Thought's on simulated emergencies etc.

[PenfoldPilot]

Yes, you can let the controller know ahead of time if you like. Commercial users might not let ATC know on the radio, but we will give them other ways to communicate their plans ahead of time.

Is it preferred to let them know ahead of time or does it not matter? I have terrible fear of losing radios in IMC and want to simulate that.

[wmburns]

Yes, you can let the controller know ahead of time if you like. Commercial users might not let ATC know on the radio, but we will give them other ways to communicate their plans ahead of time.

Is it preferred to let them know ahead of time or does it not matter? I have terrible fear of losing radios in IMC and want to simulate that.

What about starting with requesting to fly the full approach including the procedure turn? This should take some of the fear out of a lost comm situation during IMC.

OBTW, If you are flying X-Plane with random failures turned on, it's only a matter of time before some interesting failures happen all on their own. I have had:

• VOR radio antenna failure
• Flaps jammed open from over speed deployment
• multiple engine failures including engine seizure, broken prob shaft, engine over heat.
• dual engine fire on final
• icing
• run away autopilot trim
• tire blow out on take off

At one point I was getting a failure on every flight. That's when I decided to adjust the mean time between failures.

[PenfoldPilot]

I think that works once I am on approach frequency and have negotiated the approach, but if Comms fail 10 minutes into departure you don't know your approach, right? That is a question as IFR is new to me and the transitions are the biggest gap.

I did have failures turned on and then this weekend I lost an engine in IFR right over the hills! I quickly fixed the failure by and turned them off for now. I know, that's cheating but I am still trying to figure out the system before increasing my workload!

[wmburns]

I think that works once I am on approach frequency and have negotiated the approach, but if Comms fail 10 minutes into departure you don't know your approach, right? That is a question as IFR is new to me and the transitions are the biggest gap.

PenfoldPenury,

IMO we should start out by reviewing the FAA's lost comm procedures.

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publica ... m0604.html

What follows is IMO:

I'm not sure that I see the value in simulating a lost comm situation online. Think about it. Once you recognize that the failure has occurred, the next step is to set the lost comm squawk code (7600). Check. You proved you can work the transponder.

The next step is to know the rules and then decide what to do. OK check. From there, it seems to me that everything else is on the ATC controller. Tasks such as re-routing other airplanes to make a hole for you fall squarely on the controller's shoulders. Mean while you just fly on your own not talking to anybody. For you, where's the training value in that? Could just as well simulate lost comms in IFR offline. You could do what ever you wanted offline without affecting any one else.

It just seems to me the PE network offers so much more value in other training situations.

There was a near system wide lost comm situation during a recent PE event. To me the most interesting part was the large variation in how different people handled it. Some of the solutions were not following the intentions of the rule. So my take away from the situation was the importance of knowing the rule and then executing. Talking about it can be just as good.

[PenfoldPilot]

I get your point, without a debrief or the ability to ask the controller "how did I do?" there isn't any value from the pilot side.