Recency

I’ve just returned from Japan where I was doing my B787 type rating, followed by line training towards being re-qualified as a copilot with Air Japan, it took three and a half months in total.  As you could imagine, my mind has been only on work for all that time, as it’s a way of securing my gliding future and retirement. Prior to those 3.5 months, I was in Australia, but with money only going one way (out!), I found myself doing very limited gliding to save money so I didn’t (literally) run out, I  perhaps only did two flights after my season finished in late April 2022.  In this article, I aim to talk about recognising your lack of recency & mistakes that I made, plus what I did to correct them.

Top Pilots Make Mistakes

The first thing to be aware of is that we’re not perfect, we are human, and humans make mistakes. No matter how experienced we are, incidents and or accidents can still happen to us.  Recently a friend who had 10,000hrs & another with 3000hrs plus, with a no accident history, had an incident that required some repairs to his glider.  Both had been working themselves hard with family commitments, work, and house chores over the time prior to the incident, add in some Australian heat, pressure of the competition or flight, the ducks do line up.  When times like this occur, it’s time to take a step back and realise that even the seemingly perfect and top pilots can make mistakes when not current.

I felt like I was in the same category recently, so what did I do?  Firstly, I recognised that I hadn’t flown for almost 6 months.  While my experience vs my club's requirements would’ve allowed me to fly by about 4 days, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. My bi-annual flight review was coming up too, so what better time to do it.  It was a good day for flying this day, a few friends told me, “you’ll be right, just do it on the next flying weekend”.  I stuck to my guns and had my check flight, which as you’d imagine, went smoothly without any issues.  I learnt a few things from my instructor and the direction that the GFA wants to take when conducting these checks, a valuable flight.

Know When to Step Back

I like to finish every flight with a competition finish simulation, mainly for fun and only when the environment and conditions are sufficient.  This first flight back in the air was no different, though I noticed that when I was at 500’, I wasn’t in the usual energy state that I’m usually in.  I had 110kts on the ASI, but a bit too far out to convert it into the 130kt at 50’ at the finish line.  I took a step back, knowing that I could make it work if I wanted to, but realised that I wasn’t current and this wasn’t the time or place.  So I backed off the competition finish, bled off the speed in level flight, joined the circuit, and lived to tell another tale.

The trick is to know in the first place when you’re not current or not feeling your best, take a step back and realise that we are human, humans make mistakes; allow a margin for error (should apply for every flight, but more so on these days) and you almost can’t go wrong. 

Safe Circles,
Adam Woolley

Banner Photo by Petr Kolmann

 Adam Woolley was born into the gliding world, being the 3rd generation in his family. Going solo at 15, his thirst for efficiency in soaring flight & quest for a world championship title to his name has never wavered. One big passion is sharing his experiences & joy with other glider pilots all around the world. Adam is an airline pilot in Japan on the B767 & spends his off time chasing summer around the globe. He has now won 7 national Championships & represented Australia at 5 WGC's & 1 EGC.