PATCH Implementation
Principles for navigating to a target:
- Real time radar returns trump other navigation options
- Vertical first, horizontal second
- Offset to avoid obstacles
- Provide your crew with an escape
PATCH Navigation – As discussed in the pros and cons post for instrument approaches to the water (Comparing the PATCH and MATCH), one of the best features of the PATCH is how simple and nimble the PATCH can be. There is minimal set up (twist, twist, push) and a real time RADAR return can be used throughout the set up and approach. User generated waypoints (FPPs), and user generated rings on the moving map (airspace rings) can enhance situational awareness, but in a situation where pilots are navigating to a moving vessel, they create unnecessary workload because the flight plan is invalid a few minutes after inputting the waypoints (FPP). RADAR is the real time primary “navigation instrument.” Repeating myself on purpose… RADAR should always be the primary real time navigation instrument low, over water, while the flight plan and moving map provide supplemental information and RADAR validation. Often, I see inexperienced pilots using the flight plan and moving map (static information from the past) to navigate during a PATCH when the target provides a much more accurate RADAR return.
Further repeating myself from an earlier post. If the RADAR is overlayed on the PFD and hover bars are selected, the RADAR overlay is removed at 50 KT GS when the hover bars automatically display. A common pilot error among inexperienced or not proficient weather flyers in our community is the failure to have the radar displayed on another MFD, as it provides the only accurate, real time obstacle clearance information available when the helicopter is low to the water. While this can be rectified with a few button pushes by the pilot monitoring, it detracts from his or her pilot monitoring duties during a critical phase of flight.
During the PATCH checklist, when pilots “arm hover bars,” I ensure that my RADAR solution has been optimized and that it is displayed on an MFD.