I'm putting the original "syllabus" back up for reference...

Quote:


Part 2 will cover a lot of flying procedures. We can touch on the ABC-123-step-by-step stuff..  like approaching an airport, and pattern entry, and flying a pattern... stabilizing an approach.. and so on.

Holding headings an altitudes are techniques that you have to practice on your own. Little tips and tricks  (especially sim-specific tips) will be a big part of this thread.

Flying a nice, precise pattern in a crosswind (or any wind because it will always be a crosswind for at least two-legs of a pattern), will qualify for ground reference maneuvers (keeping your plane where you want it to be, despite the winds).. and completing a good touch-n-go with a crosswind is a good indicator that you can control the plane.

The biggest skill we can get out of this part; is to learn to keep the winds in the back of our mind. Not even  giving it much thought when you adjust your pattern-leg headings for the wind, or roll right into a perfect crab on final (groping for at the ILS needles) will free up your focus... A focus you'll need when flying by instrument. The difference between being able to fly a hold, flawlessly, so you can tend to all the other tasks while trying to get a plane on the ground in 1-mile visibility, can make the difference between a confident instrument pilot, and one who's a hazard in the air     You'll know what I'm talking about when we get into genuine instrument training...

There are a couple camps when it comes to initial climb-out speed. Mathematically they're almost equal, and the airport environment, prevailing wind and surrounding area has the last say.

Vy (~75kias for C172@sea-level)  and   Vx (~60kias for a C172@sea-level)    Vx is the best climb angle... Vy is the best rate of climb. Vx gets you the most altitude for a distance covered.. Vy gets you the most altitude over a period of time.

Best argument for Vx is simply that it will have you at the highest altitude by the time you're clearing the airport area. Best argument for Vy is that it puts distance between you and the ground more quickly.

The mathematical equalizers are that by the time you pitch for best glide after engine failure, you'd be at the same altitude, anyway (unless of course it's a short-field takeoff and the flaps are deployed)..

The hard and fast rule; that you can't make it back to the airport with an engine failure right after takeoff, is mostly true... However (off the record), if it's a 5,000 runway and you took off into a significant headwind... you very well could make it back. And if there are more than just one runway, there are other possibilities, including the likelihood of a larger clearing at the airport, than anywhere out in front of you. These are situational things, and only experience can put you in a position to make those decisions.

For the sake of simming.. all climb-outs should be done at Vy...  EXCEPT for short-field take-offs with flaps deployed where Vx is called for. Just remember to pitch for Vy after clearing the obstacle BEFORE retracting the flaps....

LOL.. you're right.. thanks 

Hi RitterKreuz..  

I've already done several, on-line, shared-cockpit check-rides and lessons...  with everyone form a 310 owner, to our friend Alrot and our language barrier  

By the time I'm finished with this series, I'm hoping very much to start giving check-rides.. or giving some lessons... and who knows.. this might even catch on. Group seesions/lessons would be great too...

There's no way for me to handle it alone though.. So each and every PPL check-ride passer, is qualified to give a check-ride... the idea being that this mind-set and approach to simming might be contagious  

Group flights and brain-storming sessions will be fun, too. Say, six of us in three planes flying blind IMC up to a resort island.. trading tips and pointers and helping each other through the rigors of genuine IMC instrument flight..  Control of the plane can be passed back and forth and we can switch planes, change co-pilots after each leg.

I think, by the time we get to actual instrument training, live sessions teach much better than reading a post and doing your own research..

We'll see where this goes..  I'm going to schedule an "instructors" MP session soon.. so we can all get on the same page (your attendence is compulsary    )

Alrighty then... I'll sort it out.

VFR cruising altitudes begin above 3000agl ( NOT msl, as many airports have elevations at or above 3000msl).

If your magnetic course (not heading, but actual ground track) is anywhere from 000 to 179, your VFR cruising altitude would be any odd-numbered thousand plus 500 (3500, 5500, 7500, etc.)

If your magnetic course (not heading, but actual ground track) is anywhere from 180 to 359, your VFR cruising altitude would be any even-numbered thousand plus 500 (4500, 6500, 8500, etc.)

The theory is to keep people from flying "at" each other. Any airplane at the same altitdue as you, will be flying in similar direction.

The old trick for remembering, is that if you're flying the "bigger" numbers (westerly) it's even+500. The smaller numbers (easterly) are odd+500....  Bigger=Even    Smaller=Odd ...

Yes, I generally lean by RPM indication, especially in MSFS... my time in a real C172 with an EGT showed me that generally the tach jibes with what the EGT is telling you. A fuel flow meter is best, of course...

In the Champ I was flying recently, which has no mixture control, a power reduction (to a setting which varied slightly with altitude) is used, the target being a distinctive vibration. Yeah... old-school, but it works. This yields best fuel economy/airspeed ratio in that plane... I found that I'd lose about 5 mph indicated, maybe a bit more. In a plane that won't go past 100 mph unless you dive it, that's not a big deal;D

But that points out what is obvious for any aircraft: throttle back a little and you will save fuel without a major sacrifice of time. My other observation with various C172s in RL was that the handbook's throttle setting/altitude/fuel burn figures were fairly accurate,  so often the choice of altitude would make a  big impact on fuel burn-to-airspeed . For long legs, I try to go with the altitude and power setting that hits the target where the airspeed and fuel burn curves intersect, if you know what I mean. Climbing costs a little fuel, but if you plan your descent right, you'll get some of that back.

Off the top of my head (been a while since I made a long haul in a Skyhawk), the best altitude is not anywhere near service ceiling- 7000-8000 feet, just a little more than halfway. The best throttle setting for that altitude escapes me at the moment, but it's about halfway between "really gotta get there" and "I'm lost and need to conserve fuel while I circle". Leaning should follow from there.

As for trim: less is more. In a Cessna, definitely trim off pressure-  do not try to adjust pitch initially with trim, unless you really want a roller-coaster flight profile.

Brett_Henderson wrote on Dec 1^st, 2007 at 2:24pm:

Digressing again, but this is interesting:
The mixture is fixed on the old "A" model Stromberg carb... but I had it up to 6,500 (ish) and it didn't seem to mind much. Very standard temp/dewpoint conditions, mind you... what's curious is that this fixed-mixture Champ has a service ceiling of 13,000. You could use most of your fuel getting up there... but finding lift is an important part of a Champ driver's job...  ;d

Brett_Henderson wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2007 at 9:51am:


This is a very good question, which I considered but didn't ask about, and in fact, neither Bob nor anyone else offered any advice on how to deal with fouling. Never experienced any, either... which is certainly not the case with all the controllable-mixture Lycomings I've flown behind. Go figure.

It's possible that the way the timing is set helps prevent that- I do know that in order to make it easier to hand-prop, the spark was advanced a bit on that one. But that won't help much if you're running very rich on a regular basis... some Champs have a "B" type carb installed, with mixture control... maybe that's the only option for high-elevation  ops.

But maybe owners of fixed-mixture carb-equipped Champs who operate in the mountains or wherever keep it set a bit on the lean side... I dunno.

As for taking off at 7000 feet in "my" Champ, the normal takeoff roll and distance-to-clear is so short, I think it would take a very short strip with very tall trees all around to make me reconsider. I did fly it on some rather high-DA days, and the difference, near sea level, didn't seem quite so pronounced as with a loaded Skyhawk on a hot day. Must have something to do with the thrust-to-weight-to wing loading ratio... it may have a puny engine, but it's a very light airplane, with a very efficient wing, all things considered.

That's a nice Champ, BTW... the Army trainer paint had me thinking "Stinson 10" at first, but obviously it isn't... by all means, get some time in it while it's still flying, especially if you find yourself sitting around thinking "I should get a couple of hours in this weekend just to stay fresh", or "I need something new to do in a plane". The fun-to-cost ratio is extremely favorable, and it will keep you in touch with your "inner stick-and-rudder pilot", because getting acquainted with it is definitely a challenge.