What's in a typical Form 91 ride?

[simon]

I am getting close to completing the required Mission Pilot SQTR tasks. Probably one more flight and a ground session (Locate/disable ELT).

How does a Form 91 check ride usually go in terms of content and what is the typical duration of the ground and flight portions?

[Al Sayre]

Mine have been about 30-45 min ground and 1 hr air.  Pull up the form and you can review the requirements.

[a2capt]

Basically, similar fashion to an FAA Private check ride in that you have the oral discussion, and a mission launch.

Think grid, F104 brief/debrief, etc.  You're basically doing what you've done to get this far.


About/at least 1 hour on the meter, depending on your geographic area.

[DG]

What I tell my candidates for a Form 91:

Get a blank Form 91 and complete the personal information.

Look at the form.  We will go over everything on the form.  Line by line.  Thoroughly.  Then go over GPS SARmap grid setup and flying.  GX55 SARmap proficiency. 

For the initial Form 91.  Look at the form.  We will go over everything on the form.  Line by line.  THOROUGHLY.  Then go over GPS SARmap.

Show me your Go-Bag.  Gridded sectional and such.

Teach me WMIRS and local scheduling procedures and operations procedures.

Then go fly.  See form.

Mandatory ELT search.  Using Becker or Eltronics DF and then wing null.  Sit in a steep turn at 1500 feet and perform wing null. 

Fly one or two grids.  One if the candidate is completely proficient.  Two grids if marginal to just satisfactory.

Discuss (teach to me) procedures for flying with a non-pilot observer.

[simon]

DG, that sounds like a good run through of procedures.

I loath the GX55!

[DG]

DG, that sounds like a good run through of procedures.

I loath the GX55!

Nah!  The GX55 is a piece of cake.  You just need some good instruction.  And a personal handbook guide to help.

Seriously, the GX55 is not difficult at all, with the proper training.  And you may use a handbook, sometimes called a "cheat sheet," but I don't like that term, because it is not cheating.

And what the GX55 SARmap does for you in flying a precise grid pattern is amazing.

Now, if you promise to keep this to only those mission pilots who are great, I will give you the secret of being a great mission pilot.

And the real secret to conducting a complete and professional Form 91 check ride is the same secret to being the best mission pilot you can be.

And that is, if you don't know the answer to a question, or an issue, or a situation, or a problem, what do you do? 

You look it up.  In the GX55 manual.  Or the GA-8 fuel totalizer manual.  Or the Tectronics FM radio manual.  Or the Becker DF manual.  Or the Eltronics DF manual.  And so on.  All should be (must be) on board the aircraft.

And have a mission pilot handbook in your go bag.  (There is one in mine, especially when I take my Form 91 checkride, for mission check pilot examiner.)

If the response to any question or issue or situation or problem goes anything like this, "I don't know and don't know what to do, because nobody ever showed me that."  Then in that case, that is a flunk.

And rightfully so because that person is not a Mission Pilot.

[peter rabbit]

There are several sites that have a GX55 SAR PowerPoint presentation that is very good. One is http://capblog.typepad.com/capblog/2005/08/gx55_sar_functi.html, several CAP wings also have it posted - just Google. There is also a GX55 simulator to learn the basics.

[Short Field]

Check this page for GX-55 info.   
http://www.mncap.org/es/reference_aircrew.cfm

I have been using the Apollo GX55 GPS Shorthand Guide for SAR/DR for a few years and it is the best guide I have seen.  There is also a briefing "Using the GX55 for basic grids" that appears to be pretty nice.  I just took a very quick look at it and it looked really good.

Super product...

[simon]

I have used the GX-55 probably six or seven times, most recently a SAREX last weekend. I know it is not hard. I just dislike it.

When I am not in the plane for a while and I am flying the planes I normally fly, which are fitted with either a Garmin GNS530W or a G1000, I do get confused a bit when I go back to the GX-55.

On the GX-55, one could get away with a cheat sheet showing how to do four things, which is basically all one needs to do on a mission. They are:

1. Go direct to some place.
2. Load the correct grid sectional.
3. Display the grid.
4. Get the current Lat/Lon.

[Short Field]

If you are not using the GX-55 Grid Search routines, you are really missing a lot.  The shorthand guide lets you quickly set up a search in the GX-55.  The guide is designed for use on a kneeboard and lets you use 100% of your equipments capability. 

I listen a lot to other local people complain about how GPS has destroyed our aircrews ability to plan and execute a search.  I would take them more seriously if they could operate the GPS.

[simon]

Don't get me wrong. I am not being critical of the device. I am the first to admit I have not taken the time to learn it. I have just been consumed learning to fly the G1000 IFR lately, so when I flew the GX-55 equipped 182's on the weekend I was struggling to fly the plane and get the map set up properly at the same time. Normally my observer could have done that of course, but he was a check pilot and I was training.

It's like any device. If you don't take the time to learn it, it's gonna be hard.

I realize of course, now that I have the manual in front of me, that it is just a couple of button clicks to anything. I just don't think the GX-55 is that intuitive. Some people would argue that for the 430 as well. It's just what you are used to.

I have seen the grid search functions on it, but I have never actually used them. I'll have to look at that.

[Short Field]

The grid search functions even have turn lines for you to follow to keep you on track during grid searches.

[SJFedor]

Don't get me wrong. I am not being critical of the device. I am the first to admit I have not taken the time to learn it. I have just been consumed learning to fly the G1000 IFR lately, so when I flew the GX-55 equipped 182's on the weekend I was struggling to fly the plane and get the map set up properly at the same time. Normally my observer could have done that of course, but he was a check pilot and I was training.

It's like any device. If you don't take the time to learn it, it's gonna be hard.

I realize of course, now that I have the manual in front of me, that it is just a couple of button clicks to anything. I just don't think the GX-55 is that intuitive. Some people would argue that for the 430 as well. It's just what you are used to.

I have seen the grid search functions on it, but I have never actually used them. I'll have to look at that.

The big trick is to get most of it set up before you take off. Once you have all the big stuff in the settings taken care of (sectional you're flying, etc) , and do the buttonology a few times, it's really quite simple and you learn how to do it on the fly.

One thing to remember about "my observer coulda done that" is that sometimes they can't. As a mission pilot, not only do you become responsible for flying sorties, but you will be the one responsible for training other aircrew members, mainly mission observer and mission scanner trainees. It's completely conceivable (and regulation approved) that you could have an entire planeload of trainees, and you're the only one competent enough to do these tasks. So you need to know your job as a mission pilot inside and out. Granted, if you have an MO that knows what's up, by all means, USE THEM. There's many MO's out there that get quite unhappy because there are mission pilots out there who don't let them do their jobs, and to utilize and further develop their skills. Learn how the GX55 works, learn how the SAR software in the G1000 works, learn how all your tools in all the aircraft you fly work, and know where the resources are when you don't remember. I don't always have the procedures to set up the GX55 from scratch memorized (once i've done it once, i'll remember it again for a while), but I've got a really pretty little flipbook from NESA MAS that has everything I could ever have a question about in it, including all the checklists for setting up the GX55 for SAR operations.

The 91s I give average 1.2-1.5, depending on the candidate and the area we're working in. Everything DG told you in a previous post is correct, and is what most MCP's will expect of you. One thing I do a little differently is that I allow them to use me as an MO trainee, meaning that I'm able to do more than sit there as self-loading baggage, but they have to explain to me what it is they want me to do, and walk me through the procedures on doing it. Want me to set up the becker? Sure, where's the on button? How do I select Emergency vs Training mode? Load a search pattern? Absolutely, what's the procedure for it? All of this goes back to the expectation that a mission pilot will also eventually be a teacher for other aircrew members. One thing I'm very big on is CRM. If you were struggling to load the stuff into the GPS, and you have a capable pilot sitting there next to you, use them! I can't think of anyone that would fault you for having another pilot keep their eyes out and the wings level while you've got your head in the cockpit troubleshooting a piece of equipment.

Good luck!