Flight Lessons

I meet George Kirkish by the Cub on Boeing Field. He commutes from Vashon Island in his Maule. The Cub is an old plane. Large wings, simple in design. The fuel gauge is a good example of it's simplicity. The main fuel tank sits in front of the cockpit. The fuel gage is a wire that sticks through the filler cap with a cork float on the bottom. The cork floats in the fuel. As the fuel level goes down the float sinks and less wire is visible through above the cap.

George reviews flight controls and the rudder's roll, especially in the region of reverse control. At slow speeds the function of the controls becomes reversed. The ailerons don't do a lot to bank the plane, but deflecting them causes significant drag which makes the plane yaw. The rudder makes the plane yaw, but in doing so slows one wing enough that it looses lift and the plane banks. Adding not enough power will actually make the plane sink. These are important to know because just before landing the plane is operating in the region of reverse control.

Rudder control is especially important in a tail dragger. The main wheels are forward of the center of gravity. If you let the plane start a turn it will want to spin around 180°. Attentive operation of the rudder to keep the tail behind the nose during take off and landing is crucial. George wants me to pump the pedals back and forth. Deane has encouraged that too. I don't quite get that: why not figure out what it needs and set that. George compares it to balancing a broomstick upside down on the palm of your hand. Your palm is always moving, usually back and forth as the balance point changes. We'll, I get what he is saying, but I don't yet feel the balance point changing so quickly that my adjustments will appear as pumping.

Taxing the J-3 is a chore. I'm perched in a small bucket seat. The pedals are too close. The back not supportive enough. And I have to hold the stick full back against the weight of the elevators and the force of prop wash running over the upper surface. I can't see forward and have to weave back and forth down the taxiway steeling glances out either side window. This all gets better when the plane is in flight, but on the ground it is awkward.

The plane is flown solo from the rear seat. (I'm in front this time) so controls are either double or they are awkwardly located near my hips. I fly with my right hand on the stick and left on throttle, opposite of the Cessna, but have to switch hands to operate the carb heat.

On take off and landings I feel like my skills have regressed. We do several landings at Wax Orchard on Vashon, a nice grass strip. There's a slight cross winds. I would have little trouble brining the Cessna down near the center of the runway, but I let the cub drift right. We are doing 3 wheel landings. That means that we hold the cub just off the ground until it slows to near a full stall at which point it's attitude is same as all 3 wheels on the ground. At this point I can't see forward at all, which cripples my ability to judge where we are on the runway. I feel like we are about to grind the tail into the runway. I find that my fear of landing on the nose wheel of a tricycle plane transfers directly to fear of landing on the tail of a tail dragger. We do actually touch the tail wheel down first once and I guess that is OK. There is a lot less weight over the tail wheel.

I notice that close to the ground I instinctively center the stick. This is a big part of why I keep drifting off to the side of the runway. I later read that most pilots instinctively level the wings before touchdown. While this seems like the right thing to do it isn't. Once level the plane start to drift down wind. Better to hold the bank angle all the way to touchdown and land one main wheel first.

On takeoff's I am supposed to hold the tail down with full back stick then as speed builds move the stick forward to ease the tail up, hold slight forward pressure as speed builds, then release that and let the plane start flying. I'm unable to remember to move the stick to raise the tail until George reminds me. By then it sure feels like he's pushing it forward, though that could just be the strong pressure from airflow over the elevators.

Finally, working with a new instructor has me off balance. He's directing me to do some things which I would do myself. That's fine, he doesn't know me. But receiving this direction throws me off. I concentrate on doing as told, but when he fails to tell me to do something I forget to do it myself. Do I follow the plane or the instructor? As an example we reduce power a short while after takeoff. George tells me when to do this on every take off except the last. I think about reducing power but because he has not told me yet I don't. Then we start doing other things and I forget about it. Left alone I would remember, mostly. By myself I get most things right, but occasionally find that I've landed with out carb heat on.

Despite all this George tells me that I'm doing well for my first time, especially considering how little experience I have. I take some pride in this, but also feel disappointment in my apparent regression in skills.

I'll try to incorporate some of the skills I practiced today into flights in the Cessnas. I tell George I come back when I have more time and skill.

Lesson 27: Back to the 172

Monday, February 23, 2004
Take off BFI, Dutch Rolls, Boxes, Landings at Bremmerton, return BFI
Cessna 172, 1.8 hours, 9landings

I take the 172 because I want to fly a plane that is better balanced and that floats better on landing. I notice it's greater power immediately on takeoff. Flight is smoother, but the plane is slower to respond.

I repeat the now familiar drill. Cross to Vashon while climbing to 2500 ft. First I practice slow flight and pay attention to how the controls reverse. I find that I now instinctually use minimal aileron deflection and rely more on the rudder. The rudder will bank the plane. More, it feels like the rudder spins the plane the way a rudder can spin a sailboat.

I then do an emergency landing drill. I turn final to the runway too soon and would land long. It is hard to know for sure. Full flaps would get the 150 down in time but I think not this 172. Near the end of the flight I do another emergency landing practice. This time I start directly over the runway and spiral down. After 2 spirals I'm high over the critical point but I don't think I'll make another 360 so I level out and fly downwind. Deane's voice is telling me to never fly away from the airport so I turn base. This feels close so I pass the center line before turning. In the turn I sure feel like I'm going to start sinking into the trees. I think the 150 would at this point, but when I level out from the turn the 172 is still high. I cross back over the centerline to add another S turn. Finally I'm sure that full flaps would get me down to the runway with room to stop. I count this one a success.

I do 9 landings at Bremmerton. On the first I cut the power early and keep it off. Even so I'm pressed to make it down in a reasonable position on the runway. On my second landing I'm high and use a slip instead of full flaps. When I roll out I'm still high, give up on making the landing, and go around. I'm not convinced that a slip results in a faster descent than full flaps. All the remainder of my landings are done with full flaps and I make all of them.

I'm working on keeping the plane floating just off the runway until I'm in a full stall. Some of my landings are quite good with a very gentle contact. Others bounce just a little.

Winged Migration

Marie and I watch Winged Migration a documentary about birds migration. The film has amazing close up footage of birds flying. I mean, the camera is just a couple feet away from the birds. The DVD has a feature on Making Winged Migration. First, they imprinted the birds as they were born so they were comfortable around humans. In fact, through out the film, especially with the pelicans, there are many scenes of the humans cuddling up and petting the birds.

Some of the in flight footage was shot from moving boats or cars and some from ultra light airplanes. This gets me to thinking that an ultra light may be the real ticket for exploring Utah. You just need one for each person in the party.

At the end there is a poem which I like:

By a poet named something like: Inguin Cacue

In our next lifetime we'll take care to not be human
We'll be two wild geese flying high in the sky
The blinding snows
The seas and waters
The mountains and clouds
The red dusts of the world
From far above we shall see them
As though we had never fallen.

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Page last modified: Aug 20 03:23 2008 by Tom Unger