Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
QOD#4
Why is it important to trim the airplane in the correct order (pitch, power, trim) rather than, say... pitch, trim power... or power, trim, pitch?
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
QOD#3
Agh! Almost forgot...
List three reasons why it's a good idea to overfly the runway during your approach to a non-towered airport.
List three reasons why it's a good idea to overfly the runway during your approach to a non-towered airport.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Question of the Day #2
At what point in the approach and landing sequence are you done "flying the airplane"?
Q&A - U turns back to the runway
--- On Mon, 4/26/10, Faria Hassan wrote:
From: Faria Hassan
Subject: Re: Flight Training Blog
To: "Patti Andrews"
Date: Monday, April 26, 2010, 11:17 AM
So I was thinking about your questions on the upwind: if we were 200 ft off ground and had an engine failure. I know in the abort plan we talk about lowering the nose and going left (on 30) but would I never turn around and try to land back on the runway? like a quick u-turn?
-------------------
Hi Faria,
It's a good question. I'm liking this blog... I think I'll also use it for good questions like this that apply to everyone.
That maneuver - called a teardrop - is viable under certain conditions, but fatal under certain other conditions.
West Valley temporarily halted all practice of the teardrop a couple of years ago after two club airplanes, in two completely separate accidents, crashed while attempting it. In one case, a very experienced mechanic was at the controls on a test flight when the engine failed for real, and in the other case a flight instructor was not only on board but demonstrating "how to do it right."
In both of those cases, it was not the actual maneuver (turning around) that bit them, but the wind conditions that prevailed over the runway as they attempted to land (see below).
In most cases, the maneuver itself (the turning around) has been a killer because of the very high level of skill and proficiency required to turn around under those circumstances...
* First, you must recognize and accept that your engine has failed. This is called the "oh sh*t moment" and those who have survived one say that it takes a second or two.
* Then, you must transition your nose from a Vy climb to a nose-down gliding attitude - generally more of a pitch change than people expect it will be until they try it.
* Then, you must turn more than 180 degrees to line up with the departure end of the runway you just took off from.
* You must know within a split second whether your turn should be to the right or left to minimize drift.
* The turn has to be made at approximately 45 degrees of bank to minimize loss of altitude.
* You're making this steep, split second turn while descending at some 800 feet per minute at a low altitude, possibly with buildings filling your windshield.
The majority of pilots who ever attempted to do this from 500 feet or less either ended up in a fatal stall/spin or a fatal CFIT (controlled flight into terrain).
Assuming you survive the turn-around, you still have to land the airplane with what is probably a tailwind and you must be prepared for the unusual pitch attitude and float/flare that goes with it. This is the part that got both of the accident pilots mentioned above - the unusual perceptions associated with a tailwind landing.
I used to do this at least once with each student from an altitude of 700 feet, often during the night landings session since you can only do it when you have the airspace to yourself. The ban is now lifted at West Valley and we can do these in training again, but I now feel lucky that I've had an opportunity to learn from the misfortunes of others and I would say that I will no longer practice this at night. I would, however, do it at a little-used non-towered airport if conditions are right.
In spite of the inherent hazards, I do think this is a very useful maneuver to have in your arsenal of skills. In the case of the mechanic pilot mentioned above, although the landing was botched and the plane was a total loss, the pilot was virtually unharmed. If the pilot had practiced the teardrop maneuver before using it in a real situation, the outcome probably would have been even better. So, assuming one is proficient at executing it and has thought through it as part of the abort plan for that specific take-off, I think this maneuver can be a good tool.
I can do a flight lesson on this with anyone who wants to.
From: Faria Hassan
Subject: Re: Flight Training Blog
To: "Patti Andrews"
Date: Monday, April 26, 2010, 11:17 AM
So I was thinking about your questions on the upwind: if we were 200 ft off ground and had an engine failure. I know in the abort plan we talk about lowering the nose and going left (on 30) but would I never turn around and try to land back on the runway? like a quick u-turn?
-------------------
Hi Faria,
It's a good question. I'm liking this blog... I think I'll also use it for good questions like this that apply to everyone.
That maneuver - called a teardrop - is viable under certain conditions, but fatal under certain other conditions.
West Valley temporarily halted all practice of the teardrop a couple of years ago after two club airplanes, in two completely separate accidents, crashed while attempting it. In one case, a very experienced mechanic was at the controls on a test flight when the engine failed for real, and in the other case a flight instructor was not only on board but demonstrating "how to do it right."
In both of those cases, it was not the actual maneuver (turning around) that bit them, but the wind conditions that prevailed over the runway as they attempted to land (see below).
In most cases, the maneuver itself (the turning around) has been a killer because of the very high level of skill and proficiency required to turn around under those circumstances...
* First, you must recognize and accept that your engine has failed. This is called the "oh sh*t moment" and those who have survived one say that it takes a second or two.
* Then, you must transition your nose from a Vy climb to a nose-down gliding attitude - generally more of a pitch change than people expect it will be until they try it.
* Then, you must turn more than 180 degrees to line up with the departure end of the runway you just took off from.
* You must know within a split second whether your turn should be to the right or left to minimize drift.
* The turn has to be made at approximately 45 degrees of bank to minimize loss of altitude.
* You're making this steep, split second turn while descending at some 800 feet per minute at a low altitude, possibly with buildings filling your windshield.
The majority of pilots who ever attempted to do this from 500 feet or less either ended up in a fatal stall/spin or a fatal CFIT (controlled flight into terrain).
Assuming you survive the turn-around, you still have to land the airplane with what is probably a tailwind and you must be prepared for the unusual pitch attitude and float/flare that goes with it. This is the part that got both of the accident pilots mentioned above - the unusual perceptions associated with a tailwind landing.
I used to do this at least once with each student from an altitude of 700 feet, often during the night landings session since you can only do it when you have the airspace to yourself. The ban is now lifted at West Valley and we can do these in training again, but I now feel lucky that I've had an opportunity to learn from the misfortunes of others and I would say that I will no longer practice this at night. I would, however, do it at a little-used non-towered airport if conditions are right.
In spite of the inherent hazards, I do think this is a very useful maneuver to have in your arsenal of skills. In the case of the mechanic pilot mentioned above, although the landing was botched and the plane was a total loss, the pilot was virtually unharmed. If the pilot had practiced the teardrop maneuver before using it in a real situation, the outcome probably would have been even better. So, assuming one is proficient at executing it and has thought through it as part of the abort plan for that specific take-off, I think this maneuver can be a good tool.
I can do a flight lesson on this with anyone who wants to.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Question of the Day #1
In the first post of this blog, I asked you to read an article about squirrels in the WVFC newsletter. What religion is mentioned in that article?
When to ignore the controller
Today was one of the craziest flying days ever for me. There was an awful lot of traffic both in pattern and passing through, as well as landing at SQL from PAO. Controller was actually frazzled enough to say I was #3 when I was actually #2. And on my final, I simply had to ignore everything he said and just aim for the runway. Of course, Patti took care of the communication at that point, but today prioritization finally sunk in: aviate, navigate, communicate. Specially when you're on final.
Vertical Challenge 2010 - June 19th
Patti mentioned the San Carlos Vertical Challenge today when I asked her about the Half Moon Bay event that was occuring today. She indicated that this may be an opportunity to get familiar with flying while an event is going on. It is probably more relevant for those of us that are flying out of San Carlos. Below are the details.
The Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos CA, is hosting the Ninth Annual "Vertical Challenge" Helicopter Air Show.
9AM - 5PM
"Vertical Challenge" Helicopter Air Show is a unique event that allows visitors to see first hand helicopter operations. The show is devoted to demonstrating to the public of how helicopters affect our daily lives from traffic and news reports to its unique life saving ability, to the National Defense of our Country.
General Airport Information:
The airport will be closed between 11:30am - 12:30pm & 2pm-3pm.
http://www.hiller.org/vertical-challenge.shtml
The Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos CA, is hosting the Ninth Annual "Vertical Challenge" Helicopter Air Show.
9AM - 5PM
"Vertical Challenge" Helicopter Air Show is a unique event that allows visitors to see first hand helicopter operations. The show is devoted to demonstrating to the public of how helicopters affect our daily lives from traffic and news reports to its unique life saving ability, to the National Defense of our Country.
General Airport Information:
The airport will be closed between 11:30am - 12:30pm & 2pm-3pm.
http://www.hiller.org/vertical-challenge.shtml
Ditch your CFI day?
Anyone interested in a day/evening where the students can get together and share information, tips, techiques, funny stories about Patti.... like the time that she ... opps..... I'll keep that until we get together.
I would be curious in what others are finding out about other related flying topcis such as Sanjay's iPhone apps for flying, what everyone is doing with ground schoo, or the real Story behind Jack, the mystery man, ...
Herb
I would be curious in what others are finding out about other related flying topcis such as Sanjay's iPhone apps for flying, what everyone is doing with ground schoo, or the real Story behind Jack, the mystery man, ...
Herb
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Sanjay 1 - Squirrel 0
He didn't mean to hit it, but there was the evidence right in front of us. Laying flat out along the taxiway centerline, paws gently curled in the air like a dog playing dead. Another one ran out right between our wheels during a take-off roll but that one seemed to make it through.
It reminded me that it's probably time to have you all review your animal avoidance techniques, and I thought a training blog would be a good way to keep us all connected on this sort of topic. So please, when you have a minute, read through an article I wrote last year for the club's newsletter called "Abort Planning: Furball Twelve o'Clock" located toward the end of the document at:
http://www.wvfc.org/news/09jun.html
Then, when you have another minute (and if you know how), subscribe to the blog so you can see when something new has been posted. By then, I will have set you all up with "post" permissions so you can either comment on someone else's post or create one of your own.
Welcome to your flight training blog!
Patti
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