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11/19 - “No Intercom – No Problem”

By Dave Hirschman
Dave Hirschman, long time EAA member, is a Master CFI specializing in aerobatics and tailwheel training, a former reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a noted author.

I nearly let an electrical problem scrub a recent Cub flight - and that would have been a shame.

You may wonder what kind of electrical problem an airplane with no electrical system could possibly have. In my case, it was a dead 9-volt battery that powered a portable intercom.

I was about to fly with Tyler, a 14-year-old student who’s logged hundreds of hours of computer simulator time, but only a few flights at the controls of an actual airplane. The Cub's 65-horsepower Continental is a tiny powerplant, but it’s enough, when combined with the wind that swirl’s through the Cub’s open door, to drown out my words of wisdom. I didn’t want to shout, and Tyler surely didn't want to be shouted at.

It was a gorgeous fall day, though, and neither of us wanted to stay on the ground. It began to dawn on me that generations of instructors had successfully taught in Cubs without intercoms - including the very 1946 J-3 waiting for us in my open hangar. I figured a detailed pre-flight briefing and little aerial pantomime could get us safely through our one-hour flight.

The first test of our non-verbal communication ability came shortly after takeoff when I wanted Tyler to level off at 2,000 feet. I tapped him on the shoulder, pointed to the altimeter and held up two fingers. He nodded, and promptly leveled off at 2,000.

Success! This wasn’t going to be so hard.

When we arrived over our practice area, I made a circular motion with my upraised index finger. Tyler executed a 360-degree turn. Commands for climbs, descents, turns and stalls were easily given and understood. When I wanted to demonstrate a maneuver, I simply gave the rear stick a firm shake, performed the maneuver and handed the plane back to Tyler.

A few times I wished I could nag him to keep the ball centered or stay at our desired altitude. But he eventually noticed those missteps and corrected them without admonishment from me.

As an instructor, I had always tried to avoid long cockpit silences. If I wasn't talking, I must not be teaching, either. But our “comm-less” Cub flight convinced me I'd been jabbering entirely too much. Sometimes, the best thing an instructor can do is hush. Let the student concentrate without all the distracting chatter.

When we returned to the airport area and brought the throttle back to idle for landing, made myself heard all too well. A friend on the ramp later told of hearing my disembodied voice reminding him over and over to "Trim for 60 miles an hour." It took several repetitions before he realized the instructions were coming down from the nearly silent Cub on final.

I eventually replaced the expired battery, and still use the intercom when flying with Tyler. But the current battery is going to last way longer than the last one because I'm not going to be talking nearly as much.