I love this job
Never mind that I haven't eaten in nine hours. Forget about seeing my income drop by 95% last year so I could do this full-time. This year will be better. The string of check rides, frustrations and huge airplane bills it took to get to this point are all a distant memory.
It's a rush helping people learn and somehow it doesn't seem quite as cold when you've returned from a good lesson and watched the person in the left seat fly beautifully.
Pitch and power, knowing the numbers is all it takes to get you in the ballpark.
2,000 RPM, flaps up and half a dot nose-up pitch gets you 90 knots in this particular 172.
2,100 rpm, 10 degrees of flap and about the same pitch gets you 90 knots again.
4 degrees pitch up and about 10 degrees of bank in that configuration gives you a level standard-rate turn and 1,800 RPM with 4 degrees nose down pitch makes for a 500 fpm descent.
If you're clean, the number is 1,900 rpm and about a dot low on the pitch for 500 fpm.
Back in the hangar we're talking about this and my student, having witnessed it since day one, is shaking his head in amazement.
He gets it.
It works and it'll work every time, which means flying the airplane on instruments just got a whole lot easier. It's just a matter of knowing the numbers, trusting the numbers and flying them and you'll be close to your desired performance. Or even spot on.
It's like magic but really it's just knowing the airplane. In an SR-22 full power, clean and 11 degrees nose-up pitch gets you best rate of climb. I forget what that speed is because I don't fly an SR-22 very often but I know the pitch/power combination that'll get me there.
20 inches of manifold pressure in the SR22 gives you about 145 knots level. A good number to know when you're trying to slow it down. At maneuvering speed, the magic number for a steep turn is 2.5 degrees nose up, which is easy to do on the big Primary Flight Display. Keep 2.5 degrees nose-up pitch in the turn and you don't need an altimeter to fly through your own wake.
15 inches in the SR22 is good on downwind and 2 miles before the final approach fix with half flaps. 12 inches of manifold pressure is good for a precision approach, 11 for a non-precision. Or is it 11 and 10?
Again, it's like magic but it isn't.
What is magic is watching an instrument student fly that precisely after only a handful of hours under the hood and realizing I'm not cold even though it's hovering around zero degrees in the hangar.
posted by Will at 10:32 AM
5 Comments:
btw, we had an interesting discussion during ground school the other night (on a/c performance). The instructor said that one concern is always that students learn and develop habits with just themselves and an instructor. As soon as they get their license and get two or three friends and family the a/c flight characteristics change and they get caught by surprise re takeoff and landing performance. It would seem to be a good idea to have different loads (passengers/baggage) during basic flight training to be aware of the differences. Have you encountered that sort of thing?
It's a good point.
If you can bring a buddy/spouse/son/daughter along on a few of your lessons to sit in back it's a good way to get a feel for the airplane at a higher weight/further aft CG. (Assuming you'll be within limits, of course.)
I did that when I was doing my primary training and it helped.
Throwing some sandbags back in the baggage compartment is a good way to get a feel for the different handling. Just do a careful weight/balance.
Some airplanes (I'm thinking the 182 in particular) are much easier to land with some weight in back.
Sadly, I'm not tiny and one of my primary students is bigger than I am. With the two of us in a 172 on a hot day performance is, uh, limited.
When he came back from his first solo he was amazed at how quickly he got airborne. I was like, "well, it's sorta cold this morning. And you did get rid of 240 pounds of dead weight."
i certainly enjoy reading your blog. your dedication to your students is inspiring. i am an airline pilot, and certainly remember those days with my cfi. i recently started my own blog tracking some of my trips and my thoughts on aviation. please check it out at http://anonymouspilot.blogspot.com
Yeah, that's the really scary part.
10 years from now I might have a former student flying the line and swapping stories about his first flight instructor.
I know I still hear my first instructor's voice as I'm rattling around in the cockpit. Thankfully it brings a smile more often than it does a wince.
Will,
Just found your blog, good reading. If you think it's rewarding for you when we "get it" just remember how great it is for the students !!!
Your journal gives a good look at the other side of the coin. I still hear my CFI's voice in my head every landing...."no flat landings...nose up...nose up"
Just a newbie here at 110 hours but loving every minute of it!
Gary
[url]http://gmflightlog.blogspot.com/[/url]
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