Learning to Aviate with Rich Stowell
“Just let go.” We’ve all heard this advice. It’s given by that pilot sitting in the back of the room during seminars on spins. It shows up in the comments section of online articles and in social media posts.
Just let go. It sounds simple enough. Especially in the comfort of the classroom. But such dubious advice fails to consider the human factor. It ignores how startle, fear, and a sudden spike of adrenaline at 3,000 feet will affect our performance.
Studies show that pilots struggle to apply learned procedures when surprised.[1] Further, “the time to respond to an event increases when this event comes unexpectedly…or when it is accompanied by a startling stimulus.”[2]
We know the flight environment can go from calm to panic in an instant. BANG! The door popped open. BANG! The engine threw a rod. You can imagine how you’ll react to these kinds of scenarios. You might even have a contingency plan in mind. But even if you’ve been stress tested during training, an unexpected event can feel like getting punched in the face.
Brain Stall
Just as wings have aerodynamic limits, our brains have cognitive limits. Exceed the aerodynamic limit and the wing stalls. Likewise, exceed our cognitive limit—i.e., the ability to process information effectively—and our brain stalls. We can draw several parallels between aerodynamic and brain stalls.[3]
For instance, our cognitive load increases as the amount of arousal/stress increases. Exceeding the critical amount of stress triggers brain stall. Our performance breaks down. Confusion and fixation are common when this happens.
Other signs of brain stall include instinctive responses like fight or flight and freeze or flop. Our lizard brain has taken over at this point. Unfortunately, our lizard brain doesn’t have a clue how to fly an airplane.
Ice on the wing can reduce the wing’s critical angle of attack. Several factors can reduce the level of stress needed for our brain to stall, too. These include fear, fatigue, surprise and startle, and lack of competence and confidence.
Novel situations and the perception of a threat can also increase stress and impede performance. For example, 65 percent of instructors said they’ve had “to physically take control from a student who ‘locked up’ on the flight controls.”[4]
I’ve had two trainees freeze on the controls while spinning. One was a U.S. Army helicopter test pilot during an inverted flat spin. The other was a private pilot during a normal upright spin. Different kinds of experience. Different kinds of spins. Yet both had the same “normal human reactions to an abnormal situation.”[5] I was able to talk both pilots out of their brain stall and through spin recovery.
“Optimising Student Pilot Development with the Ecological Dynamics Model”
Just as deicing boots help delay a wing stall, mental performance training can make us more resistant to brain stall. Training for stress inoculation and resilience, for instance, can reduce the odds of brain stall at a critical time.
Flight instructors play a pivotal role in helping us understand, expand, and manage our cognitive limits. Instructors must be equal parts teacher, coach, and psychologist.
The CFI-Psychologist
The FAA’s Aviation Instructor’s Handbook is a psychology textbook. The word “cognitive” appears about 70 times. Cognitive psychology deals with “perception, learning, memory, language, decision-making, and problem-solving.”[6] While we advertise “Learn to Fly,” the goal of flight training is to turn out good decision-makers and problem-solvers.
It’s impossible to “train for every potential unexpected event.”[7] Real-life situations likely will be different from those we practice. While training is beneficial, it also needs to help us develop the cognitive flexibility to sometimes improvise our way to a solution.[8] The so-called Miracle on the Hudson is a good example.
We must learn to become adaptive experts. Adaptive experts “not only use what they know, they monitor their current level of understanding of a situation, continue to learn, and strive to move to a higher level of functioning.”[9] They also tend to “perform well outside of their comfort zone.”[10]
Good instructors are adaptive experts. They’ve learned how to balance the mental and psychological aspects of flying with the physical and technical aspects. Good instructors also guide their trainees on a path to becoming adaptive experts themselves. But this is only possible with a growth mindset.
Train with Rich Stowell this April
“Learn to Turn at the EAA Pilot Proficiency Center this April”
Mindset Matters
Flinching is a normal reaction to being startled, but it’s what happens next that matters. The good news is we can learn to manage the effects of a sudden unusual event. Increased confidence, for example, “helps to dampen the effects of surprise.”[11]
“Wind your watch first” is an old-time recommendation for pilots facing an emergency.[12] Recently, KLM airlines implemented surprise and startle training into simulator sessions. Their version of “wind your watch” is a one-word trigger: Reset.[13] Whatever the prompt, the idea is to unstall your brain. This allows you to think before you act.
For decades, trainees taking Emergency Maneuver Training have been required to verbalize their actions while they recover from unusual attitudes. This keeps their minds in control of their bodies and their emotions despite the chaos of the unusual attitude.
Other strategies can help pilots manage abnormal events. They include “[i]ntroducing unpredictability and variability into training.”[14] Visualization, tactical breathing techniques, and positive self-talk can be effective as well.[15]
Airbus Standards Training Captain Savio Schmitz says, “control is lost in the mind.”[16] Thus, we must first regain control in the mind. Mental performance training could help develop the cognitive flexibility and adaptive expertise to prevent brain stall and inflight loss of control. Several such courses are available for pilots.[17]
Even a little stress can make the easy hard. Mastering the human factor isn’t merely a training goal. It’s a survival skill. So, seek variety in your training. Build your resilience. Strive for adaptability. Remember: your mind is your best asset in the airplane.
Thanks to Capt. Savio Schmitz for sharing his thoughts and PowerPoint slides on brain stall.
Thanks for reading. Now take a listen on the topic with "Pitch and Power".
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---References---
[1] Annemarie Landman, Eric L. Groen, M. M. (René) van Paassen, Adelbert W. Bronkhorst & Max Mulder (2017) The Influence of Surprise on Upset Recovery Performance in Airline Pilots, The International Journal of Aerospace Psychology, 27:1-2, 2-14, DOI: 10.1080/10508414.2017.1365610, 3.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Adapted from the classic Yerkes-Dodson curve of performance versus level of arousal (stress).
[4] David St. George, “Trust Not Trauma: ‘Student Lockup!’” Safeblog.org, October 9, 2021, available https://safeblog.org/2021/10/09/trust-not-trauma-student-lockup/.
[5] Jeroen van Rooij and Edzard Boland, “Training for Surprises,” Hindsight 34, Winter 2002–2023, 49.
[6] Beth Birenbaum, MPH, “Cognitive Psychology: Definition, Theories, & History,” Berkeley Well-Being Institute, available https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/cognitive-psychology.html.
[7] Janeen A. Kochan, “The Role of Domain Expertise and Judgment in Dealing with Unexpected Events,” University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, Summer Term 2005, 67.
[8] Ibid., 13–15.
[9] Ibid., 17.
[10] Ibid, 16–17.
[11] van Rooij, et al., 50.
[12] Dave Hirschman, “Aviation truisms pass down wisdom and culture,” AOPA Flight Training, July 1, 2024, available at https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2024/july/flight-training-magazine/tribal-knowledge.
[13] van Rooij, et al., 50.
[14] Landman, et al., 45.
[15] van Rooij, et al., 49.
[16] Captain Savio Schmitz, “UPRT 2080,” European Airline Training Symposium, November 8, 2023, PowerPoint slide 11.
[17] For examples of mental training for pilots, see Tammy Barlette’s course at https://tammybarlette.com/mental-performance-course and Michael Wurster’s course at https://www.coaching-pilot.com.
>>This post was written by a human<<