Risk matrix

[Yetti]

33 minutes ago, Eight8Victor said:

Mine is going to be 103 years old in a few months, never gone off without my finger telling it to. I'd rather carry my 1911 into the zombie apocalypse than a glock. Come to think of it, I do carry it into out rural Walmart after midnight. Kind of like the zombie apocalypse only without the apocalypse.

 

Nobody said the 1911 Not A1 is a bad gun.   It feeds just about anything even SWC.   Nicely played Ace Card.  Guess there were a couple in the deck.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Yetti

[Yetti]

52 minutes ago, Eight8Victor said:

@steingar and @Yetti Why no love for night flying? (Besides engine out concerns) I prefer it. Maybe I need to rethink my night flights? Who else enjoys single engine night? I'd love to hear some thoughts from others.

It's a completely different flying. And I don't have as much experience doing it.    You even have to know the airport signage and stuff. Probably a bit closer to IFR and I actually like looking at the ground while a fly, so a little more boring.

[gsxrpilot]

48 minutes ago, Eight8Victor said:

@steingar and @Yetti Why no love for night flying? (Besides engine out concerns) I prefer it. Maybe I need to rethink my night flights? Who else enjoys single engine night? I'd love to hear some thoughts from others.

I very much enjoy flying at night and my airplane only has a one engine. My wife enjoys flying at night as well. In fact, I proposed to her during a night flight.

There is less traffic, the air is typically smooth, the temps are lower, etc. 

If I have an engine out I'll do my best to put it on the ground it a location that is survivable. I've got two sources of synthetic vision which could help me put it down on a road or at least on some flat terrain. 

I also fly this one airplane quite a lot. So I've got a pretty good feel for when things aren't right. That along with good regular maintenance and excellent instrumentation for engine and fuel, help to mitigate some little part of the risk.

For many, what I've said doesn't amount to much risk mitigation, and no one can argue that. Risk is something that everyone has to measure for themselves.

[jetdriven]

28 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

f I have an engine out I'll do my best to put it on the ground it a location that is survivable. I've got two sources of synthetic vision which could help me put it down on a road or at least on some flat terrain. 

I don’t have a whole lot of  faith in synthetic vision  finding you a  road without wires or obstructions. As far as flat terrain, yes the terrain in Texas and Eastern CO is fairly flat, but there are plenty of trees and other obstacles. Really it’s just going to come down to luck. 

[PT20J]

I think the late Richard Collins had the best handle on GA risk management. First, he accepted that flying was inherently risky. Then, he analyzed years of accident data to determine where the greatest risks were and did his best to avoid or mitigate those risks. 

Everyone has different risk tolerances and different reasons for making a particular flight. There are certainly greater risks in flying at night, over mountains or in IMC. But, there can also be great benefits and each of us has to weigh the benefit vs. the risk of our flying activities. I believe statistically, most accidents happen on takeoff or landing, and most midair collisions happen near an airport in good weather. So perhaps the riskiest thing we can do is to practice touch and gos on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Skip

[Eight8Victor]

56 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

I very much enjoy flying at night and my airplane only has a one engine. My wife enjoys flying at night as well. In fact, I proposed to her during a night flight.

There is less traffic, the air is typically smooth, the temps are lower, etc. 

If I have an engine out I'll do my best to put it on the ground it a location that is survivable. I've got two sources of synthetic vision which could help me put it down on a road or at least on some flat terrain. 

I also fly this one airplane quite a lot. So I've got a pretty good feel for when things aren't right. That along with good regular maintenance and excellent instrumentation for engine and fuel, help to mitigate some little part of the risk.

For many, what I've said doesn't amount to much risk mitigation, and no one can argue that. Risk is something that everyone has to measure for themselves.

Yes, I enjoy night flying immensely for all the same reasons . Just looked at my log books and out of the roughly 1000 hours logged, 102 are night hours.

[Yetti]

6 minutes ago, PT20J said:

 practice touch and gos

Skip

Just had to throw that bait out there didn't ya.

[Hank]

2 hours ago, Eight8Victor said:

@steingar and @Yetti Why no love for night flying? (Besides engine out concerns) I prefer it. Maybe I need to rethink my night flights? Who else enjoys single engine night? I'd love to hear some thoughts from others.

Love me some night flight! And no, I don't need an almost-full moon shining almost as brightly as the morning sun. In the (dark) country, it's quiet, smooth and serene; near a big city with a zillion ground lights, a little overcast can make it feel magical. Leaving Charlotte headed just west of North at night, crossing a slivver of VA before entering the E. KY coal fields brings new meaning to "night flight." But it's still nice.

Even grass strips are nice. Makes me remember trips to the beach, 40' msl, dropping in over the pine trees that hide distribution lines fro  the substation beside the runway . . . My only problem there is seeing the field at night--it's easy to find, but the slot in the trees is so narrow that I lose the lights on base leg. Took me three tries to have final lined up enough land, the first try wasn't even over the field! Even the slightly curved grass strip along the riverbank (with a hump just below rotation speed) is nice.

Hmmm . . . Night hours? Hope to add another one or more this week, now that temps are supposed to cool off after tomorrow. Time to get night current again! Right now, almost exactly 10% Night hours. I've taken off in daylight and landed two or three hours later in darkness; I've taken off in darkness and landed two or four hours later in daylight; and just as some flights have started and finished in daylight, some have done so in darkness.

One IFR training flight started after work, with prescription sunglasses and ended just after dark--my clear glasses still in the car. Then the landing light breaker tripped and wouldn't stay on. So my choice was to land in fuzzy darkness (I'm nearsighted), or land in crisp detail looking at the trees obstructing the runway through my sunglasses . . . The CFII said to log the nighttime sunglass landing that way.  

[steingar]

12 hours ago, Eight8Victor said:

@steingar and @Yetti Why no love for night flying? (Besides engine out concerns) I prefer it. Maybe I need to rethink my night flights? Who else enjoys single engine night? I'd love to hear some thoughts from others.

When I did the nighttime cross country flight for my PPL I told my personnel what I was doing.  That night a couple flying a similar aircraft died due to an engine out.  The dark patch they chose turned out to be full of trees,and it hit the news.  Everyone thought it was me, especially when I didn't show up bright and early the next morning like I usually do.  That rather stayed with me.

That, and the Mooney is just so #$%&@$!! dark.  There are tutorials on changing the lights to LEDs, but I'm so ham-fisted I'm really worried about handling that on my own.  Better a dark Mooney than one on fire.

[ArtVandelay]

Yes, I enjoy night flying immensely for all the same reasons . Just looked at my log books and out of the roughly 1000 hours logged, 102 are night hours.

Ditto, I will try to limit my risk by selecting runway 32 when possible because it gives me the most outs:


I continue down the coast where I can land on the beach without risking hurting someone unless they are moon bathing (pun intended). Interestingly all the students at the local school do the opposite, preferring shortest taxi, and taking off 14.


Tom

[Hank]

4 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Ditto, I will try to limit my risk by selecting runway 32 when possible because it gives me the most outs:


I continue down the coast where I can land on the beach without risking hurting someone unless they are moon bathing (pun intended). Interestingly all the students at the local school do the opposite, preferring shortest taxi, and taking off 14.


Tom

What looks like 27 is also a good option, or 9 with a quick right departure [for the beach].

[ArtVandelay]

What looks like 27 is also a good option, or 9 with a quick right departure [for the beach].

The problem with those options is if you have an engine out at the end of the runway, you are left with landing basically straight ahead in the trees or making a 180.
From 32 it’s a 45° turn to a runway, a little farther, 45° to the other runway, then a 90° to taxiway going south, then 120° turn, then a 90° turn or less as I turn downwind, then 90° to a taxiway, only after all that do I have to make the 180° turn, which I will be around 2000’, so that’s doable.


Tom

[skydvrboy]

17 hours ago, Eight8Victor said:

@steingar and @Yetti Why no love for night flying? (Besides engine out concerns) I prefer it. Maybe I need to rethink my night flights? Who else enjoys single engine night? I'd love to hear some thoughts from others.

I love flying at night. The air is usually much calmer, visibility is greater, there's less traffic, and I can easily navigate by the stars and the lights of cities and towns along my route.  I can usually pick out my destination airport when I'm 40+ nm out, something that's impossible during the day.  Plus, it's just so peaceful and beautiful at night.

That said, I take a few extra precautions when I fly at night.  I fly as high as practical for the length of trip.  I try to stay within glide distance of a "good" landing area (interstate highways or airports).  I do a very thorough preflight, preferably before dark.  I keep a red headlamp on my head and another flashlight clipped to my shirt.  I use flight following for all cross country flights, even very short ones.  I only fly over "flat" terrain, no mountains.  And most importantly, I try to stay current and proficient at it, easier to do in the winter when it gets dark earlier.  Approximately 1/4 of my landings are at night and 1/5 of my total time is at night.

Everyone should have their own risk matrix and I won't try to tell anyone theirs is right or wrong.  Stay safe up there!

[Eight8Victor]

6 hours ago, skydvrboy said:

 

That said, I take a few extra precautions when I fly at night.  I fly as high as practical for the length of trip.  I try to stay within glide distance of a "good" landing area (interstate highways or airports).  I do a very thorough preflight, preferably before dark.  I keep a red headlamp on my head and another flashlight clipped to my shirt.  I use flight following for all cross country flights, even very short ones.  I only fly over "flat" terrain, no mountains.  And most importantly, I try to stay current and proficient at it, easier to do in the winter when it gets dark earlier. 

Good stuff!