Egress Training www.dunkyou.com

Fall is now in the air with a new set of aviation challenges just around the corner.

This past summer Western Canada witnessed the most incredible weather Mother Nature had ever produced on record, which is about time as it was our turn. Aircraft were out in full force all over enjoying warm above average temperatures and few meteorological concerns other than smoke from numerous forest fires. The water temperatures were wonderful and with the exception of one unfortunate individual who ended his flight inverted at high speed underwater with the gear down, the incident rate appeared to me proportionately lower than usual. In the near future how ever wind weather and fog not to mention snow will undoubtedly add possible perils to our daily flight routines and must be considered previous to our departure. An enjoyable swim in our favourite lake during the month of August could be life threatening if clinging to a sunken float plane to far from shore at that identical location only a few months later.

Pilots must consider deviations due to weather problems and low ceiling thus always plan for this event and if at all possible carry more fuel or have alternates on your side to help eliminate running out short of destination. Winter survival courses are advised if your flight are taking place in the far North but if nothing else be certain you and your passengers are well dressed and equipped for an unexpected night out in the wilds.

For this or any unplanned emergency again as in the August COPA issue I would like to highly suggest you seriously consider purchasing and carrying a SPOT portable GPS onboard. Please understand I am no way affiliated with the SPOT Corporation but absolutely sold on its ability to track and locate you, plus send out a signal for assistance if required. This unit is not an ELT replacement and unfortunately was unavailable when the latest ELT update made its way to your aircraft, but one day I hope will be as it has proven to be so successful. When not giving you piece of mind while in flight it could be left in your vehicle as a life line while driving between Winnipeg and Flin Flon at -40 degrees and stuck in a snow bank. Just to give you an idea of how this unit works simply purchase the SPOT GPS for less than a fill up in your 172 compete with monitoring and program your computer so anyone can follow your movements as you travel.

Every 10 minutes a signal is sent leaving your trail on a Google map from most anywhere around the world giving an exact time and location of where you are and have been.

In the event of an emergency you may push one of two buttons sending help from your own responsible person or from any rescue organization you have selected. Since I purchased mine it has been on our son’s sailboat all over the BC Coast, on numerous overnight hikes including the 5 day West Coast trail on Vancouver Island plus flown literally hundreds of flights. In the event I holed a float on landing while jumping from the ocean to lakes in our distant wilderness it would have told of my location where the ELT would have been rendered useless at the bottom with no history as to my movements or present location.

Bryan Webster has accumulated in excess of 11.000 hours in light aircraft all over Canada and the US since 1976 when he learned to fly at Pitt Meadows BC. He still flies commercially today when not teaching Egress procedures to pilots and their passengers.

For further information contact:

Aviation Egress Systems

BRY THE DUNKER GUY

250-704-6401

www.dunkyou.com

info@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