#pilot guide

I was recently asked about the possibility of a wingtip strike when landing in a typical light plane like a Cherokee or a Cessna 172. Specifically, I was asked about how far that aileron control could be deflected without hitting the tarmac when one or both of the main landing gear is on the runway after landing at near stall speeds.

I will admit that I have never tried to hit the runway with my wing tip and I don't know anyone who has. However, it certainly can be done. Perhaps a better question is: what landing technique will guarantee that the wingtip does not strike the tarmac in a crosswind?

I want to talk about landing techniques in a really strong crosswind before I tackle the issue of wingtip strikes. After all, wingtip strikes are not a credible issue except in crosswinds that approach the airplane's crosswind limitations.

To make controlled crosswind landings, you should master the skill of pointing your airplane in the same direction that it moves over the ground. If the airplane is pointed in some other direction when you touchdown, the best you can hope for is abrupt side forces on your landing gear followed with a swerve as the airplane swings in the right direction. The worst is loss of directional control followed with a trip off the side of the runway, possible ground loop, nose over, wingtip strike, or all of the above.

Pointing the airplane it the direction it moves is the most essential landing skill. It is not as easy as it sounds. And it certainly requires practice before it can be mastered. In a nutshell, here is how to do it:

Instrument flying is merely hard when the pilot's workload is too great. This article shows you, the pilot, how to lessen your cockpit workload and greatly simplify instrument flying. The truly positive side effect is basically will fly more precisely and make fewer mistakes.

Any student pilot is aware that the most necessary 'instrument' is outside the airplane. It does not take horizon. When you fly into a cloud the horizon disappears. Nevertheless the airplane is constantly on the fly equally as it did outside the cloud. This informs you of that you should fly the airplane on instruments equally as you did visually but somehow you have to make amends for the lost horizon. On instruments you do exactly the same thing you need to do visually except you apply the attitude indicator (a.k.a. artificial horizon) rather than real horizon to remain alert to the aircraft's attitude.

All flying can be an iterative process. Someone flies by changing some parameter, maintaining a constant attitude, letting the airplane come back to a steady-state condition, monitoring the flight instruments, adjusting a parameter, maintaining a relentless attitude, letting the airplane go back to a steady-state condition,... The parameters which you change might be attitude, power, a principal flight control, flaps, etc. The Only Real difference is the fact attitude must be consciously monitored as your peripheral vision cannot monitor attitude for you.

Since attitude need to be monitored in a manner that is neither intuitive nor as fundamental as visual flying, you must use a disciplined scan for instrument flying. By 'scan' I am talking about how you examine instruments, which instruments as well as in what order.

Beyond question, the attitude indicator is considered the most useful instrument. Ironically it truly is not nesessary nor is it the principle instrument in different situation. It really is best because it substantially lessens the workload of instrument flying.

The attitude indicator needs to be the pivot point of your scan. For example, in straight and level flight... I can interrupt myself at the moment and have you what you consider the primary instruments are during straight and level flight? By primary instruments, I mean the 'must have' instruments. Which instrument absolutely, positively claims that your chosen pitch attitude is correct? Which instrument informs you that bank is correct? Which instrument notifys you that a rudder is within the proper position? Don't look at next paragraph before you allow yourself the resolution these questions.

Here come the surprising answers. The altimeter is primary for pitch, the gyrocompass is primary for bank plus the ball is primary for rudder.

As an instance the purpose about primary instruments, think you are flying an airplane having its wing-leveler engaged. You happen to be assigned an altitude of 8,000 feet. For the purpose of this discussion, all you have do is find the pitch attitude right. Checking out the attitude indicator, everything looks properly. The small airplane is exactly on the horizon. Does that explain how you will find the pitch attitude nailed? You are not familiar with. You need to look at the altimeter. Consider good enough to answer two questions: Precisely what does it say? What is it doing? Whether it reads 7,960 feet and is particularly moving up slowly, it claims that pitch attitude is just too high! In case the altimeter reads 7,960 feet and is not moving, congratulations, your pitch attitude is ideal. Your altitude tells you nothing about pitch attitude.

Your scan includes the main instrument(s) and also the attitude indicator. The movement associated with a primary instrument provides feedback concerning your attitude. If ever the gyrocompass were moving it could inform you that you're turning. For anyone who is turning and the ball is inside the center, then this wings are usually not level. You have to look at the attitude indicator enough time to level your wings. Still scan.

You may ask, "Why not the rate-of-turn indicator?" The reason is that monitoring the rate-of-turn improves your workload; you must look at your heading; and the gyrocompass provides the turning important information.

In straight and level flight without the artificial stabilization, your scan might follow this sequence: attitude indicator, altimeter, attitude indicator, gyrocompass, repeating for perhaps 2 or three cycles. An instant glance at the ball followed having a compensating rudder trim would suffice, then forget about the ball.

You'll want to determine which instruments are primary in every region of flight or you do will not always be able to make a decision on the correct scan. One example is, if you end up climbing, your airspeed indicator has to be your primary pitch instrument and gyrocompass is primary bank. If you are in a level standard rate turn, your rate of turn is primary bank and altimeter is primary pitch. If you end up in a 30° bank, the attitude indicator is primary bank and altimeter could be the primary pitch instrument, etc. Adjust your scan for each situation.

Right now you happen to be thinking that you have other instruments to bother with than others I mentioned as part of your scan. You're right. Do not forget that your most essential cockpit task is always to fly the airplane. Once that's unquestionably in balance then you could start adding other items to every third or fourth scan. Remember that throughout an instrument approach, an ILS or VOR could easily become one of the primary instruments.

To ensure the fundamental principles that you should understand and connect with your instrument flying are:

1. Notice both an instrument's reading and movement. 2. Use an instrument's movement to give feedback about your current attitude. 3. Look at the attitude indicator when adjusting attitude. (Unless they have tumbled!) 4. Operate the attitude indicator as being the base from your instrument scan, moving your focus from attitude indicator to primary instrument, to attitude indicator to other primary instrument, etc. 5. Get a new variety of primary instruments as part of your scan for the reason that region of flight changes; dropping some out of your scan, adding others.

My face still turns red when I think of the time I was being seen in a Cessna 182. We took off and reduced the power to cruise-climb. I was pretty excited about the constant speed brace and manifold pressure gauge - both firsts for me. My instructor was a kindly old gentleman using a deep resonant voice. He previously high standards and never scolded. I was determined in order to reach those standards and gain his approval.

"Has a lot of power, doesn't it? " he or she rumbled.

"Sure does! "

"That power produces a lot of P-factor, doesn't it? "

"It ought to. " I said, considering the turn and tennis ball. The ball was half its width out of the cage. What a fundamental blunder, I thought. Remembering what he had told me, I looked at both wings. Sure enough the right was lower than your left. We were climbing in a slip.

I leveled the wings together with held the nose steady while using the rudder pedals. I looked at the ball. Sure adequate, it was back in its cage where it belonged. He smiled together with said, "Good job! That gave us another 100 feet for each minute climb. "Now you fully understand why Cessna 182's have rudder trim. Go ahead. Make life easy with yourself. "

Since after that, I always look at the wings of other airplanes as they take off. Have these people stayed level or may be the pilot climbing in some sort of slip, too?

Perhaps it was because I so admired that instructor. I don't know. But ever since then i have been quite delicate to rudders.

I came to the opinion that any pilot who thinks that rudders are only for steering on the bottom and for keeping the ball in its place during turns in the air is only experiencing the tip of that iceberg.

Probably the vital use of the rudder, a use that can save your life, is actually during landing. And that is when you use the rudder inside most un-natural way.

Just about all landings are crosswind landings. Yesterday, I got email with a frustrated student who told me that the matter that was keeping him from soloing was the wind it manually. He said that he could land sufficiently but he just couldn't perform a crosswind landing. What was his instructor thinking? Doesn't he figure out what rudder pedals are for? In every landing, use your rudder to keep the airplane aligned along with the runway. Here, I mean keeping your airplane's fuselage pointed at the biggest market of the far end in the runway.

What about a crosswind? Won't it blow me off the runway? Sure will. That is why we have ailerons. Revert to the habits you developed generating cars. Use the wheel to get back in the midst of the runway. We both know that the moment you propose a bank, the nose will attempt to turn toward your budget. Don't let it. Keep pointing your nose down the runway with all your rudder pedals.

Here can be a fundamental truth. Airplanes land on the main wheels. The principal gear is locked in position and cannot swivel. So you had better have your main supplies pointed in the direction you want it to take the airplane before you decide to land or unpleasant items will happen. You can't practice it without using your rudder pedals. It is that simple.

If this is difficult to do, I have a simple exercise to suit your needs: the Slow Dutch Move (SDR). Take her around your favorite practice area. Find a landmark on the horizon. Point the nose with that landmark. Change ones angle of bank really slowly keeping the face pointed exactly at which spot. Bank both options. Do it at constant altitude, in glides, and at various airspeeds. When participating in a landing configuration, practice SDR's slower and slower until you stall. Then go back and practice some crosswind landings. They are going to be easier.

Private Pilot Training Online focuses on the little things that hold pilots back; dispels the myths that make learning and flying unnecessarily difficult; and makes the ‘hard’ subjects easy.

There are just three fundamental skills you have to know to land an aircraft safely and consistently. They're just airspeed control, projected proceed control, and controlled slow flight. You can learn each separately. But you choose them all to territory safely and consistently.

The most fundamental and easiest to learn is airspeed control. It's best to start with it. Then you definately should master slow Nederlander roll thoroughly at various airspeeds, aircraft configurations together with angles of bank. Concurrently you may learn to control the projected glide point while maintaining a continuing airspeed. Airspeed control together with projected glide control bring the pilot to your right place at the proper airspeed to start this transition from the approach glide to your landing phase.

Control airspeed while using the elevator; fine-tune airspeed using power, flaps and you gear. Monitor airspeed along with the airspeed indicator, and in that case adjust your pitch attitude with the elevator to swap your airspeed. If you add to the airplane's drag, you will be forced to pitch as a result of maintain constant airspeed. The opposite is true, as properly. If you add power, you must lift your nose some, and consequently forth. Once you have discovered to control your airspeed in a variety of flap, landing gear, and power settings you are ready to move up on controlling either your planned glide point (PGP) or mastering slow Dutch throws (SDR).

Controlling your PGP is only slightly more difficult than controlling airspeed. During a constant airspeed approach, you will see a point among the bushes that is staying absolutely still in your field of view. This is certainly where you would go if nothing changed and you continued your downward glide. This is your PGP. If you ever keep your airspeed dependable, your PGP will move farther faraway from you when you add power and it will come closer back when you reduce the engine's power setting. Even more drag brings

PGP closer; less drag pushes it away. There is really almost no to controlling PGP, nevertheless when a pilot runs heli-copter flight far end of the runway almost definitely poor PGP control, bad airspeed control, or both was the challenge. You have to regulate them both to get the right place and the right airspeed to execute a good landing.

Ironically, once you've got flown the proper strategy, you no longer ought to control either airspeed or even PGP. A new set of skills must execute the landing itself. Fortunately you can learn these skills with one exercise conducted at a nice comfortable attitude. You learn it by doing SDR in slow flight and in the landing configuration.

Pick a point coming, hold it steady, and very slowly change your position of bank without letting the purpose move. Repeat this exercise while transitioning from an approach glide to stage slow flight.

Add power as forced to maintain a constant altitude while keeping that period steady. Now you are prepared to start landing practice. You learned ways to keep the airplane from turning left or right in various angles of bank while flying in the landing configuration at rates just above a not function by practicing

SDR. This can be a very good description with the technique used to land an airplane. If people have a simulator, people don't need an teacher. That is the nice thing about simulators; you botch up and test again. Airplanes are not forgiving.

In either aircraft or simulator, here is how to learn to land. You have successfully flown the approach to make sure you are about one side span above the runway, over its center line and at just the right airspeed. From now on, forget about airspeed and PGP.

Looking forward and laterally like you were driving over the open road, you start raising your nose to slow the airplane's lineage. Using your rudder pedals you keep the nose pointed at the far end of this runway. Using your ailerons you keep the airplane centered over the runway. Use your pitch attitude first, and then throttle, to keep the airplane off the runway.

You are NOT visiting land! This is just a workout. The objective is to obtain as close to your runway, at as slow airspeed as they can, without touching it. You will be now doing that SDR in level slow flight you did earlier. Just to prove you have mastered the situation, slide the airplane from side to side just above the runway without touching but as close as you can get. Be certain that you always keep the airplane pointed in the far end of the runway and also the airplane's body parallel to your runway. As you approach the end of the runway, smoothly apply full power and execute a go around.

Each time you decide to do this, fly the airplane as slowly as you can. Keep that stall warning screaming. It is really a fun thing to do. As you develop skill with this maneuver, try touching your runway but without landing. Touch it very slowly but at as low a speed and often. At some point you will realize that all you decide to do is to touch this runway very gently at a very slow airspeed, nextclose the throttle and you will have landed. Easy, wasn't the idea?

It was musical instrument lesson and an actual approach. We ended up flying a Piper Arrow inside the Monterey Peninsula Airport just north of the famous Pebble Seaside Country Club. The localizer was because of service. The simply available approach ended up being the NDB (non-directional beacon) approach while using outer compass locater nestled facing the outer marker in the breakwater where that peninsula met this Pacific. Flying the Monterey Bay coast is among the most most beautiful points of interest in aviation. Higher than the cloud level the sky will be dazzling. Green and red hills push up through the seemingly perpetual low stratus regarding green thousand feet above the cloud surfaces. On that working day, the tops were under 1, 000 MSL.

One fundamental standard of NDB approaches is always to fly the course that goes from the radio beacon with the missed approach point. The other significant principle is this the accuracy is bound by the accuracy to your gyrocompass. Any wander or uncompensated deviation degrades your ability to fly an accurate course.

The NDB approach requires for you to use your gyrocompass with regard to heading reference and additionally your radio compass (instant direction finder, the. k. a. ADF) designed for orientation. The deadly mistake is so that you can simply follow this needle. The seductive element of an NDB tactic is that half of times, following the filling device works just excellent. That half is until you pass over a beacon. Once your needle points rear at 180°, each of the radio compass informs you is that your pursue is pointing at the radio beacon. You will be flying in every direction.

I decided to let Ralph try the approach and additionally told Approach Control that we would execute a skipped approach at or prior to the missed approach point (MAP). Ron and I had mentioned NDB approaches. I isn't sure he appreciated them. Here was a place the place where a mistake could come to be fatal. So during our own procedure turn outbound nonetheless above the confuses, I told him to be equipped for me to lead and execute a missed approach.

We descended into the clouds. Shortly right after passing the NDB, people were 30° qualifications off course as well as headed into high terrain. I questioned Ralph what steering would get people to the flight destination. He could not really tell me and said we were doing just wonderful. He started to argue with me concerning flying a poor approach and who should be flying. I implemented full power, retracted flaps and gear, and told ATC that him and i were missed. Ron decided I had been serious and capitulated. If we were on prime Ralph stared for the mountains and turned pale.

Assume the course within the NDB to that missed approach place is 100°. Help it become easy by assuming that the inbound course to your NDB is additionally 100°. Fly some sort of 30° intercept to help you the inbound study course. This would be either 70° or 130° pc approach procedure. Should it be 130°, your heading is 30° towards the right of a inbound course. Your current ADF would read 30° to the left of straight ahead of time or 330° when you intercept the course that you want to follow. Should you be two miles or further from the NDB, start out the turn inbound just a few degrees early so you can roll to wings level just as the ADF centers. Initially fly the magnetic heading shown to the approach procedure. Inside of a few moments the ADF will start to move to either a good or left. This always does.

For you to interrupt the narrative, how do you know when you are on the path that takes you over the NDB with the airport? The answer is in the event the ADF needle is off to at least one side and the gyrocompass any time off by the same angle to the other side. Earlier your current gyrocompass was off of by 30° to the right and your current ADF was off of by 30° to the left so you were on the course but not on the proper heading. We'll try and nail this lower next.

Continuing to track inbound to your NDB, fly trial headings watching the ADF. The first try is a heading on your chart. If the wind blows want you to one side, reverse far enough that the ADF is pointing to your other side. Suppose the wind blows you to the left until the ADF points for you to 005°, turn right until it points to -005° that's really 355°. This could require a 10° switch changing your proceeding from 100° so that you can 110°. Hold that course prior to the ADF moves positioned to -010° or 350°. If the ADF moves best suited, then you didn't turn far ample, but let's claim you did. As just stated the radio compass is actually off an equal nonetheless opposite angle in the gyrocompass. You are on course but is not on the suitable heading. You know that the correction opinion is between 0 % and ten diplomas because zero has been taking you to the left of the incoming course and ten would have taken you with the right of it if you had continued. In case the wind compensating approach is between actually zero and ten diplomas, then the going to fly is concerning 100° and 110°. People may as effectively try half process between. That might possibly be 105°. It won't job either exactly, therefore keep refining ones heading.

This is the method that you follow all the way up to the skipped approach point. As soon as past the NDB the corrections are allowed to remain or right involving straight back rather than straight ahead. To put it basically, for an NDB approach or other kind of tactic, fly headings, don't chase needles.

Private Pilot Training Online focuses on the little things that hold pilots back; dispels the myths that make learning and flying unnecessarily difficult; and makes the 'hard' subjects easy.