Why IMSAFE can save your life and other Human Factors, Performance & Limitations
Why IMSAFE can save your life and other Human Factors, Performance & Limitations - Super Sue finds out what it is to be human with ground school guest speaker Dr Tony
It’s always a pleasure to have Dr Tony join us at ground school as he applies both his medical knowledge and experiences as a Doctor/Pilot. Providing insight, depth of understanding to the theory we all learn to pass HPL. How health impacts our performance as pilots, including the experience of flight for our passengers. When did you last ask passengers how are they are feeling?
We all know hydrate, eat before flying. Have you asked yourself how am I as the pilot? Use the acronym IMSAFE
I – Illness
M – Medication, prescribed, over the counter, others. Have you taken this before? Hayfever season, you may take regularly or for the 1st time antihistamine. What are the effects on you as the pilot?
S – Stress can build up or new, how is it effecting your ability to function, reserve energy levels. Flying whilst exhilarating, can demand full use of our senses, skills.
A – Alcohol, when did you last have a drink, how much? You should not fly for 8 hours after a small drink. Heavy drinking stays in the body for 30 hours. Effects can alter or judgement & abilities.
F – Fatigue, tiredness, sleep deprivation, all slow our responses down, mentally & physically
E- Emotions, whats going on in your life? Are your studies effecting you, over whelmed, uncertain, anxious? Tell someone.
A common cold, not to be sniffed at; apart from spreading germs in the cockpit, radio communication instruments etc., The effects of anything disturbing the ear; the Eustachian tube that can block with a cold, infections, can raise pressure in the inner ear, ear drum – ouch. Even worse if the ear drum is damaged.
The 8th cranial nerve, for the nerds amongst us; relays messages from ear to brain & gives us perception of balance, interpretation of spatial awareness, hearing. It branches into the semicircular canals, inner ear balance mechanism. When effected it can upset perception of yaw, turning – which way is up?
8th cranial nerve also branches into the cochlea of the ear, shell like in appearance, hence its name – our hearing instrument. Can you hear clearly, Radio comms, instructor or passengers’ interactions? Have you heard or observed they may not be feeling well, gone quiet, breathing a bit quicker – hyperventilating?
Hyperventilating – Do you know how to help them, whilst flying? Distract them, get them to talk, and gradually their breathing should return to their normal. If not, what’s your next action?
We as PPL’s don’t fly at high altitudes for hypoxia. However, if there is an underlying chest infection, breathing impairment, they may be susceptible to reduced oxygen intake, or have this as a condition. Look up the difference between hyperventilating & hypoxia. I would go into it here; the blog would be too long!
Middle Field Myopia – flummoxed me! Also known as where do eyes naturally settle – unfortunately, inside the cockpit. Where do we need to consciously look? Outside the cockpit. No resting for the eyes, scan outside, don’t settle on one area. You can miss ‘what’s in the sky in your flight area’ or misinterpret what you’re seeing.
Blind spot – we all have this, a medical phenomenon, where images can fall beside the optic nerve not through it. Therefore, images are not seen. Stare in one place & you miss whats there. Scan, Scan outside, 10 seconds in cockpit check instruments, T & P’s, back outside. Try looking at a static image, when not flying, close one eye, then close the other one, independently – what happens to the image?
Dr Tony showed us a few images to demonstrate perception and interpretation of what we saw. Were the 2 lines equal or was one longer/shorter. What did we see in the picture, mixed results, an old lady, young lady, both. All answers correct – perception, brain interpretation of what the eyes see.
Personally, I didn’t like the next image, static colours in a circular pattern, that when looked at, appear to move; hopefully everyone, which we did, saw it move clockwise. Dr Tony said anyone at ground school, seeing anti clockwise, talk to him. For me, sitting in the comfort of an armchair, looking at this image that appeared to swirl clockwise, I felt travel sick! And I’m not moving!!
An interactive, interesting presentation that took HPL out of the book, theory to reality. Thank you.