S
eat elevation as well as fore and aft posi-tion is important. The student is prone to sit a bit too high at first. A desirable eleva-tion is one where he can see the annuncia-tor lights but cannot see the nose of the airplane. If he can see the nose he is apt to be inconsistent in the flare because he may not be looking far enough down the runway for good depth perception. Whatever portion of the runway observed should move ahead with the airplane (probably 1,000 1,500 feet). Sink rate is much easier to detect with the acute angle observation rather than the more obtuse angle when looking down the slope of the nose.Use of Rudder While Taxiing It is very important in flying to have the eyeballs and feet hooked together through the brain. Many of the Incidents are caused by the pilot having to think about which control to use when something hap-pens. Without a doubt the rudder is the most important directional control. By teaching the student to use the rudder while taxiing, this potential problem will go away. Even in the flight line area teach the use of left rudder in a left and right rudder when you want to stop the turn. Its effect will be mini-mal but the procedure will be indelible. When on the in no wind conditions the rudder is quite effective at normal taxi speeds.
This will save a lot on nose tire wear, but best of all teach the student to instinctively kick the rudder. There is no 50 knot rudder switch, but the control is more effective than at 49 knots. Also better at 20 than it is at 10.
Use of Brakes During Taxi
It is more important that the student be taught not to ride the brakes, which they
are prone to do in the flight line area. If he does it here consistently he may sneak on a little on the particularly with a tailwind. However, controlling the airplane entirely with selective pitch, as may be nec-essary on ice, is unprofessional and can create other hazards, such as FOD ingestion.
Make all normal stops with the brakes rather than a lot of reverse. You are in some degree of reverse when the blade angles are aft of Start.
Yoke Position On Normal Takeoff It is best not to hold any fore or aft pressure on the yoke on a normal takeoff.
The elevators are already being held for-ward by the force link tab. Holding any more forward pressure will flatten out the tires and struts to the point where a rough run-way can set up a porpoiseing action. During abnormal takeoffs where directional con-trol is marginal, it is certainly no help to
“nail” the nose to the ground. Likewise on landings with asymmetric reverse. So how do you know when trouble may arise on takeoff? You don’t, but until it happens leave the yoke alone.
Follow Through On Rudders The instructor must follow through on the rudders at all times on takeoff and landing. You must always be ready to kick rudder should the student become confused and use the wrong control. To digress, if he has been taught to use rudder while taxiing he is less apt to need help.
Rotation
On a normal takeoff it is unnecessary and unprofessional to yank an airplane into
the air although some instructors teach this Power Control in the Pattern for some very questionable reasons. As the
airplane gets lighter during landing In the above paragraph, let’s assume the nose assumes a nose down attitude that the touch-and-go was made using 3,000 making the total arc of rotation greater. The horsepower and it was pulled back to 2,500 at nose down attitude is caused by the wing about 145 knots. Teach the student to
starting to fly earlier and rising up on the ally accelerate to 160 and hold that speed to struts. This should not prompt a violent the 180 position. This will require a gradual tion in itself. A gentle pull on the yoke with power reduction beginning about 200 feet one hand will ensure a gentle liftoff at a below pattern altitude so that a huge power reasonable, low speed. After all, what is change is not necessary all at once. Teach wrong with breaking ground at 123 instead him baseline power settings to fly 160 knots of the proverbial 12 1 when it is a smoother wings level, approach flaps, and gear up. For action? If the runway is starting to get short, instance, at 90,000 pounds about 1,100 yank it in the air. Sometimes it is hard to power is required in level flight, but it break a student from abruptly rotating be- quires about 200 more to hold the airspeed in cause he may have learned it in the Training a normal pattern bank. So, at this weight, Command. He can usually be cured by when pattern altitude is reached during a ing him use one hand only, not both. turn, about 1,300 horsepower will be re-quired, tapering to about 1,100 downwind.
Stay Over the Centerline Teach the student that the airplane will also fly at 150 knots with the same power if 160 is As the nose wheel is lifted from the never reached (L/D curve).
runway the airplane wants to turn left and a
gentle rudder application is required to stay Rudder Trim over the centerline. This is caused by the
loss of the stabilizing nose wheel footprint All normal fly with about two and propeller factor created by the increased degrees of right rudder trim on downwind attitude. Some instructors allow the students with the power set precisely even. On some to offset this yaw by applying right wing some of the instruments are imperfect down, which produces a forward slip. This and the ball may not be centered when the maneuver is used to lose altitude without airplane is perfectly trimmed. As long as the gaining airspeed, which is wrong on power is kept even during the approach it off. It may take some time to get the student will not be necessary to readjust the rudder to anticipate and apply rudder as required. trim when reductions are made. Teach At first he will wait until he sees the yaw dents to leave the tab alone. If they feel an then apply rudder to fly sideways for a spell. urge to trim look at the horsepower first, as In this case tell him you will be helping him it will usually be uneven at the time. This kick rudder at the proper time. It still boils will teach the student to always know what down to getting the feet and eyeballs the power is all around the pattern. This
ge ther. information is passed from the eyeballs
through the brain to the fingers. On touch Power Reduction and go’s it is recommended that the rudder trim be left at the downwind setting and just On a normal light weight takeoff, hold the rudder for the short interval from in the bounce pattern, there should takeoff to pattern altitude. Otherwise, for be no reluctance to make the first power some reason, the rudder tab will remain well reduction at reasonable speeds before the to the right on a short approach making the gear is fully retracted. Some instructors say student think there is a crosswind.
this could be habit forming and some may do
it when they are bagged out on a hot day. Landmarks Well, if they don’t know better than that,
help them get another job. Except in rare completely calm condi-tions the downwind heading must be altered
to stay in the proper spacing abeam the
runway. This crab angle can vary a great begin at the 180 and make the first power deal at places like Brunswick and reduction. The old standby “700 horsepower”
ville. It is a great help to the Student, and to may not work, and having to add power others in the pattern, to be over the same every time in the pattern is certainly not place at the key 180 every time. A path over professional. A good workable gouge is to the ground must be flown to the runway, reduce the power 200 from the stable which is a landmark. On a strange airport wind horsepower. Gradually reduce this space yourself properly abeam the runway power around the pattern to about 400 500 then look ahead for a landmark at the end of as the threshold is approached. Ease off power the 180. If a drift occurs, crab as necessary. as the flare is established and during
The next time around adjust the turn and quent touchdown. It is much easier to ease flight path to be over the landmark which off a little power at a time than to take off a whole bunch and have to add it back. It also may be a house, parking lot, or something to
be avoided, such as the apartment complex teaches the student to know the power at all at Moffett, or the office building at Barber’s times during the approach. This is very Point. If everyone flew the same track it for a number of reasons. If the would certainly simplify thing for pilots speed is lost from a birdstrike, or such, there
and the tower. should be no panic if the pilot has been
accustomed to having a certain horsepower Gear Extension at a point in the pattern. The airplane flies on thrust and if it is set properly you can Drop the wheels at the 180, check the point the nose at the runway and do a safe job detent right then, place your fingers on the of landing with loss of airspeed indication.
panel just below the indicator, and leave
them there until gear down is indicated. Landing Pattern Example Then read the checklist. The pilot in the left
seat does not have to wait until the gear is A normal pattern at 90,000 pounds down to check the detent. He can do it should be flown in this manner. The horse-.
time the handle is in the down position. power would normally be about 1,100 at 160 Many times a student will concentrate on the knots on downwind leg. Drop the wheels at gear indicator during extension and allow the 180 and lower the nose a very slight the airplane to turn and usually climb. When amount. Do the thing with the checklist while the gear is extended the C/G moves aft, so it is reducing the power to 900 horsepower and necessary to drop the nose a slight bit to turn off the 180 on the proper track aver the prevent gaining altitude and subsequently ground. At the 90 the speed should be about losing airspeed. Teach the student to check with about 800 horsepower. As final the brakes as he would on the approach is intercepted the power must be ground. On occasion the in-flight brake may reduced to about 700 horsepower with wings not function and the wheels can still be level, otherwise the speed will increase.
turning at the 180. Stamping on the brakes tend flaps as soon as practicable, allow the at this time will stop rotation suddenly and nose to fall through, adjust trim and power shake the airplane badly. All you need to see as required. You do not have to put in is a slight movement on the pressure gauge trim. You may reduce power before and this can be obtained with a gentle brake trimming if you desire. You may trim a bit, application. There is no valid reason to check adjust power, trim, adjust power, and so on.
them one at a time or more than once. The There is no earthly reason to fly slow big reason for checking the brakes at this in the pattern as long as you can land in the time is to ensure that they are not parked. It first 1500 feet of runway at the proper speed.
is possible to become airborne with the Flying slow on four engines and fast on two brakes parked on solid ice. It has happened. doesn’t make any sense at all. Why not fly all the pattern as if you are on two engines, Power Settings and Airspeeds then when the big day comes nothing will have to be altered. Just make a normal pat-As the gear is being extended drop the tern but don’t go below 145 until you have it nose slightly to offset the aft C/G change and in the bag. The airplane does not know how drag increase. Consider the glide slope to many engines are running as long as the power is adequate. Most people have quit
teaching that you have to be at 1.3 5 when the
flaps are extended or that you have to touch least lined up with the runway if not the centerline. However, some ins tors allow bases around the pattern. But there are still
a few instructors that teach everybody by the student to angle in and have all the work to do right at the last. Teach the student how the numbers when it is not necessary except
in isolated cases. Let’s drag up the weak the centerline looks all the way in, as it will rather than drag down the strong. take him quite a spell to learn it by himself.
Plan the roll out to final to be on the centerline if possible. Keep flying to the Elevator Trim centerline as necessary, then you won’t have to do it when close in and can concentrate on The “three hands full” of trim as flaps
are extended has to go. This started years ago landing, primarily, without chasing it ing the flare.
when they wouldn’t let you put the flaps out
until short final. At this point you had to be Crosswinds at 100 feet and 1.35. Ridiculous as well as very
difficult. The present day procedure is to
extend flaps as desired, hopefully early on When the tower reports the wind don’t final, allowing ample time to get properly just blindly set up a crosswind correction and hold it to touchdown. Get on the trimmed before getting to the threshold. Yet
there are still instructors who want all the centerline and stay there all the way in, and you will know more about the wind than trim in at once.
When the student puts in all of the anyone else. Wind direction changes with
“allowable” trim at once he is prone to allow altitude loss in almost every case. Put in as the nose to come up because of “overtrim.” little correction as necessary to stay in
tion. In a great many cases too much correc-When this happens airspeed will be lost not tion is applied and held to a horrible
only from increased drag but from
ing effect of increased lift from the flaps. At down. Remember that if the airplane is stay-this time he will probably add power and ing on the centerline without any correc-have to start a new approach. As viewed tion, then there is no crosswind at that point.
from the side, a straight in glide slope would If the airplane tends to drift off the centerline require a lower nose attitude with full flaps put in just enough correction to stay there.
When someone records the wind direction than with approach flaps due to a change in
the camber and subsequent lift pattern of and velocity on the clearance pad, such as 190 at 41 you know he is a victim of bad the wing. Thus it is very important to allow
the nose to fall through before adding trim. instruction. While he is writing it down he will probably drift off the centerline, wind At this time add only the trim needed but
keep adding it as the speed diminishes. All of or no wind. Discourage such amateurish the trim should be in by the threshold so that cedures and fly the airplane. What
the hand is on the throttles before the flare. does the wind report make when you When students have difficulty in landing only have one runway for landing?
nose high it is usually by not enough nose up
trim and they are reluctant to pull harder. Power Required Some of them think they are not allowed to
add trim after the initial application. To break Knowing the power normally an undesirable habit pattern ask the student quired throughout the approach with the to reduce a little power as the nose falls gear down and various flap settings is very through before he touches the trim. important. If the gear has not been extended courage him to make small adjustments and the power will be a lot less for the airspeed as often as he likes. There is no such thing as and should stick out like Bonnie’s big toe a definite degree of elevator trim, such as 15, that some thing is wrong. Get tower approval required for a landing. The center of gravity sometime and try it to a reasonable altitude.
determines the trim needed. Rules Described As
Rolling Out On Centerline Instructor Technique
Hopefully when the wings are Some people teach that you can’t turn eled on final approach the airplane is at off the 180 until the gear is locked down, and you can’t descend until you turn, and all
sorts of amateurish procedures. You may knots before starting the go, you will be start a slight descent as the gear is being near this speed or slower if the landing is extended prior to turning off the 180. You made at the proper nose attitude. As an may start turning before the gear is structor, never actually look at the elevator ple tely down if conditions warrant trim indicator during the cleanup. Keep your
to the pattern. With a strong eyes on the runway, check the flap
on downwind leg you will most likely have to tor, and give permission to go. You will have turn early to avoid being blown out of the already noticed about how much trim the normal pattern. There are times at student has used on approach, and this will Brunswick, in particular, that you will be be a clue as to how much to take out. Actually, flying into a brisk headwind on downwind it is not that critical. What is critical is not leg, in which case you will have to alter watching the runway during all that goes on
on downwind leg you will most likely have to tor, and give permission to go. You will have turn early to avoid being blown out of the already noticed about how much trim the normal pattern. There are times at student has used on approach, and this will Brunswick, in particular, that you will be be a clue as to how much to take out. Actually, flying into a brisk headwind on downwind it is not that critical. What is critical is not leg, in which case you will have to alter watching the runway during all that goes on