Situational Awareness /Photo and Video Flights

WHY DISCUSS?

Scratch Mitchell – CJAA 2015

• RCAF 1989 – 2010 (CF 5 / CF18)• CF-18 demo pilot – 1999• Snowbird 7 – 2000 – 2002• Snowbird Lead – 2007 – 2008• Hawk One F-86 demo pilot – 2011• Patriots Jet Team – 2011 –• ICAS ACE Committee – 2012 -

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Outline

• Situational Awareness;• Levels of Situational Awareness;• Causes of Lost Situational Awareness;• Building / Regaining Situational Awareness;

and• SA and Photo / Video Shoots

43 Jul 03

53 Jul 03

Situational Awareness

• “The perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status in the near future.”

Knowing what’s going on around you!Or…

Your mental picture (model)of the current state.

63 Jul 03

Situational Awareness

What ishappening

What hashappened

What mighthappen

SA

73 Jul 03

Situational Awareness Pre-Requisites

• In order to have “S.A.”, you must know…• Your own abilities and limitations;• Your team’s abilities and limitations;• Your equipment/resources;• Your rules and procedures;• Your environment; and• Your mission!

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Total SA Requirements

• Geographical SA;– Location of self, other aircraft, terrain, etc.

• Spatial/Temporal SA;– Heading, altitude, speed, etc.

• System SA;– System status, settings of radio, altimeter, etc.

• Environmental SA; and– Weather formations, areas to avoid, etc.

• Mission SA. – Critical phases– Mission status, capabilities, threats, timings, etc.

93 Jul 03

Levels of Situation Awareness

Perception

Comprehension

Projection

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3

2

10

Levels of Situation Awareness

113 Jul 03

Situational Awareness

1 2Levels and =

3Level =

Perception

Comprehension

Projection

1

3

2

123 Jul 03

Factors Affecting SA

• SA is challenged by limits caused by:• Human attention; and• Working memory.

• Experience and training are the primary mechanisms for overcoming these limitations.

143 Jul 03

Causes of Loss of SA

• Time pressure;• Misdirected attention;• Lack of knowledge regarding situation;• Self-imposed pressure;• Distraction by irrelevant stimuli;• Low workload – complacency; and• High workload - task saturation.

163 Jul 03

Symptoms of Lost S.A. (Aircrew)

1. Ambiguity;2. Fixation or Preoccupation;3. Confusion or an Empty Feeling;4. No One Flying the Aircraft;5. No One Looking Out the Window;6. Use of an Undocumented Procedure;7. Violating Limitations;8. Departure From SOP;9. Unresolved Discrepancies;10. Failure to Meet Targets (show performance); and11. Reduced or Poor Communications.

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Recovering from Lost SA (Aircrew)

• Admit and verbalize the loss of SA;• Revert back to basics;• Communicate• Create some space; Climb to cope• Make some time;• Seek information – OODA Process; and

• Observe• Orient• Decide • Act

• Obtain feedback.

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20

213 Jul 03

Your SA Flashlight

223 Jul 03

Your SA Flashlight

233 Jul 03

Your SA Flashlight

243 Jul 03

Your SA Flashlight

253 Jul 03

Your SA Flashlight

263 Jul 03

Your SA Flashlight

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S.A. “Prescription”

• Keep your “SA flashlight” moving;• Update your SA whenever the situation changes;• Update SA after completion of each task and sub-

task;• Return to the “big picture” whenever there is time;• Whenever possible, stay task-driven; and• Watch for signs of degraded SA.

283 Jul 03

SA and Media Shoots

293 Jul 03

The Highest Risk Flying We Do!

• WHY– Often Ad Hoc – “Can I join in” “Why don’t we

just…”– People not knowing the risks / variables– Assuming it’s just formation flying– Seldom a solid brief / debrief cycle

303 Jul 03

Brief and Debrief

• Brief – Who’s lead?• Execute• Debrief

313 Jul 03

Know the Mission

• The shot list• Who, What, Where, When

323 Jul 03

Knowing the Players

• Backgrounds– Pilots (camera ship / subject a/c)– Camera crew

333 Jul 03

Know the Aircraft

• Particularly for dissimilar a/c– Airspeeds

• Slow speed handling qualities

– Helo / Cineflex shooting– Drones?

343 Jul 03

Know the Profiles

• Aerobatic maneuvering• Airspace – most people

underestimate requirements• Rejoins…• Terra Firma – land features

for shoots– low level + greater risk

LLAT MANOEUVRES ~ PHYSICS

STRAIGHT AND LEVELWINGS LEVEL BUNT

• Time to impact

TTI = AGL = AGL

1/2 x [(32.2 - ('G' x 32.2)] 4.01

AGL DEPENDENT AGL (ft) TTI100 2.5250 3.0500 5.5

LLAT MANOEUVRES~TURNSLet's use 10 deg deviation from level turn to calculate TTI

AGL (ft) Str+lvl Level turn(1 deg pitch angle deviation) (10 deg

deviation)

100 7 / 5.5 2.6 / 1.3

300 21 / 19.5 4.4 / 2.3

500 35 / 33.5 5.8 / 2.9

(time to impact / last recovery point)

373 Jul 03

Set Boundries

• ‘No closer’ than distances• ‘No lower’ than alts

383 Jul 03

Know the Escape Manoeuvres

• Emergency Ops– Dissimilar a/c

• Aborts• Blind calls / protocols

393 Jul 03

Questions