Lesson 19 - One Steep at a time
November 03, 2022
This lesson was action-packed. In 66 minutes we covered some maneuvers, trip to Latrobe, experienced a lot of traffic en route, and then back. Let's unpack one action at a time.
First Half - Steep Turns Maneuver
Now that I have figured out the landing, it was time to get back to practicing maneuvers. I am slowly starting to understand the finer skills and controls required for maneuvers - the tweaks and smaller corrections that need to be made. I feel, I should start a “VFR Maneuvers Series” and start noting my experience, challenges, achievements, in a lot more specific details under that.
Anyway, the lesson started with “Steep Turns” maneuver.
As per “Private Pilot Airmen Certification Standards” - Steep Turns maneuver requires:
Clear the area.
Establish maneuvering speed.
Perform a 360 degree turn with approximately 45 degrees angle.
Do the same in the opposite direction.
Level off at the starting heading.
The tolerance for this maneuver is pretty tight.
Only ±100 feet altitude,
±10 knots airspeed,
±10 degrees on heading roll-out.
This is one of the “Not-really-fun” maneuver because at 45 degree bank, one wing is experiencing 2x Gs load, and as a pilot you are experiencing a very weird feeling - like something’s sucking you down in the seat. With the bank, the induced drag on one wing brings the nose down, which very quickly could/would aggravate into a spin, if not handled properly at the right time. So many things can go wrong, such as-
Before you know it, you start diving way too fast,
As you dive fast, your airspeed starts to get to dangerously high speed, potentially risking airframe itself, and
Aggravated stall, and then spin.
You know where I am going with this, right? That's why the student pilots have CFI in the right seat, to stop all of the above from happening. How do you stop that happening? a bunch of corrections can prevent it, such as - add more throttle, apply backward pressure on the yoke, mix of both.
One thing, I learnt was that, if the nose starts to dive too fast, I need to take some bank out, apply little bit of backward pressure on the yoke to arrest that descent and as the airplane finds that equilibrium, add back the bank.
Also, trimming the pitch helps tremendously with the amount of pressure I need to apply on the yoke. DO NOT FORGET THAT.
Gotta keep all of the above things in mind, when I practice my steep turns next time.
Second Half - Trip To Latrobe and Back
After steep turns manuever, we decided to make a trip to Latrobe airport. There was a lot of traffic, as multiple planes, including an airbus was landing at Latrobe. Big airbus landing means that it leaves wake turbulence behind as it lands, and that is some serious stuff.
Wake turbulence is a disturbance in the atmosphere that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. It includes many elements, but the most significant one is wingtip vortices.
Wingtip vortices are circular pattern of rotating air left behind a wing as it generates lift. It trails from tip of each wing. These wingtip vortices are associated with induced drag, the imparting downwash, and that causes wake turbulence.
It is actually quite beautiful to watch, and deadly to experience.
For landing a plane it is an important factor to consider. When there is caution of wake turbulence, you need to make sure that you fly above the landing path of the plane that landed before you. That way you avoid the turbulant air that would otherwise push you down. Similarly, if you are taking off, you need to make sure that you do not intersect the take-off path of the plane that left the wake turbulence in it's wake. The phrase for it is:
“You take-off and land in the bowl”.
By the way, I greased that landing. It was the most beautiful moment of the day for me.
After that, we turned around and flew back to Rostraver, using pilotage and ded. reckoning. Drew simulated Engine Failure emergency scenario (again !!!!), which could have gone a bit better, but it didn’t. Few things that were quite apparent in that part of the lesson were:
Significant improvement is needed in my situational awareness, and that will happen over time. There were occasions when I was flying on a collision course with another airplane, as I didn't pick up the radio communication properly. This is a work in progress, and I have already identified how it can be improved over time.
I have to reprogram my brain to think about the traffic, at all the times.
It is okay to ask Drew for help with checklists. Certainly not in the checkride, but until it becomes part of my rote memory, it is okay to ask for that help.
These are more than enough action items that I need to keep working on, but overall I can feel how I have progressed so far in my training. My skill level has definitely improved in fast few lessons, and I actually believe now, that I can be a pilot when all these lessons are over.
The learning process will continue throughout your life. You are always a student then only you can be the best.