The 6 T’s of instrument flight

Good pilots must always think ahead of the plane.

You should always wonder what’s next. What is the next thing you need to do after you have completed your current task?

Using the 6 T’s will help you do just that.

The 6 T’s are:

1. TURN
2. WEATHER
3. TURN
4. THROTTLE
5. speak
6. CLUE

You may not need to perform each one on every task. It just depends on the procedure you are performing. Let’s look at them individually.

For this example, let’s apply the 6 T’s to fly in a holding pattern. Think about each item and what is the next item after that.

turn

• Which way are you turning in the holding pattern?

  • Standard or non-standard pattern: ie right or left turns?

Weather

• Unless otherwise directed by ATC, all arrival legs are one minute.

  • After crossing the level of the fixed or moving wings, start your timer for 1 minute entry.

    • Remember to adjust your out leg so that your in leg is 1 minute.

    • Depending on wind etc, you may have a LONGER one-way leg than 1 minute.

TURN

• If it is a VOR-based holding, you may need to turn the OBS to either the inbound heading or the outbound heading.

  • Are you flying TOWARDS or AWAY from the VOR? If the approach leg is flying towards the VOR, remember to ensure that you have rotated the OBS so that the indicator shows a “TO” indication and the correct approach course is selected.

THROTTLE

• Do you need to adjust your power?

  • If your timing is not correct for the entry leg, then you need to apply power or reduce power. Remember, You are authorized two travels around the pattern to get it right.

speak

• Do you need to speak to ATC?

  • ATC may ask you to report crossing the fix point or something similar. This one really comes into play when doing approaches or procedural turns.

CLUE

• This one is pretty simple, but surprisingly, a lot is forgotten.

  • Remember to keep track of your course, whether it is incoming or outgoing.

When I’m flying a holding pattern, I ask myself each of these things, at each stage of the pattern. I constantly review each one and it keeps me on my game, staying focused and flying a good pattern.

When I get to a task I don’t need to use, I just move on to the next one. Remember, keep it simple!

Using the 6 T’s of instrument flight will make your life so much easier the next time you get stuck in a holding pattern or fire that instrument approach to minimum at IMC.

-Shawn Hardin IFC/IFIC