Review of Defensive Flying in Aviation Journal
By Will Wagstaff

Why isn't there more comedy in aviation? I'm not talking about "flying farmer" routines at airshows; I mean standup, microphone in hand, "but seriously folks..." comedy. Don't funny things happen in airplanes, on airport ramps and runways, in hangars and in the air? Of course they do! So why aren't there more flying funnymen?

Whatever the reason, the dearth of av-gagsters leaves the field pretty much open to funny-guy flight instructor Rod Machado. Long a favored after-dinner speaker on aviation's creamed-peas-and-rubber-chicken circuit, Machado has begun packaging his road show, first on audio tapes and now, on video.

Defensive Flying is more than just almost two hours of hilarious hangar flying stories. Buried inside is the "more serious" message (I hear you groaning, but hang in there). Machado's form of "defensive flying" is a collection of safe flight techniques gleaned from the "heads-up, common sense" school of flight training, insights Machado has gained through decades of flight instruction.

If we were lucky during our school years, all of us had that one brilliant teacher who combined humor and solid information in a way that caused the data conveyed to adhere to the all-too slippery surfaces of our tiny brains. This is what Machado does, ramming home the essential tenets of defensive flying in an undidactic, fun way. Before a live audience of 300 aviators, Machado outlines the essentials and entertains.

Just what are Machado's essential lessons of defensive flying? Simply:
1. Acknowledge you own vulnerability.
2. Never underestimate the enemy.
3. Expect the unexpected.
4. Never stop flying the airplane.

Easy, right? Well, if these were easy lessons to remember and implement, the crew of Eastern Flight 401 would never have allowed their Lockheed L-1011 to smash into the Everglades while they fretted over a landing-gear light. If they were easy lessons to remember, then pilots would never run out of fuel, or fly VFR into IMC, or land gear up or take off way over gross, or commit any of the hundreds of sins perpetrated against the implacable physics of flight every day.

Machado's answer for these sorts of avoidable accidents is to "think defensively," an approach that really just boils down to using your head and sweating all the details of a successful and safe flight. "Anytime you fly, there are natural enemies to deal with," Machado reminds us. "That's why it's essential to enhance your aviation intelligence. "Recognize the relationships between systems," or, in other words, how your doing one thing with the airplane affects its ability to do other things.

"If you're gonna pray in an aircraft, pray into the microphone," says Machado, who recalls once hearing the plaintive voice of a worried student, fretting aloud over the radio, "I hope I get down."

"Don't be afraid to ask for help. Think of 121.5 as sort of a spiritual hotline." Machado says with a wry twinkle in his eyes. "Speak and your prayers will be answered."

Old stuff you say. "My flight instructor used to tell us the same things," you yawn. Well, yes. But Machado's treatment of this "old stuff" (that bears repeating) is refreshing, his joke-laden patter wandering between the corniest of a Las Vegas lounge comedian, the fervor of a tent-preaching evangelist and that easy-going guy in your Saturday morning flying club gang who always seems to have a joke as well as helpful advice on how to fly just a little bit better.

Machado's humor serves as the glue that keeps his message together. Source for most of his giggles are real world incidents, the essence of hangar-flying tales told with style by Machado. The pilot who nearly falls out of his light single (on the ground) trying to read the N-number of his rented aircraft. Or the copilot petrified by fear as his cigar-chomping left seater decides to demonstrate the high-pucker-factor joys of a downwind takeoff in a deHavilland Twin Otter on a blustery night with 35-kt winds. Or a Cessna 152 battling for takeoff against a mighty Air Cal Boeing 737. "The truth is stranger than fiction," Machado reminds us, "because fiction has to make sense."

Machado closes his engaging performance on a sobering note, presenting a hair-raising series of taped conversations between the cockpit crew of a Mitsubishi MU-2 encountering severe icing and the superbly professional air traffic controller who helps them stay alive. Ice has damaged one of the MU-2's props while in night IFR flight over the peaks of the Canadian Rockies not far from Vancouver. Forced to divert to an unfamiliar field surrounded by towering mountains and capped by an 800-ft ceiling, the MU-2 experiences a double flameout. The courage and professionalism of all involved, as well as their expert use of the four essential lessons of defensive flight, well illustrate the value of Machado's message. And he makes us simile while we learn, a rare ability.

Defensive Flying is an excellent tape for pilot to share. Buy a copy for your flight department and pass it around.