PILOTS! - This flying technique is AWESOME
For aspiring instrument pilots, the OSCAR pattern is a way to:
- perfect scanning techniques
- build the muscle of multi-tasking,
- and develop good primary habits.
It won't be on your practical test ... but it can be an extremely valuable maneuver to perfect the instrument flying skills which are the building blocks of everything else to come. This is a very valuable maneuver in instrument flight training. Please enjoy!
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Music by Michael Bizar
Saturated student pilot: "Standby" McDonald's employee: "Okay just order whenever you're ready."
Not gonna lie... I caught myself saying this when ordering at tim Hortons one morning.
As a controller and CFII, let me remind pilots to tell us controllers to "standby" whenever you are temporarily task-saturated. Of course, if that's all you ever tell us, we'll start to wonder. But by all means, tell us "standby" or "unable" whenever you need it.
It's great to get these insights direct from ATC!
Thanks for your comments. Hearing from a controller who is also a CFII helps bring this into perspective.
Great to hear it from the tower dwellers themselves. 😁as someone in Instrument training right now, it’s great to know I’m not alone with my checklist, the plane, and my CFII demanding 47 things at once. (Kidding about the 47 things, sort of) 😂
Thanks Dean
I heard this come out of my mouth in an IFR lesson last week and was immediately embarrassed...something I was used to saying on a submarine but ATC is a different world. It's reassuring to hear your advice that it's ok every now and then.
I became saturated just trying to follow your instructions while watching!!! Lol
I am Software Developer and Architect for about 22 years and multitasking for me is like an essential performance fuel. So when I was training and instructor wend hard on me, I wasn't that stressed. :)
Of all the things I've done in my life, I can't think of anything as satisfying as hand flying an aircraft with steam gauges in IMC, on a rainy night, shooting a precision instrument approach in busy airspace. Whether it is a piston single, a fast mover or a helicopter....Nothing has compared to real world IFR approaches in busy airspace.
I've watched hundreds if not thousands of aviation videos and that's the first time I tell myself that's what I want to do on my next flight. Thanks!
Saturation Point ask my name and reply standby.... Heck my CFII had me so saturated that I couldn’t even say that much, when we landed I was so fried I had to take a breather after we cleared the runaway as I could t even taxi anymore.... I think you guys (CFII) love doing that to us! But it sure made the checkride a breeze!!! Good job as always!!
I really like this episode, As an engineer who has spent a lot of time programming as well as designing I can say without hesitation that Multi-tasking is NOT a myth. However, the general perception of Multi-tasking to those not accustomed to programming and computers is at fault. Also it does not help that general usage of the term is often incorrect. You are correct that Multi-tasking is performing multiple tasks in a given period but the mistake is to think that tasks can be focused on concurrently. For example one task could be to check the VSI but it cannot be checked exactly at the same time as ASI because you have only one processor for seeing and interpreting the gauges. Since the term Multi-tasking is a creation that came with computers, in that realm the term Multi-tasking is more accurately the ability for a central processing unit to SWITCH between tasks while maintaining the integrity of the tasks. Our brain does differ in one respect to a Central Processing Unit in that there are multiple cores in our brain. For example you don't stop breathing when you check the VSI. Uhhh ... well perhaps you could if the needle was pegged or broken. Which leads to the problem of what happens when the cores in our brain that have been programmed or trained, become over loaded or find something unexpected. The cores become misdirected, fixated, or freeze in disbelief. We stop maintaining the integrity of the tasks that are we switching between and disorientation sets in. The fix is to reboot. In flying terms that generally comes down to a recovery procedure. Recovery from unusual attitude comes to mind but for IFR pilot training that can be done with the foggles on. Thanks for the refresher.
In another video, someone mentioned another way is to leave the pattern, fly a bit, and reset. The pilot in that video was overwhelmed.
I would think of it more like the multitasking on the Apollo computers. Each task had a priority and the lower ones were ignored until the highest needed were done.
a pilot licence is the start of learning - always learning :) Good video, thank you
Or silence in the cockpit wouldn't go astray...I once told my instructor that if he just kept quiet and watched for a while things would steady. He took it on board and the evolution improved dramatically. I must say the exercise just conducted is great practice
Never saw that before. Even looks like fun. I liked how the pilot had a lite hold of the yoke and was using trim.
The better way to describe what many call multi-tasking is critical task sequencing. It operates more like a complex decision model. Even in computers, multitasking is clock driven processor allocation.
I always taught my students to go up and left and down and right so that the heading indicator and the altimeter would rotate in the same direction. It would be readily apparent whether you were ahead or behind on either the climb or the turn on the 15 second checks. In Naval flight training we only did the two climbing and descending turns. Your take is the first time I have seen an "Oscar" flown this way. I like it.
A different take on the Oscar pattern than what I fly, but I like yours better. I’ll be using that in the future. Thank you for a new tool!
This is amazing beta Jason. Every pilot needs to see this video. 🤙🤠
Great exercise! I’m going to try this tomorrow!
Outstanding workout!!!! great video as always.
Thanks for the truly informative and valuable content.
One of the best! Great job
Great advice! Thank you for sharing
I tried this exercise in IMC the other day. I was really happy with what I did, but looking at the Foreflight track the pattern had no resemblance with what you put on the board. 40kt winds aloft destroyed the expected beauty of my work...but it was great training. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
What a cool practice pattern. Love it!
Love that!
That was an interesting thing to do, I will have to try that out with a buddy to keep eyes out.
Great vid as always. My breaking point is when i am on downwind and I'm told to "extend, and look for traffic on a 2 mile final", set up for my base and give the correct read- back. I almost never can find the traffic and I sometimes forget something in the read-back.
Awesome practice for real world scenarios. Thanks for the video on the Oscar pattern. I had heard you describe it before and with this video demo showing the Cleanup time allowed before the next task answers my question. Now to the gym in the sky to get and keep the multi task muscles in shape.
Once during my IR training I had to fly multiple approaches (RWY29-climb-RWY11-climb-RWY29 etc.) in a very turbulent weather (gusts around 30 kts) and I have to say it really improved my workload management. Flying the approaches, correcting for the wind, doing briefings and checks, communicating with ATC at the same time. I was completely drained after we landed. I am really glad I experienced this during the training and not as a PIC for the first time.
This is my favorite aviation training video of all time. I’m moving to San Diego next week and plan to get back to my instrument training and do my check ride.
When I was in flight school doing my instrument rating we had the same type of exercise and had to do it perfectly before going on the next phase in instruction. As an Instrument instructor, I also used the exercise.
“It is kind of like a framework, it … is a place to start.” Exactly. We don’t teach scans. We present opportunity for scans to evolve and develop. Any scan pattern we “teach” really is to make you comfortable and give you something for system two thinking as you start but as it becomes more automatic, it won’t follow any prescribed pattern that may have been “taught.”
That was excellent
My training for multitasking was driving a standard transmission while smoking a cigarette, drinking a coffee, talking on the phone, eating a muffin (avoiding leaving crumbs) and changing the radio station!
Great instructor!!!
The new Microsoft Flight Simulator would be a perfect tool for this exercise... thanks JASON, your tutelage is second to none..
Thx Robert 🙏🏻🙌
FSX, P3D and X-plane are all already more than sufficient for this right now. FS2020 will just be prettier.
Greg Corliss - I’ve flown the heck out of FSX. This one.... is a game changer... live ATC, Full controllability... one of my neighbors runs X-Box... and he said, it’s amazing... we also have several “test” pilots and Renton Airport FBO is involved in development. All vote A++++
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm chomping at the bit to get selected for the alpha. I can't wait. Hadn't heard anything about the ATC for FS20 unless you are talking about Pilotedge. Vatsim or IVAO which all work on the current Sims. I use Pilotedge, love it.
Greg Corliss - interestingly, there are people out there that need a platform to practice ATC. Or want-a-be’s. It’s going to be wild. Why fly the real things any longer. What I fly burns 80-90 gph to TOC. It’s expensive. Hanger, maintenance, annuals, insurance, currency, operating costs...? It’s enough to make you think....? A really nice simulator could fit the bill.... Na, nothing like the sound of a C-47 turbine spinning up...
I think this is a brilliant exercise!!! Thanks
So, I had to go read about the multitasking myth online. Lots of stuff out there. Makes perfect sense, in my opinion, but that doesn't mean that as a pilot (or other mission critical activities) that we can do each task to completion before starting another. In order to stay ahead of the airplane, we at least have to think about the next operation before completing the current one. That divides our attention, but that's the nature of the activity and so it also makes perfect sense, in my opinion, to practice that type of activity again and again so as to become more capable of doing it. Thanks, Jason, for putting the real world into the picture and providing a means to improve saturation capacity.
I was a flight instructor back in the 1970's and I used to put my VFR students through a similar exercise adding another task as their proficiency grew. I like this OSCAR exercise. Cheers.
During my instrument training, I was fond of saying "instrument training is practicing performing multiple simultaneous unnatural acts".
Excellent video. I like your training style and always learn something new from your channel.
🙏🏻👍🙌
Cool exercise! I have been taught the "accerated&deccelerated turns in level flight" From cruise configuration, you start a left 360, configuring your airplane down to approach configuration, then you "go around", turning the right for another 360 to accelerated your aircraft and clean it up to cruise. Good tool to get to know your aircraft and its several configuration. You could probably send a few questions to have the students test his saturation :)
Good stuff man - love the little animated magnifying glass / pop-up circle window thingy - is that an FCPX plug in?
Great exercise! 👌🏻
Thanks for this video. I’m a student and my second time under the foggles while on a xc, my instructor asked me to calculate how far out to start our decent. And he started taking me through the calculations. Then he asked me to do one and gave me an altitude and pattern altitude and calculate it and I realized at that point I was currently incapable of doing a simple x2 calculation in my head.
Been there!
I love this topic!!!! Saturation is not A topic that I hear talked about very often in flight school. I recently acquired a new CFI. fully understands how important it is to teach this to students. Great video!
Man, task saturation is a hell of a thing!!! You had me flustered trying to keep up, lol !! Can you do another video on that, maybe a bit longer. It was really interesting!! Thanks
Gold !!!
Great practice of estimating your saturation... I did my first Sun N Fun approach and landing this year 2022.. and you really need to be on your game and "spot on" and not stressing out to successfully land with tight spacing, and ATC talking a mile a minute.... Thanks!
Whata great exercise! Would have used it in a heart beat in the beginning of my IFR training back then.
I'll do this on my next flight, VFR though, only to refine some of my skills (standard rate turn, stable climb rate, ...)
I think that great! Just remember not to look inside too much 👍💪
Good exercise, saturation is a huge safety and performance factor, great lesson, thanks!
Good job ! 😷 👍
Nice. I've got 4 instrument students right now. I'm going to try this drill with my students.
Damn. That's a great exercise I've never done before
Awesome. I have experienced total saturation in a flight simulator and see how this pattern can train for better performance intensity.
Then after the checklist add in briefing an approach. I've also seen where you alternate double turns with single turns. One leg single, next leg right climb followed by left descent. Then do it on non cardinal headings, non even altitudes, and starting use an analog clock starting at like 8 sec past the min. Oh, and 15 sec legs too. No reason not to push ourselves in training.
I love this video and revisit it a lot. I have asked before and will try again, ....... Where can I get that checklist that you guys are using ???? This "compact" checklist would be a HUGE help coming up to Checkride prep. Thanks for the great content Jason !!!!
OMG I laughed so hard at your intro......standby....BTDT. Great video.
That's called prioritization, that is what we get good at, through repetition, familiarity, flows ECT. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that we cannot multitask, what was proven, is that we became so good at some things for the aforementioned reasons, it APPEARS as if we can multitask and that is how I approach flight training, especially IFR training. However I like your videos, they are informative and always nice to see how another CFI/I goes about flight training.
This is so awesome! My head hurts just watching. So are you having him compensate for wind as well or just focus on heading and altitude?
This is a foundational part of Naval Aviation training. Hours spent in the sim trying to nail it at every check point.
I tell my wife to “standby” jaja. Great tip , will try it next time I go up.
I’ve definitely been suffering from saturation with the new glass panel in the 210... this would be a very good exercise for me to do with it. I’ll practice the work in the 172 first. :)
Will you ever consider coming to SoCal so you can flight train us down here?
That is great training, if you forget stuff and are easily overloaded take the bus or the train or stay home and see if you can get your chit together.
I did this on FSX. I found I was able to keep my eye on the clock and judge how I was doing at the top and bottom of the minute compared to where I should be with the heading and altitude. That was unexpected but that's what happens naturally when you have to climb and turn rates conquered. I was even in a cloud for a bit. I had two problems though. I mistakenly on the third leg I did a left climbing turn instead of a right climbing turn. Also on the last leg, my eyes went all like cookie monster eyes. Instead of the normal scan flow, somehow my brain zapped and my eyes were out of control. I don't know if that is what saturation is or of you mean just work overload.
Could you lease explain “30 seconds to clean up”? Is that after each 90 degree turn before each ascent/decent?
Absolutely great content right there! Loved this exercise.
What should the rate/time of turn be on those corners of the square? Between the 30 sec legs...does it matter?
It would be great if someone could create a complete graphic file that shows and describes the Oscar Pattern in detail on an 81/2x11 page. I've scoured the net and there is not one diagram that fully shows all the details on this.
On it 👍🙏🏻
hi, is this intro music from santana? pls tell me :)
One method that my instructor used for me was reading a book...any book under the hood while doing some of the basic turns.
2:20 Is this foreflight? I know cloud ahoy does this but I didnt know foreflight does.
Yes it’s an awesome new feature
The best again. Although I believe I would fear you as an instructor.
Bill Crawford I really try to not be scary ... challenging maybe, but I’m totally on your side 🙌
@@TheFinerPoints Oh I know. Ive been flying for years but everyone gets rusty. I can recall one of my many flight instructors struggling with a student who just could not "get" a coordinated turn. Some of us come from a culture ( lets say West Texas) where mechanical concepts were a part of how we lived. Others, not so much. This person was a rich Middle Eastern who had immigrated and had become successful enough to buy a fairly high performance airplane, a Mooney. This person had gone through sooooo many instructors until Steve took him under his wing. Steve's philosophy was, if the student didnt learn, it wasnt his fault, it was the teachers fault. Humans learn at different levels and by different means. If the teacher has failed, perhaps another approach was needed. So Steve and his student climbed to 10k where as Steve plugged into the headset, Raja just flew and flew and listened to the music. By the time the hour was up, he got the concept of coordinated flight. At any rate an instructor with many different teaching approaches can be better equipped to deal with a challenging student. You do well kind sir.
Why would anyone give a thumbs down? Great video, thanks for sharing.
47 years later I am still hunting the reviewer that gave the thumbs down to the Godfather. There going to be a few jack asses where ever you go.
Superexcellent instruction. I'm not flying any more but I would have loved to perfect my saturation overload. I remember it coming on, but I had no way out, at that time. I'm going to have to break down and buy a simulator, but since Microsoft killed both "Flight," and "FS Ten," I feel I'm left in limbo.
i want that hoodie
I manage about 1hr of instrument flying lesson before mental fatigue and saturation hit. I’m not sure if continuing longer or landing is the best policy.
I’d like to see task saturating exercises that I can do on the ground ~ to help me later while in flight.
Yep as someone with ADD-Autism and super savant(Great at many things not just one) managing mental saturation is a normal part of daily life. Which given they are special interests and I'm great at them I can have absurd multitasking poweresss! But not them yeah no I shut down and... But fortunately piloting is one of them and comes naturally to me... So, yeah I should try this in MSFS 2020 and see how I do it would make for a fun video never the less... Which this is a great safe lesion to see and Hopely extend a new pilots multitasking ability!
I find the best practice is to always, under all normal circumstances, fly at a specific speed, a specific heading, a specific altitude and be in a particular steady or changing state i.e. a rate of climb; a rate of turn and a rate of acceleration. You are never doing a full throttle climb at VY; you fly at VY at a specific rate of climb. You are never joyriding even when getting a $100 hamburger. Always fly 2-2-10.
Multitasking is like playing drums. You don't divide your focus while playing different notes simultaneously. Or you are only able to do that for a second or so after teach your muscles and brain by practicing often.
Multitasking is a myth for humans, but certainly pilots need to be able to rapidly task-switch. And as important as this is, I still rank judgement as the single most important characteristic of an excellent pilot.
"There will come a time when I ask you your name and you tell me to," "Stand bye." That one line sums up how it feel to fly out of your comfort zone. It could be from the first few lessons to way into your career. It happens.
Is it David Blaine in the beginning?
where I can find a cheaper fly school? because I keep sending the famous ones and they are way above my budget . by the way I'm an aircraft A&P mechanic
I'm about halfway through my instrument training (just passed my written this week, whoo hoo). We don't use checklists other than pre takeoff. I've never used checklists other than pre takeoff in 500 hours as a private pilot. Yes, I'm pretty familiar with the different types of airplanes that I fly, but I think you should know the airplane.
Matt Basford Hey Matt, I’m a newer CFI&II with about 260 hours flight time. You make a good point about how we should be familiar with our aircraft, however please do not discount the importance of checklists. They are not optional and are there for a reason, why else would the manufacturers put them in our POH/AFM. While I don’t necessarily think you need to sit there at the controls and read the entire checklist aloud, at the very least you should consider pulling it out and briefly referencing and double checking it after completing your checklist flow by memory. We all make mistakes and it’s incredibly easy to miss something (like enriching the mixture on decent) especially if you are task saturated in imc briefing an approach while getting vectored so you can copy an amended clearance. Also checklists become especially important when you begin flying more complex and multi engine aircraft. Checklists are there to save your life, your passengers, and your aircraft: and I guarantee skipping a checklist is the reason we still encounter gear up landings. Even a 20000 hour United captain uses multiple checklists every single flight. Please don’t let such a simple thing like a skipped checklist end your flying career and potentially your life.
@@thesnuffless1563 thank you for the advice
Matt Basford Of course! Fly safe and good luck on your IR:)
@@thesnuffless1563 thank you.
I see “Oscar pattern” and I think, “great, another rote mnemonic device, like we don’t have too many of those already.” But this turns out to be something that really looks useful. Cool.
I’m glad you clicked anyway 🙌🙏🏻
"Forget about the speed" Is it good to learn new pilot to "forget about the speed"? I had used; "check. your speed and keep a rate at 500 ft/min" What happens if that pilot take off at pressure altitude of 5000 ft, and schooled with not to have an eye at the airspeed?
Another great workout that I'll have to try. I know as I've aged, my saturation point has dropped; I'd like to see how I'd do on this.
Reading your Finer Points E book.. and loving it. Where can I print out these check lists that I'm seeing in your videos? ty!
Working on making that available at my website this week 👍
@@TheFinerPoints That's FANTASTIC because they're look smaller and easier to manage and hold up in the different phases of flight!
Good exercise but never ever say forget about the speed
We have one like this and we call it Pattern C.
Is there any kind of simulator I can run on my PC without spending a fortune? The closer to zero the better. Thanks...
If your wanting to benefit from flight simulator training you really do have to spend money. From the PC spec to yoke, throttle quadrant and rudder pedals. And IMHO there only are two contenders for software MS Flightsim 2020 and X-Plane. Both have different advantages over the other. Join some Flightsim forums. Buying cheap in flight simulation is a waste of time and money. It has to feel Right.
I think multitasking is legit. It's like juggling, You don't touch the objects that you are juggling at the same time but if you're good (I'm not) you know where each one is, where it's going to be, as well as what each one needs to do when you touch it
I want to try it! What's you name? Stand by!
I'm confused. How can a 360 at standard rate be done in 30 seconds?
Geez, I was saturated just watching this!
Charles Cleaver roger - if you’re looking for proof that saturation is something you can work on, just watch the video over and over again and note how the situation improves 😜
I learned true division of attention from flying.
Maybe one day you’ll have a student named Stan Bigh
At 3:00 you went Mixture Full Rich. Why?
Depending on the aircraft/altitude, you go full rich when starting a climb (which they did immediately after).
@@adampierce5676 I disagree with this. It's actually not necessary in a fuel injected IO-360 or IO-320. The fuel system puts extra fuel to the cylinders at WOT on these engines. Being at altitude all they need to do is monitor EGT and make adjustments as necessary. Putting the mixture full rich is just a sure way to foul a spark plug.