2006-08-Gettin-old

VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR

THE

BY DOUG STEWART

Gettin’ old “Gee . . . nice-looking airplane you’ve got there, Doug. What year is it?” I was asked the other day as I stood atop a ladder, filling up the tanks of my Super Cruiser at the selfserve fuel pump at the Columbia County Airport. “It’s a ’47” I replied as I wriggled my nose to adjust my bifocal glasses so that I could see the meter on the pump. “It’s four years younger than I am,” I continued as I carefully climbed down, making sure to not miss any rungs on the ladder.

This got me to thinking: You know, it wasn’t that many years ago that climbing up the ladder was your concern, what with your slight fear of heights (a condition that I’ve found I share with many another pilot). Now you’re more concerned with coming down the ladder and the possibility that you might trip and fall if you’re less than careful. You know, Stewart, maybe your age is starting to show.

You’re overcoming your phobias, and you are also acting with less reckless abandon than you’ve been known to show in the past. Maybe that’s a good thing, and getting old, rather than being a negative, is having a positive influence on your life.

Perhaps this was true. I have found that although I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, nonetheless those hazardous attitudes that used to be so hard to subdue have come more under control (although I still have to be ever vigilant) as I age.

My flying has definitely taken on a more conservative tone as my age re-

28 AUGUST 2006

minds me of my mortality. The old adage about old pilots and bold pilots takes on more significance with each passing day. All these things, and more, are some of the positive aspects that come with aging.

“Say again . . .” becomes a frequent phrase in out pilot/controller vocabulary as our hearing diminishes.

But pilots, unlike fine wines, do not necessarily improve with age. Although the spirit might still be willing, the flesh is indeed getting a little weaker. Since many of us who belong to the Vintage Airplane Association are as old as, if not older than, the airplanes we love and fly, it would probably behoove us all to take a look at some of those things that can, and at

times do, impact our flying in a negative sense as we age.

Probably the first thing we notice starting to go . . . hang on here, I’ll remember what it was in just a second . . . oh, yeah, now I remember . . . is our vision. It isn’t long after we see the notation on our medical certificate stating “corrective lenses must be carried in the cockpit” that we find we actually have to start wearing them, rather than just stuffing them in the door pocket. Even before I found that the seat wouldn’t go far enough back in a Mooney Ranger for me to be able to read the gauges without glasses, I was cognizant that I would have to start reluctantly wearing those half-lens reading glasses to see the instruments.

Now I’m wearing bifocal glasses that help me out not only with reading the gauges, but also for distance vision as well. Rather than having to squint out through the windshield to try and make out the taxiway signs, as I taxi “…right on alpha, left on sierra, to Runway 24…” my glasses now allow me ample warning about those upcoming turns.

The need for corrective lenses for both near and far vision as we age is usually quite obvious, but there are several other effects upon our vision that come with age and are perhaps a bit less obvious. Amongst these are a diminishment of visual clarity and, especially, night vision; a greater sensitivity to light; peripheral vision can become blurred; depth perception di-

minishes; it takes longer for the eyes to adjust from near to far objects and vice versa; the muscles of the eyes become less responsive over time and take longer to adjust to changes in the environment as well as changes when moving focal points between near and far; and the eyes take longer to adjust to dark because the weakened muscles of the eyes cause the eyes to dilate less quickly.

Vision is certainly not the only thing to be affected by the aging process. “Say again . . .” becomes a frequent phrase in out pilot/controller vocabulary as our hearing diminishes. In most people a weakening of the muscles is normal as they age. Endurance is diminished. Oxygen is not used as efficiently, and the muscles lose their elasticity. Awareness of impending risk is delayed. Eye and body muscles react more slowly, resulting in a delayed response time.

Space and distance are misjudged more frequently, and our reaction time slows. Responding to factors may require more time and space, because correct actions require perception, evaluation, and motor response (muscle) time. In fact, reacting to a hazard may take twice as long for a pilot who has moved into middle age (40–54) and up to four times longer after age 55 or so.

It is obvious how all these issues will affect our flight safety, and one might think a pilot would have enough sense to be much more careful and adjust his personal minimums to compensate for the effects of aging. But one of the insidious things about all of these aging-related problems is that they don’t occur overnight. Rather, they occur gradually over time, and the deterioration might very well not be noticed or, if noticed, rationalized away through the process of denial.

For pilots operating with a recreational or higher certificate, the once-every-24-months medical exam might catch some of the deterioration, but for the pilot with a sport pilot certificate, the “driver’s license” medical might not reveal any of these potential problems. Thus

it would seem that it sure would be wise for all of us older pilots to have annual medical checkups and, especially, annual eye checkups, including checks for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other eye conditions associated with aging.

Some other recommendations include using cockpit resource management (CRM), especially passengers to aid you in the job of “seeing and avoiding;” keeping your windshield clean; adjusting your seat to maximize visibility outside the cockpit, using cushions if the seat is not adjustable; avoiding tinted lenses at night; wearing sunglasses when it is bright out; and avoiding glasses with wide frames or heavy temples, being sure the frames do not inhibit side vision or create difficulty in seeing the entire field of vision.

Avoid being in a hurry, and don’t let air traffic control rush you (this applies to all pilots regardless of age, but especially to the older pilot).

Keep an active exercise regimen to enhance flexibility, strength, and endurance; fitness is important at any age. Ask a significant other if he or she notices changes that might affect safety in an airplane. Identifying deterioration or weaknesses in other areas of normal living that require perceptual motor skill, whether in the workshop, in the yard, or in the kitchen, should be used as clues that flying and airplane safety could also be affected.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, get frequent recurrent train-

ing. Go beyond a flight review once every 24 calendar months; go beyond an annual Wings program. Do as the airlines and air-taxi pilots do . . . get recurrent training every six months!

It is sometimes difficult for me to accept some of the shortcomings the aging process has inflicted upon me, but I am cognizant of them and have factored them into my personal minimums, not only when I am flying, but also in all the other wonderful activities that I undertake. However, I also know that the aging process is not all a negative. I certainly have much more patience, compassion, and—I think I can say—wisdom than I did not too many years ago.

Aging is not all bad. I certainly know this when I visit EAA AirVenture Oshkosh every year. For me, the most beautiful and awe-inspiring airplanes that fly to this aviation mecca are all parked south of the Red Barn!

To all the wonderful Vintage pilots, whether you are young or old, may you be blessed with blue skies and tail winds, and may the aging process, whenever it occurs, be a positive one!

I would like to thank David Bennett, one of our VAA directors, for the inspiration for this article, as well as providing much of the information used.

Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year, a NAFI Master Instructor, and a designated pilot examiner.

He operates DSFI Inc. (www.DSFlight. com) based at the Columbia County Airport (1B1).

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29