Egress Training www.dunkyou.com

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Spring is on the way and soon busy aviators will be everywhere

April is near, and with that a reminder of former day’s enjoying Canada’s outdoors and all the wonderful airborne hours only flight could possibly provide.

The freedom of flying and our ability to reach favorite destinations from take off at a local airport or your own dock in the front yard is immeasurable.

Once the snow has disappeared and ice melted airports everywhere will be a buzz with annual maintenance requirements and the usual wheels to float change over.

Then once the tools are put away and hangar floors swept clean you realize flying has begun and you must now justify the cost per hour to cover these expenses by squeezing precious minutes out of an all too short season.

Soon you will find yourself off for adventure with your craft high above all different terrain including flat land, mountains and often open water.

This is a time to give thought to emergencies which you the pilot could encounter en-route and how to handle anything from an engine failures to a ditching.

First question, do you have on board everything required for your particular trip such as life vests and the knowledge of how to inflate such a devise under the stress of real life drama?

Secondly do you understand the effect of landing on water with fixed gear or possibly floats with amphibious gear in the down and locked position.

To better understand, think of water as the ultimate distance stopping device followed by

an impact which can only be described as extremely violent, all while enclosed in a box soon to be held underwater.

For a conventional wheeled aircraft such as a Cessna 172 most ditchings result in a sudden stop of roughly the aircraft’s length no matter the speed, followed by an inversion.

Similar reaction for the tail daggers out there due to the forward exposed gear legs making contact with the water surface first, although there is a higher certainty of one quick flop onto the aircraft’s back.

As for Amphibious aircraft that all too often land upon water with the gear down, it depends mostly on the manufacturers design and front gear leg location regarding the outcome, although high percentages stop and flop.

Then there are the retractable who loose power after take off out over water and pray the gear is up before landing on the liquid surface with the wheels safely stored in the wells.

The reasons aircraft enter water when least expected is not important, it is how the occupants react in the first few second which is.

Water temperature due to cold shock and impact velocity are by far the largest variables to consider which often cause the panic and disorientation leading to fatalities.

Knowing what to expect from Egress training previously will make all the difference should this ever happen to you, which is why the Military has made this course mandatory in flight crews for many decades.

Bryan Webster August 1996 Cessna 185 C-GAIX North of Fort Smith NWT

Bryan Webster October 2001 Cessna Caravan Bahrain UAE

Bryan Webster is a 11,000 hour plus pilot actively flying a Beaver on the BC coast today when not Egress Training.

In 1977 he was a passenger involved in a water crash while the pilot attempted to avoid power lines draped over the Fraser River east of Vancouver, BC.

For information or to enroll in the AES Egress Training Program contact

“Bry the Dunker Guy” Bryan Webster

1-250-704-6401

www.dunkyou.com

BRY THE DUNKER GUY

Aviation in general is known to be the fastest and safest mode of transport anywhere on the planet earth. With today’s aircraft technical advancements and superior training for pilots and crews our track record has improved dramatically since the early days of flight.

Yet in spite of these statements each month here in this COPA paper alone we read of numerous accidents and incidents which range from minor to severe. The reasons have not changed appreciably over the decades ranging from pilot error to weather or environmental and equipment failure. It appears this trend will unfortunately continue for future aviators as there is always room for the small margin of mishaps regardless of safety and training. Any Licensed Pilot has received hours of training on flight procedures including engine failures and in flight emergencies, which should be briefed on occasion for the unlikely event. Ditching procedures are often mentioned in training although from the thousands of students I personally have Egress Trained they were totally unprepared for the daunting task of exiting an inverted simulator in a warm pool facility. Regarding any emergency procedure you must not only discuss for example a stall but obviously experience this manoeuvre in the aircraft until competent and later in life practice it on occasion. The same goes for Egress training, talking about it and yet never experiencing the sensation of being subjected to a simulation of the real event is

quite different. AES SAFE training prepares pilots and their passengers for the unlikely possibility of finding themselves under water disorientated in a sinking aircraft with a real life scenario. Often we in our work we hear the statement I fly wheeled aircraft not a floatplane thus sorry but not interested in Egress Training, yet this year already there have been non float aircraft plucked from the BC coastal waters. My advice is no matter what you fly you owe it to yourself and your passengers who will be depending on you in any emergency to be trained for all possible mishaps.

On another note let’s give some serious thought to the standard ELT”s installed in any of our aircraft including helicopters.

Firstly when was the last time you checked to see if it was in the armed position and ready to operate effectively if our lives depended on it?

Secondly would it work under water if you found yourself swimming away from your sinking aircraft after you opened the doors to get out start heading to shore?

My solution for this concern is simple now that there is the SPOT GPS available for a reasonable cost and easy to use. I personally have used mine for over a year and since then built total confidence in this unit as it follows my flight routing positions and shows this pictorially on my home computer every 10 minutes where I am and have been.

For anyone who does not understand the incredible value of this compact lightweight safety concept please contact me and I would be happy to fully explain why ever aircraft out there should be carrying one.

Bryan Webster has over 11.000 hours in numerous aircraft all over Canada commercially since 1978.

In 1998 he became Bry the Dunker Guy when starting Aviation Egress Systems located at Victoria BC.

Each year AES travels all over Canada teaching pilots and Passengers Egress Training and still fly’s commercial float equipped aircraft on the BC coast.

For further information contact:

Bryan Webster

250-704-6401

www.dunkyou.com

info@dunkyou.com

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Bry the Dunker Guy

Well boys and girls it is that time again when we head out to the airport and dust off those wonderful flying machines then assess the wrath winter has subjected to our prised possession, especially if they were outside in the elements.

Now that our hangar is cleaned up the aircraft washed and ready to go what about the pilot. Where do we stand in that equation for being dusted off and ready to go?

Have we reviewed the POH or are you planning to get some dual since it has been six months since you last took to the skies. My advice would be to consider hiring a current and experienced individual especially if you’re waiting for the ice to clear and heading out on floats.

Here on the BC coast we rarely have to worry about situations such as ice unless our flight plan includes a high level lake somewhere, thus we tend to stay current year round on floats.

For those of us in Northern Saskatchewan or many other locations in Canada this is not the case which is why it may be advisable to seek out an expert to not only get the rust off, but maybe teach you a few new tricks.

Dave Budd at Ocean Air located in Victoria BC may be one of your options for an experienced float operator depending on your postal code and here is his story.

Nothing is better than flying low level over top the Pacific through our Islands and Fjords of Coastal BC. The views here mixed with the wild life which makes for the best flying that I can imagine!

Making a living moving the people who reside on the countless Islands to and from their country homes plus enthusiastic tourists with their smiles from our unbelievable views and fantastic lifestyles validates the long hours and the occasional difficult day. I also train pilots on how to fly floatplanes not just the seaplane rating but also advanced floatplane techniques and procedures including low level flight ops, reduced visibility high winds and inclement weather. I also am sure to include safety in every aspect of flight. It is easy to forget at times that this dreamy job can quickly become a nightmare if the aircraft and the weather conditions are not treated with respect.

Over the years I have met pilots who have been involved in accidents of all sorts from hangar benders to full on ditch in the water with an inverted aircraft. Some of these stories are truly heartbreaking and others are stories where training preparedness and some aspect of luck have all come together to a great ending. Training and preparedness that is what safe flying is really all about! As we know, accidents come from a chain of events and it is our job as pilots to be sure that there is no chain to start with.

As an instructor, I feel that it is my job to teach safety into every part of flying from a thorough walk around to understanding how life jackets work and are put on, to how to get out of an inverted aircraft. Egress training saves lives and it’s not just for float pilots and passengers but for anyone who flies over water. Then like all training practice, practice, practice and consider scenarios and how would I react. Why do IFR pilots in two crew call out engine out procedures before the take-off roll… repetition and consideration makes for safety.

Remember to keep up to date on your recurrent training and think: how can I make this safer for me and my passengers? Don’t skip out on briefings as well be sure everyone has training on how to get the doors open, how to get their seatbelt unlatched and to exit the aircraft. When it comes to practice for over the water pilots take Egress training! All of the major (and most smaller) commercial coastal operators have their pilots take it because it saves lives. Practical experience and knowledge of how to get yourself and everyone out safely is the key to a great ending when seconds count. As well we are out there to enjoy and to mitigate risk.

For floatplane training contact David Budd Chief Pilot for Ocean Air Floatplanes at Victoria, BC. 250-655-1144 www.oceanair.ca

Bryan Webster has been flying commercially since the mid 70”s all over Canada in 35 different aircraft types on wheels, skies and floats with over 11.000 hours.

He also owns and operates Aviation Egress Systems offering Egress Training to pilots and their passengers all over Canada .

For further information contact Bry The Dunker Guy 250-704-6401 www.dunkyou.com