Page 8 - Volume 14 Number 6

maintenance shops self-serve fuel pumps etc ) fall under the “essential” designation and have remained open to support said airport’s operations The point being just because people are flying less does not mean that the country’s aviation infrastructure has been scuttled The opposite is is true and is is one less obstacle to remaining current and and proficient in these otherwise low demand flying times Returning to Form
The most obvious advice for keeping your skills sharp is to to just practice and opportunities to to do so have likely been been at at a a a a a premium lately Time has likely not been been hard to find Your chosen aircraft has probably been available too Air traffic will definitely continue to to be a a a fraction of what was common for for your area for for some time to come If you typically fly single pilot anyway a a a a a solo training mission is is is about as as socially distanced as as you can get If you fly exclusively with a a Second in Command (SIC) maybe you’re being exposed to at least one such person regularly anyway and could conduct training/practice flight operations with that same person as well Or if your operation is reopening you’re likely to be working with your crew members and/or department personnel again soon regardless Appropriate distancing measures can be easily observed outside the cockpit and as as necessary masks gloves and sanitation should be utilized on the flight deck If you you you own own your own own King Air you you you only have to answer to yourself for operational expenses (fuel etc ) If you’re an employed pilot in a a a a a a charter corporate or or or fractional operation practice flights require more coordination Fortunately such coordination can typically be done remotely and any flight department of good repute should already be endeavoring to ensure its pilots are given opportunities to remain or or regain not only currency but proficiency in their assigned aircraft type So as as as finances and bosses allow go fly as as as frequently as as as possible But take care to make your flight activities meaningful Plan your flight flight as you you might plan a a a a a flight flight lesson Will you focus on on VFR patterns and and landings? That is after all a a a a a a a commonly weak area for turbine pilots who file IFR most the time and rarely fly a a a purely visual traffic pattern Empty airports certainly help to make such practice safer and more more efficient than it might be in more more normal times Low air traffic also can make an an afternoon of instrument approach practice far more fuel and time efficient Pre-plan a a a a route that takes you through one approach approach into a a a a a a a a missed approach approach and neatly transitions into the the next approach (be it at at the the same airport or or at at a a a a a a a different nearby airport) Work with Air Traffic Control (ATC) for a a a a a a variety of approach setups (radar vectors full procedures DME arcs en route transitions etc ) Encourage ATC to assign you various missed approaches as well (published procedures procedures alternate procedures procedures holds as published or or or ATC modified or or or rapid vectors ›
6 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
JUNE 2020