Optical Illusions Flashcards
(8 cards)
Inversion Illusion
What is it:
quickly transitions from a climb to straight-and-level making you feel like you’re tumbling backward
Reaction: may pitch the nose down even further, intensifying the illusion and leading to a dangerous low-nose attitude
Fix: Trust your Instruments, Managing your aircraft’s movements smoothly and gradually.
Coriolis Illusion
What it it: Turning steadily in one direction for a while then suddenly move your head down feels like you’re tumbling or rotating in all sorts of directions
Reaction: Lose control of orientation of airplane
Fix: Trust your Instruments, Keep your head movements slow and steady during turns
Elevator Illusion
What it it: Flying straight and level then suddenly you get hit with a updraft or downdraft.
Reaction: Prompt you to push the aircraft’s nose down or pull it up, potentially initiating a descent or climb.
Fix: Trust your Instruments
False Horizon
What it it: Flying along and get disoriented and a cloud bank, a line of lights, or a pattern of stars gets mistaken for the horizon
Reaction: Lead to incorrect control inputs as you adjust your aircraft’s attitude based on a fictitious horizon.
Fix: Trust your Instruments
Leans Illusion
What it it: Unknowingly entered a slow, gentle bank. You correct the bank, but it is so gradual your inner ear doesn’t detect it. Your senses still believe you’re straight and level, so when you level out, it feels like you’re banking in the opposite direction.
Reaction: Return to the original bank to ‘level’ the aircraft, thus creating a continuous banked turn.
Fix: Trust your Instruments, use smooth inputs, but try to avoid “creeping” into a turn.
Autokenisis Illusion
What it it: Stationary light in the distance if you fix your gaze on this light for more than a few seconds, it can start to move on its own.
Reaction: Misjudging the movement of other aircraft at night.
Fix: Don’t stare at a single point of light for too long. Keep your eyes moving and scan different areas of the sky.
Gravyard Spin/Spiral
What it it: Entering a gentle turn that has gone unnoticed. Because your inner ear adjusts to the turn, it stops sending turn signals to your brain.
When you finally notice and correct the turn, it feels like you’ve started turning in the opposite direction.
Reaction: Reaction to this false perception, you re-enter the original turn. f you pull back on the yoke without leveling the wings, you’ll tighten the turn and descend even faster.
Fix: Trust your Instruments
Somatographic Illusion
What it it: increasing power to increase speed at night or in IMC
The rapid acceleration pushes you back in your seat, giving a sensation similar to pitching up. Your brain interprets this feeling as a climb. and the same in reverse for decelerations
Reaction: Inadvertently push the nose down, causing a dangerous descent.
Fix: Trust your Instruments, try to avoid unnecessary rapid increases or decreases in airspeed.
