides an actual check if the information has been transferred correctly.

It has happened to me a couple of times. The last time, a few months ago, my 12YO daughter, who normally has a great memory and speaks perfect English, could not help me when I asked her, as she has done other times, and she just said: I dont know how you can remember all those numbers…she had no symptom of sensory overload and was paying attention…I guess at times, our brain is just not playing ball…

To me the worst for task saturation is when there is a change of plans that has to be implemented in very short time, like a realization that you are flying to the wrong waypoint with only a few seconds available to fix it, as in here with the result you see while I was setting up the new hold in the gtn

However, the most frequent one for me has been a change in runway for landing or a change in ATC-assigned approach procedure. A recent one was at LEPA and the other one was at EDMA.

At approach to LEPA I was flying marginal VFR with the expectation ATC would give me an IFR clearance to climb well clear of terrain when instead they gave me a different approach from the one I had briefed and loaded, while asking me to maintain VFR at low altitude towards a VRP for some more time…for a few seconds I did the stupidest thing trying to punch in and display the new approach while getting closer to terrain in " VFR"…I then realized and quit the punching, set a heading away from terrain and requested a climb into classA. Only then I resumed the punching and set up for the new approach. I can see how it could have turned ugly.

At EDMA approaching from the west having set for the ILS RWY 25 per the ATIS, expecting a bit of a tailwind landing. Then atc asked if I could accept RNAV 07. I accepted and then of course I immediately found myself miles behind the airplane: having to set up the gtn, gns, ipad app and suddenly having removed 20nm from my planned descent path. ATC was accommodating and happily S-vectored me to facilitate the descent.

It helps to know what to expect (as you probably do) and mentally compartmentalise the three components you may get and must read back – the squawk, the qnh, and the clearance. As i am sure you also know it is vital the aircraft is very accurately trimmed before talking on the radio or any other task.

Infact whenever you talk to ATC it is worth rehearsing before hand what they are going to tell you. On almost every occasion, and almost every situation, you can pretty much predict what you are going to get, so by being ready, it helps.

The previous poster mentioned a change of runway – always confusing – but in time after you have had a few, you can still predict the flow of instructions ATC will give you – so you can be ready.

I’m not sure why he didn’t write down any of what was said to him. He had his kneepad there and it was a long message. Scribbling sometimes helps.

Handflying in IMC and writing down stuff while listening to the ATCO is a very good way to lose control of the airplane.

Dimme wrote:

Handflying in IMC and writing down stuff while listening to the ATCO is a very good way to lose control of the airplane.

I disagree. Unless the turbulence situation is really bad, you must be able to write down a clearance when hand flying in IMC. If not, you really shouldn’t be flying IFR.

Easy said than done, most will tend to give more weight to ATC in IMC rather than actually flying the aircraft (probably a problem with IR training, I remember my instructor/atc did not appreciate orbiting while setting up a GPS and getting a correct read-back of the clearance), I know take it very relax and easy on the RT side but it is damn hard to keep spare brain power when unexpected stuff happens…

I think that the biggest problem with IR training is that so little weight is given to the autopilot.

It is, after all, how 99% of IFR flying is done, and lack of knowledge and skill in autopilot usage is a big killer of IFR pilots; yet the training and examination community still pretend it doesn’t exist. Also, you get people, with brains smaller than the genitals they pretend to have, all over the junior forums saying that real men don’t use autopilots.

The solution to the op’s dilemma is to engage the autopilot, thus releasing a huge amount of brainpower, and both hands, being wasted on doing a job that that can be done far better by automation. That released brainpower and those hands can then be used for thinking, planning, working on contingencies, writing stuff down etc.

This keeps you safe for the 99.9% of the time while the autopilot works. When the autopilot fails you then have to decide whether to continue with the flight or to land and get it fixed.

Grown up pilots flying serious aeroplanes fly on autopilot nearly all the time, reserving autopilot failure for the sim. And they have two brains and four hands.

I just spent a couple of days flying to the Azores without a functioning AP, solo. Boy that was hard work despite the fact I was VMC for 80% of the time.

Timothy is right. The AP will kill you if you allow it and you need to fully understand its vagaries in order to use it as an asset. One thing I teach is that pilots should always have the AP shadowing your actions if you have chosen to hand fly. In other words, if you have decide to climb at a particular IAS, the AP should be set in FLC mode (or equivalent) with the same speed selected. Clearly it should also follow your hdg bug or whatever. I get rather frustrated when someone hits AP ‘on’ without first confirming what it is set to do!

Timothy,

I assume you were referring to my post? I myself do indeed fly IFR with the autopilot on almost all the time. But I stand by what I wrote. If you can’t write down a clearance in IMC without having the autopilot engaged, then you’re cutting it too closely.

I agree 100% about understanding the autopilot. I teach ground school in my club for conversion to EFIS, specifically G1000+KAP140. After I show a list of all the various ways you can kill yourself using the autopilot people look a bit pale.