The Partners
Of Pilots Emergency course came about after clubhouse
discussions with wives or partners of pilots. Many of these ladies
wanted to become more comfortable in the cockpit but as we all know,
husbands teaching wives how to fly, drive or operate any machinery
often leads to problems.
An often stated concern was what they would
do and how to land the plane if their partner became ill in the air,
and many just wanted to know about radio, charts and other cockpit
details, so they could reduce the in-flight workload of their partners
and share in some of the fun of flying.
The full POPE course starts in the right hand seat (which is where most partners sit on
trips) with a session of familiarisation in the Tecnam Sierra, getting
used to the feel of the controls, along with an explanation of what all
the dials and buttons do and a demonstration of how stable an aircraft can
be. This is an important point to remember, as unlike a car, a aircraft
does not need to be flown with hands on the controls constantly if set up
correctly. The aircraft is then flown relative to an attitude and setup
for a landing in the simplest possible fashion, making an in air incident
a more survivable option.
The full POPE course starts in the right h
Another option is to simply become more involved in the navigation aspects along with radio and GPS information. These subjects can be conducted in a one on one situation or as you can see from the photos, in a class situation, at your local aero club, or here in Temora.
Both courses cover using the radio to call for help, along with
information about using most common GPS units to get to an airport quickly
and safely. Once the controls and cockpit instruments are explained many
ladies find they are not as intimidated and their fears are reduced
considerably. In fact, many go on to become licensed pilots. |
 |
