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"CONTACT!" "BREAKING NEWS!!!" . . ."BREAKING NEWS!!!" . . . "BREAKING NEWS!!!" Thoughts From the Desk of John P. Chmiel . . .
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Pre-Owned Garmin 396 GPS with XM weather Only $2100!
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Pre-Owned ASA IFR Hood Only $5! |
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2007 ASA FAR/AIM’s are in stock now! Only $15.95 |
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Sale!!! New David Clark H10-30 Headset |
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EAA 243 Chapter Meeting—Wednesday, March 21st @ 6:30 p.m. |
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Civil Air Patrol– Tuesday, March 6th & Tuesday, March 20th in the CAP Offices (the old FBO) |
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March & April Movie Nights |
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Last month we talked about how to feel an airplane using the proper “hold’ technique. This month let’s talk about what else a pilot must learn to feel. Coordination, load factor, slip-stream, control pressures, airframe/engine/control vibrations, and kinesthesia can all be felt by a pilot. Coordination is the proper use of rudder & aileron (to counteract adverse yaw), and the use of rudder to overcome the turning tendencies caused by the powerplant. Our WWII J-3 and Stearman pilot could feel coordination in the “seat of the pants” when he was relaxed. Turning left with too much left rudder skidded |
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Can You Feel It? Part 2: Don’t Try Harder, Relax More
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his butt to the right. Turning left with too little rudder slipped her butt left. Coordination is easier to feel in the back of a J-3 (or any other tandem airplane) because the pilot in the rear is further from the center-of-lift. In a Skyhawk or Warrior, you’re almost on top of the center of lift, which makes coordination hard to feel. But, you can still feel coordination if you want to. I’ll never forget my dad teaching me to turn our Cessna C-172 N3666L. I was really keyed up and concentrating. I wanted to fly perfect and I was really trying hard. I didn’t want to make a mistake in front of my hero. He’d say, ”More rudder. Can’t you feel that?” Not wanting to disappoint him I would respond, “Oh yeah,” and I would apply the rudder (using the ball). I really didn’t understand what he was teaching me until I got about 150 hours in my logbook. At 150 hours I was flying frequently. I wasn’t working on a rating or some other goal. I was flying for fun. I was practicing and playing. I was becoming comfortable with flying. I wasn’t tense any more. I was beginning to relax in the cockpit. And that was the key. Suddenly I really could “feel” coordination in a turn! A flyer must make a conscious effort to feel load factor. Positive load factor pushes you into your seat; negative load factor pulls you out. Performing steep turns increases a pilot’s awareness of load factor. In a level coordinated 60 degree bank turn, you will experience 2 g’s (2 times your body weight). With practice you can detect the lower load factor of shallower turns. If proper rudder is not used, or you are descending, you will not feel the proper amount of load factor. Slipstream can be felt but you must fly open cockpit or in an airplane that can fly with the windows open. During an uncoordinated turn or a slip, you will feel the slipstream brush your face/hair or you’ll feel the increased wind inside the cockpit as the slipstream enters it. |
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Step #3: Focus on what you want to feel while maneuvering and tell yourself what you’re doing. Example: Remind yourself “I am feeling coordination” - For coordinat |