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Lookout

Lookout is the skill of properly scanning the environment for other traffic and changing flight conditions. The previous section might imply that the lookout skills are not as important as control and coordination. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you do a good lookout, and then take the time to do precise control and co-ordination, you will do both tasks more effectively. Well co-ordinated turns leave more time for other important activities such as assessing the situation. The second point that I would make is that a good lookout requires some deliberate effort. When a pilot continually moves the controls a little and then steals a glance about, it is unlikely that anything but the closest objects will be identified. The result is poor control and an ineffective lookout. Each skill is important, it’s just that they are fundamentally different and should be exercised separately. The proper sequence is lookout, do the controlling until it’s done and then lookout again.

So what is necessary? It is very important that students be directed on where to look, how to look, and when. While aircraft above and below the horizon may be of interest, those near the horizon are at our altitude, so this is where we must concentrate a lot of our attention. Since the human eye is susceptible to empty field myopia, the next important thing is to focus on some object at the horizon, perhaps just below it first. Otherwise we might often have our eyes ‘resting’ at some much shorter distance.

Lastly, since we primarily receive our focusing cues from motion receptors, it is important that we fix our gaze momentarily, to pick up moving objects. In a pilot’s lookout this means that to clear the area for a course change to the right we start the lookout to the left, using definite head movement (prompt “far left”) and pause for a moment. Then we sweep about 45 degrees, pause, look straight ahead, pause, sweep 45 degrees right, pause, and “far right” and pause. With this technique we get our most up to date information in the direction that we will be moving, by looking there last. If we practise the lookdown-to-focus-look-up habit then we will counter the empty field effects. The proper time to do the lookout is before and after control movements, but not during them. The separation of lookout from control ensures that both will be done effectively. The sequence followed has a few more subtleties. When we are turning to the right we should start looking out to the left and finish on the right. This gives us the most up to date information about the direction that we will be turning before our attention is focused on the turn itself. Once the turn is established we should resume looking around. In this case we should scan in the opposite direction from right to left. Again this will provide us with the best information about the path we are taking.

A good lookout does not take a lot of time, usually between 10-15 seconds. This is about the time it takes to say “far left..pause..left..pause..ahead..pause..right..pause..far right..pause..ahead”. Some students will of course take too long while others will hurry the process. It is for the instructor to sort