Basic Concepts — Page 10, Lesson 12

Welcome. Let’s begin with the basic concepts that underpin the whole subject of Human Performance and Limitations. I want you to understand right from the start that this isn’t just theory — it’s about you, your body, your mind, and how you operate as a professional pilot. First, let’s talk about the physical side. When you fly, especially across time zones, you’ll find yourself trying to organize sleep patterns that may be out of synchronisation with your internal body clock. That internal body clock is your circadian rhythm — it governs when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy. Disrupting it is a real physical challenge, and it’s one of the first things you need to appreciate. But it’s not just physical. You also need an appreciation of the psychological aspects of flying. That means understanding how you receive information, how you assess data, how you make decisions, and how you carry out the necessary actions to ensure the safe progress of your flight in all conditions. These are the core mental steps you’ll go through every time you fly. As you study this subject, you will learn some of the ways in which mistakes occur. And the goal is to be able to reduce your personal errors to a minimum. That’s a key aim — not to eliminate errors entirely, because that’s unrealistic, but to bring them down as far as possible through awareness and technique. Now, think about your role as a crew member. You will be flying with many contrasting personalities. Some of those people may come from very different cultural backgrounds from your own. If you’re part of a large airline, you’ll be meeting your fellow crew members mostly for the first time each trip. That means it is vital that you become adept at recognizing these different personalities and be able to work with them as a successful member of the group. The tools you’ll use for this are a continuing study of both CRM and Human Performance. CRM stands for Crew Resource Management — it’s the set of skills that helps a crew work together effectively. But the development of successful interpersonal skills must be an ongoing personal aim. It’s not something you learn once and tick off; you have to keep working at it. Let me also give you some perspective on emergencies. It is to be hoped that you will not have to face many emergencies in your flying career — except in the simulator. But to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Knowledge brings confidence. The following chapters are designed to increase your knowledge of yourself and your limitations. That’s the whole point: knowing what your limits are, so you can operate safely within them. A quick note on the layout of these notes. They are designed to match the syllabus as taught at CAE Oxford Aviation Academy. You should use these notes as a reference and a revision aid. They do not necessarily contain all the material you will receive during the course. So you are urged to complete the revision questions at the end of each chapter, as well as the multi-choice papers found at the end of these notes. That’s how you’ll consolidate what you’ve learned. Finally, one thing about the structure of the subject. Whereas every effort has been made to compartmentalize the subject into different chapter headings, there is inevitable interchapter overlap. In those cases, repetition is used to highlight the common ground. So if you see the same idea in more than one chapter, don’t think it’s a mistake — it’s there deliberately to reinforce important connections. That’s the foundation. Now you know what this subject is about: your body clock, your decision-making, your errors, your crew interactions, and your personal limits. Let’s build from here.