From momalley@uiuc.edu Mon Apr 29 20:25:56 2002 Path: cygnus.com!enews.sgi.com!news2.aha.ru!mtu.ru!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!news-hog.berkeley.edu!ucberkeley!128.135.12.170.MISMATCH!news.uchicago.edu!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!not-for-mail From: "Mike O'Malley" Newsgroups: rec.aviation.student References: <2254088c.0204291154.48a77065@posting.google.com> Subject: Re: Controller calls & short term memory Lines: 103 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4807.1700 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4910.0300 X-Proxy-Client: momalley@uiuc.edu from 12-221-80-123.client.insightBB.com Message-ID: Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 17:16:17 -0500 NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.174.5.27 X-Complaints-To: abuse@uiuc.edu X-Trace: vixen.cso.uiuc.edu 1020118438 128.174.5.27 (Mon, 29 Apr 2002 17:13:58 CDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 17:13:58 CDT Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Xref: cygnus.com rec.aviation.student:210985 "Jeremy" wrote in message news:2254088c.0204291154.48a77065@posting.google.com... > I'm a student pilot with ~6 hours dual. I'm doing well with the > mechanics of flying, but I'm having problems keeping ground and tower > communications straight in my head for readback, or remembering all > the ATIS info without looping once or twice. I expect this to get > better with practice and by becoming more familiar with > controller-speak and my home base's conventions, but I was wondering > if anyone has a system to commit these kinds of things to memory on > the first try while remaining attentive to the airplane. I feel like > I do not want to solo until I have this down. > > Thanks, > Jeremy As others have said, it will all come with experience. But here's a little bit more that might help. You might be trying to remember too much. Your short term memory is really only good for remembering up to 7 items. And that's at the upper limit. You may be trying to 'remember' each word of the clearance, ATIS, ect. As you gain experience, you'll learn how to group the information better into logical "chunks" Then you'll only need to remember these chunks of information. Also, don't be afraid to write it down on the kneeboard. Lord knows I still write down the ATIS, ect. I don't want to be bothered remembering all the details of it. A good example of chunking would be the departure instructions I get out of my home airport almost every day. Me- Ground arrow 5163M, University ramp with India, 090 at three thousand. Ground- Arrow 63M, maintain VFR at or below three thousand, departure frequency is 132.85, squawk 0643. [Now, at first glance, I have to remember 12 different items- my tail number, to maintain VFR, my assigned altitude of 3 thousand feet, each digit of my departure frequency, and my 4 digit squawk code.] Me- VFR at or below 3, thirty-two eighty-five, 0 6 4 3, 63M ready to taxi. [In the readback, I give the controller just the essential information- VFR, assigned alt., the last 4 digits of my departure frequency, and my squawk code, still 10 items, right? But I didn't have to remember every word he said.] This is how I parse the info though- "VFR at or below 3"- here, this is part of EVERY ONE of our departure clearances. I just tack it on the front. "... thirty-two eighty-five"- there are only 2 departure frequencies we use, 132.85, or 121.35. I remember them as one item. Its either one or the other. "... zero six four three"- 4 digits, right? Nope. All of the local codes start 06, so all I have to remember is the last 2 digits. Now we've distilled it down further to 3 "chunks" of info to remember and mentally insert into my boilerplate response. Even so, I still will write down the following info as I'm being given it (my shorthand can't really be reproduced in plain text, so bear with me please): V _3_ 3285 0643 ATIS works the same way- its always the same format- I just end up writing it down as I hear it on the ground, and the key info in the air- Ex- "Champaign-Urbana, University of Illinois, Willard Airport. Information A 1653Z, wind 060 at 14, visibility one zero, ceiling scattered three thousand eight hundred, temperature one seven, dewpoint zero eight, altimeter two niner niner eight (assorted runway hold short info, ect)" Most of this is the same too- the key to getting it down is writing good shorthand. Mine will probably look something like this- A- 06014 10 s038 17/08 2998 Note, the information that I don't readily need is not written down. And what I did write down is in format similar to the FAA encoded format. On good wx days, I've even been known to listen through once, write down the ATIS code and dial the altimeter setting in as I hear it. The rest I can observe, with the windsock and what's out the window. As you gain more experience you'll pick up shortcuts for your own airport too. Pay attention to the parts that are always the same. But still WRITE IT DOWN. Its all to easy to get complacent, and readback what you were EXPECTING to hear versus what you really heard. -- Mike O'Malley \--==[o]==--/ mailto:momalley@uiuc.edu school: (xxx)390-4142 AIM id omalmi "You can land anywhere... ONCE" "You can only TIE the record for flying low"