Yes you're right, this isn't the airport we are sadly at home today because like 99% of
the rest of Melbourne I seem to have contracted some kind of Brazillian jungle strength style
man flu. So instead of being up in the air doing this.
For the last 5 days I've been down on the ground doing this.
And just like you should always preflight your aircraft before you take it to fly, as
a pilot you need to preflight yourself as well to check that you're ready to fly. But
there was a really useful mnemonic which I was taught during my training to help you
decide whether you as a pilot are actually safe to go and fly.
Actually I think we're going to need some kind of graphic for this.
I'm Safe. I M S A F E.
I is for illness. Is the pilot suffering any kind of illness which could incapacitate him
from flying. Well yes, in this instance that's exactly the reason why I'm not flying so big
tick next to that one.
Medication, is the pilot taking any medication and that can be prescription or over the counter.
Now in my instance oh boy I should have bought shares in these two bad boys. Ibuprofen and
paracetamol have been helping me sleep better at night and bring my temperature down as
well. Now these can be found on the CASA list of approved medications so I know I can take
these and once I feel better I can then go ahead and fly. But if you're taking tablets
you should always check with your DAME your designated aviation medical examiner before
going ahead and flying if you are taking any sort of medication.
S is for stress. Now I think this one is particularly important to private pilots more so than the
commercial guys because if you are like me you've got a real job outside of aviation
and the stresses of that job can sometimes be brought across to aviation as well and
that's a big problem.
And the letter A is brought to you by. No not Furphy that's just a local brand, it's
a good beer though. Alcohol, check your local regulations for alcohol tolerance and consumption
here in Australia it's within the last 8 hours of flying and there is a blood alcohol level
which I won't quote it's on the CASA website so go and check out the official regulations.
But I have this thing where if I'm flying the day before a flight I just don't drink
even though I know that's well outside of the 8 hour window just the whole day before
I don't drink.
Just makes it easier to manage, I know there's going to be no issues with intoxication on
the day of the flight and it also means I sleep well the night before a flight which
is really important because that brings us to F.
F is for fatigue. Now studies have shown that a tired pilot is just as dangerous as an intoxicated
pilot. You've probably seen those Air Crash Investigation episodes where a tired pilot
has gone on to do something pretty nasty. So make sure you're well rested before a flight,
fatigue can be a real killer.
Finally E, E stands for two things depending on where you are. Now sometimes it stands
for emotion and this I think goes along with the S for stress a little bit in that are
you in the correct emotional state to be flying. But E in other countries can also be eating
and I think this is really important so have you have nourishment before a flight. And
when I look at eating I also look at drinking at the same time, so are you sufficiently
hydrated. Dehydration is no laughing matter when you're a pilot.
So when I look at IMSAFE and I'm deciding whether to fly today I failed at step 1 - illness,
no. Medication is fine, no stress, I haven't been drinking I probably could do with a beer
right now but it's not going to help. But the illness side basically I've not been too
good, I've got blocked ears barotrauma in an aircraft is no laughing matter so I decided
strike through that not going to go flying today.
It's actually really easy to cancel a flight because of weather.
It's also really easy to cancel a flight because there's something wrong with the plane.
But it's hard to cancel a flight because there's something wrong with you so use this IMSAFE
method to check yourself before you wreck yourself, no.
Use the IMSAFE checklist and give yourself a preflight before you jump in the plane.
Thanks as always for watching I'm going to take my trusty medication and go hit the couch
with some Netflix and a cup of tea. If you haven't already subscribe to the channel,
there's a weekly pilot and travel video coming out now on this channel. Thanks for watching
and I'll catch you again soon.