Barry
Meek's Letters
December
2008
ORGANIZING
THE COCKPIT
There’s
always something to learn about flying,
whether in your student pilot days or
sitting there with several thousand hours
in the log book. At this point in
time, I’m somewhere between the
student and the guy with all the hours,
and probably half way to knowing enough
about flying to keep me safe.
Every
flight is still a learning experience.
Flying the right seat with much more
experienced pilots can be a great
learning tool, if I keep my mind open to
it. Some guys will point out little
tricks they’ve learned over the
years while others go about the business
of flying the plane. From those
fellows, I learn about their hobbies,
investments, medical problems,
girlfriends, holidays, and fishing vests.
I mention
fishing vests, because early on in my
career when keeping the airplane on
track, right side up close to the
altitude I was supposed to be at, took a
lot of concentration. Throw in
other things that tested my
organizational skills and the workload
went way off the scale. My home,
office and my car are usually tidy.
But in the airplane, it was a constant
battle for me to store tools and items
where they were easily accessible and
always there. As a pilot, you have
to know what I’m talking about. Pens,
sunglasses, notepads, calculators, and
whatever else you’ve collected as
mandatory items never seem to have a
place all their own. Pens fall off
the panel, or roll up against the
windshield out of reach. Glasses
get crushed by the seatbelt while tucked
in a shirt pocket. The camera, cell
phone and snacks end up under a seat.
Spare batteries, because they roll around
can only be found when you land. Anything
in pockets in your jeans is unavailable
anyway, given the problems of moving out
of the seat in a small airplane.
That’s
where the fishing vest comes in. A
pilot I was flying with once, a fellow
with several thousand hours who could
simultaneously fly and talk about other
things, told me about them. They’re
full of pockets, compartments and little
spaces that can handle anything a pilot
stuffs in. Mine has been modified a
bit for personal requirements and yours
can be too.
The vest works well
when you fly any airplane, but their true
value shines in an open-cockpit biplane
and in ultralights. Everything is
safely and neatly stored, yet easily
accessible.
It’s
really such a simple solution to a
universal problem, I don’t know why
it hasn’t been used by more pilots.
In a quick internet search I was unable
to find a pilots vest, however fishing
and photography outlets sell them.
As a
working pilot, my vest is the answer to
my clutter in the cockpit. Check
out this list and see if there’s a
better answer. Cell phone, digital
camera, two pens, a pencil, glasses, sun
glasses, notebook, calculator, a couple
of work-related checklists, glass cleaner
cloth, aspirins, lip chapstick, several
spare AA batteries (for GPS, AFF
transmitter & digital camera),
granola bars and a trash pocket. There
was even room for a sandwich. This
was all stuff I used daily on every
flight. Another advantage of using
a vest is that everything stays in one
place when you’re finished for the
day and is right there when required in
the morning. Just put the vest
back on.
Most pilots
have a system that works for them to keep
things organized in the cockpit. But
it doesn’t hurt to be open to new
ideas. A fishing vest will cost
anywhere from $40 to $100. Similar
vests are available for photographers,
and I’ve seen much higher prices.
I’d suggest you assemble everything
you utilize while flying your aircraft,
lay it all out, then shop for an
appropriate vest. You could also
put it on your Christmas or birthday wish
list.
Barry Meek
at bcflyer@hotmail.com
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As
published in the newsletters of the Thompson
Valley Sport Flying Club
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