Saturated student pilot: "Standby" McDonald's employee: "Okay just order whenever you're ready."

As a controller and CFII, let me remind pilots to tell us controllers to "standby" whenever you are temporarily task-saturated. Of course, if that's all you ever tell us, we'll start to wonder. But by all means, tell us "standby" or "unable" whenever you need it.

I became saturated just trying to follow your instructions while watching!!! Lol

My training for multitasking was driving a standard transmission while smoking a cigarette, drinking a coffee, talking on the phone, eating a muffin (avoiding leaving crumbs) and changing the radio station!

I am Software Developer and Architect for about 22 years and multitasking for me is like an essential performance fuel. So when I was training and instructor wend hard on me, I wasn't that stressed. :)

Or silence in the cockpit wouldn't go astray...I once told my instructor that if he just kept quiet and watched for a while things would steady. He took it on board and the evolution improved dramatically. I must say the exercise just conducted is great practice

The better way to describe what many call multi-tasking is critical task sequencing. It operates more like a complex decision model. Even in computers, multitasking is clock driven processor allocation.

I've watched hundreds if not thousands of aviation videos and that's the first time I tell myself that's what I want to do on my next flight. Thanks!

Of all the things I've done in my life, I can't think of anything as satisfying as hand flying an aircraft with steam gauges in IMC, on a rainy night, shooting a precision instrument approach in busy airspace. Whether it is a piston single, a fast mover or a helicopter....Nothing has compared to real world IFR approaches in busy airspace.

Saturation Point ask my name and reply standby.... Heck my CFII had me so saturated that I couldn’t even say that much, when we landed I was so fried I had to take a breather after we cleared the runaway as I could t even taxi anymore.... I think you guys (CFII) love doing that to us! But it sure made the checkride a breeze!!! Good job as always!!

Never saw that before. Even looks like fun. I liked how the pilot had a lite hold of the yoke and was using trim.

a pilot licence is the start of learning - always learning :) Good video, thank you

Awesome practice for real world scenarios. Thanks for the video on the Oscar pattern. I had heard you describe it before and with this video demo showing the Cleanup time allowed before the next task answers my question. Now to the gym in the sky to get and keep the multi task muscles in shape.

I really like this episode, As an engineer who has spent a lot of time programming as well as designing I can say without hesitation that Multi-tasking is NOT a myth. However, the general perception of Multi-tasking to those not accustomed to programming and computers is at fault. Also it does not help that general usage of the term is often incorrect. You are correct that Multi-tasking is performing multiple tasks in a given period but the mistake is to think that tasks can be focused on concurrently. For example one task could be to check the VSI but it cannot be checked exactly at the same time as ASI because you have only one processor for seeing and interpreting the gauges. Since the term Multi-tasking is a creation that came with computers, in that realm the term Multi-tasking is more accurately the ability for a central processing unit to SWITCH between tasks while maintaining the integrity of the tasks. Our brain does differ in one respect to a Central Processing Unit in that there are multiple cores in our brain. For example you don't stop breathing when you check the VSI. Uhhh ... well perhaps you could if the needle was pegged or broken. Which leads to the problem of what happens when the cores in our brain that have been programmed or trained, become over loaded or find something unexpected. The cores become misdirected, fixated, or freeze in disbelief. We stop maintaining the integrity of the tasks that are we switching between and disorientation sets in. The fix is to reboot. In flying terms that generally comes down to a recovery procedure. Recovery from unusual attitude comes to mind but for IFR pilot training that can be done with the foggles on. Thanks for the refresher.

Great exercise! I’m going to try this tomorrow!

This is amazing beta Jason. Every pilot needs to see this video. 🤙🤠

A different take on the Oscar pattern than what I fly, but I like yours better. I’ll be using that in the future. Thank you for a new tool!

This is my favorite aviation training video of all time. I’m moving to San Diego next week and plan to get back to my instrument training and do my check ride.

Outstanding workout!!!! great video as always.

When I was in flight school doing my instrument rating we had the same type of exercise and had to do it perfectly before going on the next phase in instruction. As an Instrument instructor, I also used the exercise.

I always taught my students to go up and left and down and right so that the heading indicator and the altimeter would rotate in the same direction. It would be readily apparent whether you were ahead or behind on either the climb or the turn on the 15 second checks. In Naval flight training we only did the two climbing and descending turns. Your take is the first time I have seen an "Oscar" flown this way. I like it.

Great advice! Thank you for sharing

I love this topic!!!! Saturation is not A topic that I hear talked about very often in flight school. I recently acquired a new CFI. fully understands how important it is to teach this to students. Great video!

I was a flight instructor back in the 1970's and I used to put my VFR students through a similar exercise adding another task as their proficiency grew. I like this OSCAR exercise. Cheers.

Thanks for the truly informative and valuable content.

That was an interesting thing to do, I will have to try that out with a buddy to keep eyes out.

What a cool practice pattern. Love it!

So, I had to go read about the multitasking myth online. Lots of stuff out there. Makes perfect sense, in my opinion, but that doesn't mean that as a pilot (or other mission critical activities) that we can do each task to completion before starting another. In order to stay ahead of the airplane, we at least have to think about the next operation before completing the current one. That divides our attention, but that's the nature of the activity and so it also makes perfect sense, in my opinion, to practice that type of activity again and again so as to become more capable of doing it. Thanks, Jason, for putting the real world into the picture and providing a means to improve saturation capacity.

During my instrument training, I was fond of saying "instrument training is practicing performing multiple simultaneous unnatural acts".

Cool exercise! I have been taught the "accerated&deccelerated turns in level flight" From cruise configuration, you start a left 360, configuring your airplane down to approach configuration, then you "go around", turning the right for another 360 to accelerated your aircraft and clean it up to cruise. Good tool to get to know your aircraft and its several configuration. You could probably send a few questions to have the students test his saturation :)

Thanks for this video. I’m a student and my second time under the foggles while on a xc, my instructor asked me to calculate how far out to start our decent. And he started taking me through the calculations. Then he asked me to do one and gave me an altitude and pattern altitude and calculate it and I realized at that point I was currently incapable of doing a simple x2 calculation in my head.

I think this is a brilliant exercise!!! Thanks

Once during my IR training I had to fly multiple approaches (RWY29-climb-RWY11-climb-RWY29 etc.) in a very turbulent weather (gusts around 30 kts) and I have to say it really improved my workload management. Flying the approaches, correcting for the wind, doing briefings and checks, communicating with ATC at the same time. I was completely drained after we landed. I am really glad I experienced this during the training and not as a PIC for the first time.

Great practice of estimating your saturation... I did my first Sun N Fun approach and landing this year 2022.. and you really need to be on your game and "spot on" and not stressing out to successfully land with tight spacing, and ATC talking a mile a minute.... Thanks!

I tried this exercise in IMC the other day. I was really happy with what I did, but looking at the Foreflight track the pattern had no resemblance with what you put on the board. 40kt winds aloft destroyed the expected beauty of my work...but it was great training. Thanks for sharing your techniques.

Whata great exercise! Would have used it in a heart beat in the beginning of my IFR training back then.

Excellent video. I like your training style and always learn something new from your channel.

Good exercise, saturation is a huge safety and performance factor, great lesson, thanks!

One of the best! Great job

Great vid as always. My breaking point is when i am on downwind and I'm told to "extend, and look for traffic on a 2 mile final", set up for my base and give the correct read- back. I almost never can find the traffic and I sometimes forget something in the read-back.

Love that!

Great instructor!!!

That's called prioritization, that is what we get good at, through repetition, familiarity, flows ECT. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that we cannot multitask, what was proven, is that we became so good at some things for the aforementioned reasons, it APPEARS as if we can multitask and that is how I approach flight training, especially IFR training. However I like your videos, they are informative and always nice to see how another CFI/I goes about flight training.

That was excellent

Awesome. I have experienced total saturation in a flight simulator and see how this pattern can train for better performance intensity.

Good stuff man - love the little animated magnifying glass / pop-up circle window thingy - is that an FCPX plug in?

Nice. I've got 4 instrument students right now. I'm going to try this drill with my students.

Man, task saturation is a hell of a thing!!! You had me flustered trying to keep up, lol !! Can you do another video on that, maybe a bit longer. It was really interesting!! Thanks

“It is kind of like a framework, it … is a place to start.” Exactly. We don’t teach scans. We present opportunity for scans to evolve and develop. Any scan pattern we “teach” really is to make you comfortable and give you something for system two thinking as you start but as it becomes more automatic, it won’t follow any prescribed pattern that may have been “taught.”

Great exercise! 👌🏻

The new Microsoft Flight Simulator would be a perfect tool for this exercise... thanks JASON, your tutelage is second to none..

I'll do this on my next flight, VFR though, only to refine some of my skills (standard rate turn, stable climb rate, ...)

Then after the checklist add in briefing an approach. I've also seen where you alternate double turns with single turns. One leg single, next leg right climb followed by left descent. Then do it on non cardinal headings, non even altitudes, and starting use an analog clock starting at like 8 sec past the min. Oh, and 15 sec legs too. No reason not to push ourselves in training.

This is a foundational part of Naval Aviation training. Hours spent in the sim trying to nail it at every check point.

I love this video and revisit it a lot. I have asked before and will try again, ....... Where can I get that checklist that you guys are using ???? This "compact" checklist would be a HUGE help coming up to Checkride prep. Thanks for the great content Jason !!!!

I’ve definitely been suffering from saturation with the new glass panel in the 210... this would be a very good exercise for me to do with it. I’ll practice the work in the 172 first. :)

Gold !!!

OMG I laughed so hard at your intro......standby....BTDT. Great video.

Good job ! 😷 👍

This is so awesome! My head hurts just watching. So are you having him compensate for wind as well or just focus on heading and altitude?

That is great training, if you forget stuff and are easily overloaded take the bus or the train or stay home and see if you can get your chit together.

Damn. That's a great exercise I've never done before

"There will come a time when I ask you your name and you tell me to," "Stand bye." That one line sums up how it feel to fly out of your comfort zone. It could be from the first few lessons to way into your career. It happens.

One method that my instructor used for me was reading a book...any book under the hood while doing some of the basic turns.

Will you ever consider coming to SoCal so you can flight train us down here?

I tell my wife to “standby” jaja. Great tip , will try it next time I go up.

I did this on FSX. I found I was able to keep my eye on the clock and judge how I was doing at the top and bottom of the minute compared to where I should be with the heading and altitude. That was unexpected but that's what happens naturally when you have to climb and turn rates conquered. I was even in a cloud for a bit. I had two problems though. I mistakenly on the third leg I did a left climbing turn instead of a right climbing turn. Also on the last leg, my eyes went all like cookie monster eyes. Instead of the normal scan flow, somehow my brain zapped and my eyes were out of control. I don't know if that is what saturation is or of you mean just work overload.

Why would anyone give a thumbs down? Great video, thanks for sharing.

Superexcellent instruction. I'm not flying any more but I would have loved to perfect my saturation overload. I remember it coming on, but I had no way out, at that time. I'm going to have to break down and buy a simulator, but since Microsoft killed both "Flight," and "FS Ten," I feel I'm left in limbo.

I find the best practice is to always, under all normal circumstances, fly at a specific speed, a specific heading, a specific altitude and be in a particular steady or changing state i.e. a rate of climb; a rate of turn and a rate of acceleration. You are never doing a full throttle climb at VY; you fly at VY at a specific rate of climb. You are never joyriding even when getting a $100 hamburger. Always fly 2-2-10.

I’d like to see task saturating exercises that I can do on the ground ~ to help me later while in flight.

What should the rate/time of turn be on those corners of the square? Between the 30 sec legs...does it matter?

Could you lease explain “30 seconds to clean up”? Is that after each 90 degree turn before each ascent/decent?

Absolutely great content right there! Loved this exercise.

Multitasking is like playing drums. You don't divide your focus while playing different notes simultaneously. Or you are only able to do that for a second or so after teach your muscles and brain by practicing often.

Multitasking is a myth for humans, but certainly pilots need to be able to rapidly task-switch. And as important as this is, I still rank judgement as the single most important characteristic of an excellent pilot.

I manage about 1hr of instrument flying lesson before mental fatigue and saturation hit. I’m not sure if continuing longer or landing is the best policy.

hi, is this intro music from santana? pls tell me :)

It would be great if someone could create a complete graphic file that shows and describes the Oscar Pattern in detail on an 81/2x11 page. I've scoured the net and there is not one diagram that fully shows all the details on this.

I see “Oscar pattern” and I think, “great, another rote mnemonic device, like we don’t have too many of those already.” But this turns out to be something that really looks useful. Cool.

We have one like this and we call it Pattern C.

The best again. Although I believe I would fear you as an instructor.

i want that hoodie

Is it David Blaine in the beginning?

Another great workout that I'll have to try. I know as I've aged, my saturation point has dropped; I'd like to see how I'd do on this.

I'm about halfway through my instrument training (just passed my written this week, whoo hoo). We don't use checklists other than pre takeoff. I've never used checklists other than pre takeoff in 500 hours as a private pilot. Yes, I'm pretty familiar with the different types of airplanes that I fly, but I think you should know the airplane.

I think multitasking is legit. It's like juggling, You don't touch the objects that you are juggling at the same time but if you're good (I'm not) you know where each one is, where it's going to be, as well as what each one needs to do when you touch it

2:20 Is this foreflight? I know cloud ahoy does this but I didnt know foreflight does.

This is like a Tabata HIIT training session in the gym! 😓

Yep as someone with ADD-Autism and super savant(Great at many things not just one) managing mental saturation is a normal part of daily life. Which given they are special interests and I'm great at them I can have absurd multitasking poweresss! But not them yeah no I shut down and... But fortunately piloting is one of them and comes naturally to me... So, yeah I should try this in MSFS 2020 and see how I do it would make for a fun video never the less... Which this is a great safe lesion to see and Hopely extend a new pilots multitasking ability!

where I can find a cheaper fly school? because I keep sending the famous ones and they are way above my budget . by the way I'm an aircraft A&P mechanic

I want to try it! What's you name? Stand by!

I'm confused. How can a 360 at standard rate be done in 30 seconds?

I learned true division of attention from flying.

"Forget about the speed" Is it good to learn new pilot to "forget about the speed"? I had used; "check. your speed and keep a rate at 500 ft/min" What happens if that pilot take off at pressure altitude of 5000 ft, and schooled with not to have an eye at the airspeed?

Good exercise but never ever say forget about the speed

Yep correct my dude. I’m no instructor however I definitely know that multi-tasking is a strong element to staying ahead of the aircraft. Always never forgetting the bigger picture but creating smaller pictures to reach that main objective. The bigger picture.

Reading your Finer Points E book.. and loving it. Where can I print out these check lists that I'm seeing in your videos? ty!

Maybe one day you’ll have a student named Stan Bigh

Turn the beat around. Turn it upside down.