airspeed

Testing Tuesday: ATC Speed Limits

22 July 2014 by Andrew Hartley Leave a Comment

We know that, for the most part, aircraft must maintain 250 knots or less when they are below ten-thousand feet MSL, but what if Air Traffic conltrol needs to impose a slower (or possibly faster) speed limit? On today’s Testing Tuesday, test your knowledge about what you, as PIC, are expected to do when there is an ATC Speed Limit that is different than the regulations state!

What is the pilot in command’s responsibility when flying a propeller aircraft within 20 miles of the airport of intended landing and ATC requests the pilot to reduce speed to 160? (Pilot complies with speed adjustment.)

Reduce TAS to 160 knots and maintain until advised by ATC.

Reduce IAS to 160 MPH and maintain until advised by ATC.

Reduce IAS to 160 knots and maintain that speed within 10 knots.

Click here to display the answer…

Andrew Hartley is a certificated flight instructor and commercial pilot in Columbus, Ohio.

Solo – A Blogging in Formation Post

1 April 2014 by Andrew Hartley 11 Comments

What does it mean to solo?

14 CFR Part 61.51(d): …a pilot may log as solo flight time only that flight time when the pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft.

Like all of the Federal Aviation Regulations, the above is an incredbly dry statement. It defines when you may log solo flight, which is an important step to obtaining your pilot certificate.

There are lots of other regulations pertaining to solo, defining even further what solo flight means to the FAA, to your instructor, and to you:

61.51(e)(4)(ii) states that you must have a current solo flight endorsement (as laid out in part 61.87). Got that? Good.

61.51(i)(2) lays out what you must carry with you when you solo as a student pilot during cross-country flights: your logbook and your student pilot certificate/medical (and any other record required by that section of the regulations). Got them all? Fantastic.

61.87 lays out all the things you must do before solo to even be eligible to solo in the first place:

demonstrate satisfactory knowledge on a knowledge test given by your instructor
review any incorrect answers from the test
receive and log training in certain maneuvers
- surface operations including taxiing & runup
- normal & crosswind takeoffs and landings
- straight & level flight and turns in both directions
- climbs & climbing turns
- traffic pattern procedures, including entry & departure
- collision avoidance, windshear avoidance, and wake turbulance avoidance
- descents (turning & not turning) in high- and low-drag configurations
- flight at various airspeeds
- stall recognition, avoidance, and recovery
- emergency procedures
- ground reference maneuvers
- approaches to landing with simulated engine malfunctions
- slips to land
- go-arounds
You must have received an endorsement on your student pilot certificate to solo the specific make and model of your aircraft from your instructor
You must have received an endorsement in your logbook to solo from an instructor who has given you the above instruction within the last 90 days
etc. etc. and on and on – you have to know these regulations, as they define precisely what solo flight is and when you can legally perform solo flight.

And that is that, right? That’s what solo flight is – a flight by a person who meets all the above criteria and is the sole occupant of an aircraft during flight.

But does that truly answer the question of what it MEANS to solo?

Aviation has a knack for knocking the wind out of its participants with all the limitations and restrictions and constraints and conditions that the regulations lay out for everyone who wants to set foot in an airplane and leave the ground.

But there’s a reason, I think, that the word solo was chosen to be used for the first time a person flies sans instructor, and it is not simply because the dictionary defines it as “a thing done by one person unaccompanied, in particular;” which, of course, it is.

But solo also has a beautiful connotation in the arts – music and dance, in particular, where a dancer or musician or singer steps away from all the others who have been there alongside for that song, that concerto, that period, and – on their own – does something beautiful.

Unaccompanied.

Notice I have not said “alone.” A solo of a musician is not them alone, but is a piece of a larger composition. The solo stands out BECAUSE it is related to the rest of the dance or the song, not because it is separate from it. The solo artist takes courage from the other artists who have helped support her up until that point, and she steps out on her own but not alone to add her voice, her motion, her music to the overall piece.

All the months and years of practice shape the artist to be ready and able to make that step – and so it is as a pilot.

The hours you have studied and practiced with your instructor have led you to this point, where you get to step out – on your own but not alone – and take flight.

Unaccompanied.

And like the solo artist, you – the solo pilot – know the technical pieces (as the musician knows the fingering of his instrument or the dancer the placement of his limbs for balance, you know the power settings and sight picture of your instrument – the airplane). You play the throttle to get the hum of the engine you are familiar with, and set your pitch to get the perfect balance of airspeed and lift and hear the exact right tone of the wind over the wings.

You are an artist of the air, and while you know all the regulations that got you to this point, right now you are simply free, and flying, as it should be. The checklists run through your head, and the crosswind component for your runway is in your mind, and you’re thinking “red over white” as you slide down the glidepath on final approach, but your heart is beating faster than ever, and you can’t wipe the smile off your face, because this feeling is like nothing you’ve ever felt. The safety net is gone, and you’ve never been more nervous, or scared, or READY for anything in your life.

And maybe you miss a note, or place your foot wrong and slip a little, or forget a word. But that bounced landing was YOUR landing – and whether you believed your instructor when she said “That was all you” is immaterial now, because that WAS all you, and whether it was bounced or beautiful, it was YOUR landing and no one can take it away from you. Because your supporting artists are all down there, and you are up here, on your own.

Unaccompanied.

So I’ll leave you with this, Captain:

Aviation loves to boast about the individualistic nature of its participants. Solo makes it sound like you finally got away from everyone else and did this thing alone. But that is as far from true as it gets. You got here through the help of your instructor and other pilots who encouraged you, motivated you, and rooted for you (whether you knew it or not).

For all the independent, self-reliant, individualist image aviation puts out there, we really rely on one another, and want to see each other succeed. We are an incredibly helpful and supportive family, we aviators. You might be solo, but you’re never alone.

Just unaccompanied – sometimes.

This is a Blogging in Formation post. Check out the rest of the Formation Bloggers in this month’s series: “Solo.”

April 1:
Andrew Hartley – Smart Flight Training
Karlene Petitt – Flight to Success – Near Midair!
April 2:
Rob Burgon – Tally One
Chip Shanle – Project 7 Alpha
April 3:
Eric Auxier – Adventures of Cap’n Aux
Ron Rapp – House of Rapp
April 4:
Brent Owens – iFLYblog
Mark L Berry – marklberry.com/blog

If you like what you see, share us with your friends: #blogformation

Ground reference maneuvers – rectangular course

6 June 2013 by Andrew Hartley 2 Comments

Rectangular Course

Today on Smart Flight Training we’ll discuss the final Private level ground reference maneuver – The Rectangular Course.

Previously, we’ve discussed the other two Private Pilot level ground reference maneuvers – turns around a point and s-turns.

The Rectangular Course is meant to simulate the legs of a traffic pattern: crosswind, downwind, base, and final/upwind, as well as the entry into the pattern: a 45-degree leg to downwind.

As with the other ground reference maneuvers, this one can be broken down into a number of important points.

You’ll need to find an appropriate location to do this maneuver, which often will be a field, but can be anything that gives you a good, visible rectangle to fly around. Make sure you have a good option for a place to land in case it becomes necessary (this is actually part of the evaluation of your performance of the maneuvers on your checkride).

As with all flight training maneuvers (stalls, steep turns, slow flight, anything), before entering this maneuver, clear the area using clearing turns, then enter the downwind at a 45-degree angle (point 1 on the above image).

You will start this maneuver a certain distance from the field you have chosen (or the quarry, or the pattern of roads, really anything that creates a rectangle large enough to fly around that allows you to have a period of level flight between the turns). The distance you should be is generally between 1/2 a mile and 1-mile, depending on the strength of the wind. Your goal is to remain the same distance from all sides of the field, correcting for the wind’s effect on the airplane’s course over the ground.

Below are descriptions of each point in a good rectangular course:

Point 1) Entry to the maneuver – a 45-degree entry to the downwind

Point 2) Turn from downwind to crosswind – because your groundspeed is highest on downwind, you will start this turn with the steepest bank (not a “steep turn,” just the steepest turn compared to all the other turns you will do during the maneuver). You will then slowly reduce the bank to a medium bank. Additionally, you will turn more than 90-degrees, because you need to set up a crab angle into the wind so your ground track parallels the edge of the field on the “base” leg.

Point 3) Base Leg – here you are maintaining the distance from the field by crabbing the aircraft into the wind. Adjust the crab angle if you find that you are getting closer or further away from the edge of the field.

Point 4) Turn from base to “final / upwind” – start this turn at a medium bank, and reduce the bank to shallow to maintain your distance from the field. You’ll turn less than 90-degrees, because you are already crabbed into the wind. You bank becomes shallower during this turn because your groundspeed is slowing to it’s slowest speed of the maneuver during the upwind leg.

Point 5) Upwind Leg – this is the leg with the slowest groundspeed, as you are flying directly into the wind. There is also no need for a crab since your nose is pointed directly into the wind; however, small corrections can be made to maintain your distance from the field if your turn into this leg was not perfect.

Point 6) Turn from upwind to crosswind – Due to your slow groundspeed on upwind, this turn starts shallow and gradually increases to a medium bank as you reach a parallel ground course. Don’t forget about the wind! The turn will be less than 90-degrees, because you need to crab into the wind.

Point 7) Crosswind Leg – Your nose will be pointed away from the field so your ground track remains parallel to the edge of the field. Again, adjust your crab angle if you find that you are getting further away or closer to the edge of the field.

Point 8) Turn from crosswind to downwind – This turn starts at a medium bank and increases to a relatively steep bank as your groundspeed increases, again so that you maintain the correct distance from the field for the downwind leg.

Point 9) Downwind Leg – because the wind is now directly behind you, your groundspeed is the fastest it will be during this leg of the maneuver. No crab angle is needed.

You will be expected to be able to perform this maneuver (and all ground reference maneuvers) making both left turns and right turns, so you’ll practice both directions.

Also, keep in mind that these maneuvers are not about perfection, but about recognition and correction of deviation. In other words, if you find that you need to change your crab angle or steepen or lessen your bank to maintain your distance from the field, do it! Your examiner will prefer that you correct any issues as soon as possible rather then let them continue and hope s/he doesn’t notice. Trust me, s/he will!

The other criteria for this maneuver, just like the other ground reference maneuvers, is to maintain a constant airspeed and altitude as well. Your altitude should be between 600 to 1000 feet above ground level (AGL), and should be held within 150 feet. Airspeed should be appropriate for your aircraft (shoot for a safe airspeed at or below maneuvering speed (Va)), and be held within 10 knots indicated airspeed (IAS).

If it has not been obvious from the above discussion, this maneuver is getting you ready to fly airport traffic patterns safely and consistently. Practice makes perfect, and this is a maneuver that you will want to get right, because the ability to correct for the wind and fly a good pattern will directly affect your landings – which is generally what you will work on immediately after learning these maneuvers!

Please comment and tell us about your experience learning to fly the rectangular course. Do you have any tips or tricks to make it simple and consistent? Do you have any horror stories about it?

Andrew Hartley is a certificated flight instructor in Columbus, Ohio. Follow Smart Flight Training on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+!