06/30/2009 - "When I say right rudder, I mean right rudder!"

Pictured at left: N739AG. This is a nice plane! Leather and cloth interior, very clean, well-cared-for instrument panel. Tom tells me that this is the plane I will be taking my checkride in. Looking forward to it.


I snapped a quick shot of Tom before starting my preflight. I call this his "instructor headshot". Be sure to appreciate the leather and cloth interior of this plane, because I sure do!




Still battling my bad flight sim habits as I work on takeoffs and landings today. It takes every bit of my concentration to keep from pitching the nose down too far and increasing the airspeed. I constantly remind myself... Let the runway come to me... But as soon as I focus my mind on other parts of the landing, like making my turn on time, the nose starts to dip. Today, I focused on using trim to prevent the nose from dipping too much. But airspeed is not my only problem.

Holding the centerline on final is still difficult for me. I continue to drift to the left of the centerline. Tom is patient with me, and reminds me that I'm drifting, but at this point he must feel like a broken record.

"Use the control wheel to control your drift. Use the rudder to control which way the nose is pointing."

Boy, am I having trouble using the rudder on final.

"Right rudder! Right rudder!" Tom warns as I flare for landing.

I apply some right rudder, but it's never enough. The plane lands slightly crooked, and I feel that side load on the landing gear again.

"When I say right rudder, I mean right rudder!" Tom is emphatic, but he never gets frustrated. Nerves of steel, this guy.

Continuing to work on soft field takeoffs, and it is very unnerving. I am simulating taking off from a grass field. I am required to pull back on the control wheel in the takeoff roll, thereby lifting the nose wheel off the ground as I roll. This is necessary because the nose wheel is susceptible to bogging down when it is rolling on grass if the grass is wet. Hitting a muddy patch on takeoff roll could result in a terrible accident. Then, once the plane finally lifts off, I am required to push the control wheel forward to stay level with the ground about 20 feet off the ground, still within ground effect which helps the plane stay aloft, until I reach the climbout speed of 75 knots, and then I must pull back and climb out as normal.

The scariest part of this maneuver is immediately after liftoff. The ground seems so close, and I'm trying to accelerate over the ground without descending into it. The soft field takeoff is done with 10 degrees of flaps, and the plane really wants to climb. It takes a lot of strength to push the control wheel forward and stay in ground effect. Tom reminds me to apply nose-down trim so that I don't have to push forward so hard on the control wheel, but it makes me nervous. I know what Tom wants me to do, but once in a while I need extra time to wrap my head around his instructions.

When I'm practicing short field takeoffs, I'm trying to use the shortest amount of runway in my takeoff roll. When I enter the runway, I am required to taxi backwards slightly so that my takeoff roll starts as far back as possible. Once I am on the centerline, I apply full brakes and push the throttle to full, then release the brakes to start my roll, which permits me to accelerate more quickly. When I reach 55 knots, I pull back on the control wheel to pitch the nose up and climb out at only 60 knots. This is Vx, or the speed that permits the best angle of climb, and allows me to more effectively clear an obstacle which might be at the end of the runway. Once I am 50 feet above the ground, I pitch the nose forward for the regular climbout speed of 75 knots.

For both soft field and short field takeoffs, the wing's angle of attack is higher than normal. I must apply a healthy amount of right rudder to counteract P-Factor, torque and gyroscopic precession. Again, Tom reminded me a couple times to apply more right rudder. I know what I must do, and now I simply have to do it.

Continuing to learn. Each lesson offers a small victory.

- Airman Eric

06/09/2009 - "Go or no go?"

No matter how much a pilot's heart races at the thought of taking to the skies once again, he/she must temper this passion with the question, "Go or no go?" Already had two "no go's" this week! The weather has not been kind!

I had scheduled a lesson for Monday evening at 4 p.m., but when I woke up in the morning and checked the TAF (Terminal Area Forecast) on http://www.aviationweather.gov/, it showed visibility 2 miles, cloud ceiling 1,000 overcast, and wind gusts up to 25 knots. VFR aircraft may only fly in 3 miles visibility, and the pilot must be able to be clear of clouds at all times (500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 2,000 feet horizontally). These clouds were too low, visibility too poor, and the wind gusts of 25 knots are a bit much for our little Cessna. I texted Tom with the weather report, and he said that he would check the new forecast when it comes out at 1800Z. And he did. No improvement. I was greatly disappointed, but we rescheduled the lesson for Tuesday at 1 p.m.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up with a start. Charged to the computer and checked the TAF. Visibility 6 miles in the afternoon, calmer wind, but a ceiling of only 1,000 feet. Tom and I had high hopes that the clouds would burn off in time for our lesson, but when I was pulling up to Atlantic, Tom texted me and told me to come to the API office. When I arrived, he pointed out that the ceiling (lowest cloud layer classifed as Broken or Overcast) had risen to 1,200 feet, but still not high enough for us. Sadness!

Met up with Tom and did some ground school work instead. Discussed the practical test standards which I must meet in order to earn the PPL. I will be tested using a combination of written tests, an oral exam, and a checkride in the airplane. Tom told me that the examiner is a stickler for details, but I must also establish the fact that I possess excellent judgment. If I were asked "What type of weather is required for VFR flight?", I would respond by quoting the VFR minimums according to regulation, but also explain that if a METAR shows weather that is better than minimums, but very close to those minimums, I would still wait to fly. Even if the weather at my departure airport is above minimums, I might encounter below-minimum weather after takeoff, which would in the least cause me to divert from my flight plan and cause inconvenience, but at most might result in an accident. A pilot must constantly ensure safety of the aircraft and passengers, and must possess the judgment to ensure that safety.

Covered the four turning tendencies generated by the physics of the airplane: P-Factor, Spiral Slipstream, Torque, and Gyroscopic Precession.

* P-Factor: When the propeller is turning with a high angle of attack, such as in a climb, the downstroke side of the propeller has a higher angle of attack than the upstroke side, and creates more thrust on the downstroke side. This tends to pull the plane to the left at high power and low airspeed. Very prevalent on takeoff. Countered with right rudder.

* Spiral Slipstream: The propeller causes a spiral of air to rotate about the airplane in flight, and this spiral of air strikes the vertical stabilizer, yawing the airplane to the left. Also prevalent at lower airspeeds. Countered with right rudder.

* Torque: According to Isaac Newton's third law, any action has an equal and opposite reaction. Since the propeller is turning clockwise (from the pilot's point of view), it also generates an opposite motion which tends to roll the entire airplane counter-clockwise. Countered with a little bit of right bank, although most modern airplanes are designed to account for this torque in level flight by centering the propeller shaft slightly to the right.

* Gyroscopic Precession: The spinning propeller acts as a gyroscope at the front of the aircraft. When the aircraft climbs, it creates downward (opposite) pressure on the shaft, which translates to forward pressure on the bottom of the propeller and a right-turn tendency as the force on the shaft is felt 90 degrees later in the propeller rotation. When the aircraft is pitching downward for a descent, the upward pressure on the shaft translates to a left-turn tendency. Countered with opposite rudder (left rudder in a climb, right rudder in a descent).

So, the ground school lesson was uneventful, but necessary. Bought four books: Private Pilot Practical Test Standards for Airplane Single Engine Land and Sea, FAR/AIM (Federal Aviation Regulations / Aeronautical Information Manual), Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, and the Private Pilot Oral Exam Guide. I'm very impressed by the full color illustrations in the Aeronautical Knowledge handbook. I'm going to be doing a LOT of reading.

Are you ready for me to get back in the plane? Me, too!

Headed home; looked over all of my materials. Watched more of the DVD course; learning about ground reference maneuvers and turns around a point. Anxiously waiting for the weather to clear up. Tomorrow is another day.

- Airman Eric