That grain of wisdom....

[9 lives]

Okay oldtimers, it's a new year, and as all new years, it should be started out on a good step. Based upon your flying experience, what grain of wisdom would you write [here] to new pilots, that they could take away and forever have that little extra corner in their bag of luck?

Of course, discussion of the topics is welcomed.

I'll start:

Pilots, all airplanes will glide, and you have and/or will be trained to do this properly. During this training, the concept of "best glide speed" will come up. This is an important speed to know and fly for each type, if you are trying to go as far as possible with no engine power. However....

If you are within a few hundred feet of your landing surface, and power off, you might want a few extra knots in your bag of luck, 'cause you're going to need it to flare for a gentle landing.

This concept extends to those silly steep, slow departures which some pilots are seen to do, perhaps to entertain the earthbound masses. From that slow speed, could you nose down, and get the plane sped up to the required glide speed, before you arrive back at the hard surface?

Altitude is your friend, but power off, so is some speed too. Fly normal departures, and allow some acceleration with the climb, it'll save your butt if the engine quits on climb out.

[Big Pistons Forever]

As an instructor I am discouraged by how many PPL's I see chasing the ASI instead of flying a pitch attitude with the appropriate power setting.

My favorite exercise with new PPL's is to cover the ASI with a post it note before the engine is started and then go out and do a few circuits.

[Johnm]

Having lost all pitot static instruments in solid IMC twice now, knowing power and pitch settings for a variety of scenarios seems to me to be very important :ok:

[India Four Two]

My suggestion to new pilots is to get your instructor to fly you at appropriate power settings in carb icing conditions (at a safe altitude) and then after an appropriate interval, pull the carb heat on.

The first time I experienced this (solo in a 172 after ten years of flying), I thought the engine was going to stop, as it ingested a slug of melting ice. It was so scary that my instinctive reaction was to push the carb heat control in!

Also, once you are comfortable with circuits, get your instructor to have you fly some circuits with the ASI and altimeter covered.

[ETOPS]

Altimeters and ensuring the subscale barometric pressure is correctly set to the relevant figure.

Failure to get this right each and every flight can kill you...

[Rod1]

If you have to engine failure, whatever else you do, DON'T STALL.

Rod1

[Gertrude the Wombat]

My favorite exercise with new PPL's is to cover the ASI with a post it note before the engine is started and then go out and do a few circuits.
Good stuff.

I'd pass that one (I claim!) because I practice it from time to time (with an instructor).

Having asked to be shown how to do it on reading of yet another pilot who killed himself and all on board following an ASI failure.

And that was before AF447.

[foxmoth]

Grains of wisdom -
Don't open a yoghurt pot towards you (the low pressure when at altitude makes it squirt out)
If you take a flask of coffee, especially in a push top flask add some cold milk/water (low pressure can make it boil at a lower temperature - when you push the top down the coffee keeps flowing out because it has reboiled and steamed)

[Hadley Rille]

Big Pistons, my instructor absolutely insists on having the ability to judge airspeed by looking out of the window and not at the panel. The ASI being a handy backup only!
It's tough but I believe it will make me a better airman.

[CISTRS]

Looking out of the window is always a good idea. You should be flying "attitude" which you judge by external references.

[FleetFlyer]

I've just prattled on at length about this in another thread, but this would be my one grain to pass on:

Stay Current & fly frequently.

The quicker you build up that bag of experience, the sooner you won't be so reliant on that bag of luck. You'll be doing all the stuff you were taught whilst recently doing your PPL training, so it should still be reasonably fresh in your mind. If you fly a lot immediately after completing your PPL then you'll massively reinforce all that good stuff you were taught and be much more likely to carry more of it through to your later flying career. And if you can't afford to hire, buy a cheapo share in a permit type that costs £30-50/hr to fly and fly the balls off that. Its well worth it both for the fun and the big bag of skill and experience you will have accumulated after a year or two.

[Pirke]

On high wing aircraft watch out for the flaps and pitot tube, they can hurt your head...

[thing]

Speed is life. Never ever try to stretch a glide. Expect your engine to fail on each and every take off and have a plan and I mean a proper one, not a vague 'I'll turn into wind and set up correct glide speed.' Know all of the suitable fields around your own airfield and one's you visit often. If it's a new airfield check it out on Google Earth, look for some good landing areas. It takes seconds to look. If engine failure means crunching into a housing/industrial estate then don't fly from that airfield. Get as high as you can when crossing water. Don't bumble around at 1000-2000' because that's where everyone else is bumbling around. Get some kind of instrument rating. Look out, then look out some more.

[Pirke]

Speed is life, or death. When doing an emergency landing and you misjudged your approach and have 2 choices: too high for the first field or too low for the second field after the first: go for the first and keep it on the ground. The drag greatly reduces your speed and it's better to hit the fence at 30 knots driving then hitting the fence at 60 knots flying.

[piperboy84]

Never ever trust the fuel gauges and don't eat the yellow snow

[thing]

When doing an emergency landing and you misjudged your approach

Or alternatively, and I'm not being funny, learn to fly gliders and you won't misjudge a power off approach again.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

If engine failure means crunching into a housing/industrial estate then don't fly from that airfield
That would make Cambridge not-very-useful most of the time, then, wouldn't it.

[thing]

Which is why I don't use Cambridge. Your neck, your risk assessment. You may also want to spare a thought though for the poor sods on the ground who's day you will spoil should they be on the receiving end of a ton or so of fuel filled metal.

[150 Driver]

I'm not an old timer so not in a position to give out gems of wisdom.

But something I find helps me is when completing my logbook spending five minutes mentally reviewing the flight and thinking 'what did I do well, what was I slow at thinking about, what could have been improved, what bad habits are starting to develop ?' I scribble this on a post it note which goes in the log book and is something I look at before the next flight.

[Above The Clouds]

1. The only time you have too much fuel onboard, is when you are on fire.

2. During line up for take-off, runway behind you is useless.

[thing]

Just remeinded me of the old RAF chestnut.

Three things that are useless to a pilot.

1. Maps in the locker room.

2. Runway behind you.

3. Fuel in the bowser. :)

[CISTRS]

Don't trust your life to an engine.
Be within gliding range of a viable forced landing location, and continuously assess these options.

[Crash one]

Last spring I discovered that a small exhaust leak had worsened, removed the exhaust and got it repaired by a very good welding shop, (permit aircraft) replaced it and continued to fly through the summer. Two weeks ago the battery wouldn't start the thing so to get flying I swung the prop. An hour later it started no bother. Three days later had to swing it again, I put this down to cold weather, so, removed the battery to recharge it. Discovered a hole two inches dia melted through the underside of the battery casing exposing the plates, no acid left, bone dry. The battery tray is about half inch above the exhaust, I'm surprised it held a charge all summer. Next in the line of fire, literally , is the fuel filter/gas collator/fuel pipe work.
I am not inclined to dwell on "what if" scenarios so I'm not about to lose any sleep over it. However I certainly learned a lesson, don't be complacent just because it's a lovely day to fly and we don't get many at this time of year.

[flybymike]

Just remeinded me of the old RAF chestnut.

Three things that are useless to a pilot.

1. Maps in the locker room.

2. Runway behind you.

3. Fuel in the bowser.

You missed out the fourth;

"Altitude above you"

[FleetFlyer]

I reckon 150 Driver's tip is a good one. A little self examination is always worthwhile in this game and a little note-to-self in your log book seems like a good idea. It makes me think I really should get more organised and fill out my log book more than once every 10 flights or so.

[worldpilot]

Fleetflyer said:

Stay Current & fly frequently.

A very practical and good advise that makes sense to me.:ok:

Control and performance are two major factors that, if consistently maintained through currency and frequent flying, will significantly improve the chances of securing positive outcomes in aircraft failure circumstances.

I was in Florida flying during the first two weeks of December 2014 and the aircraft available was Cessna Skyhawk 172 or 182 with G1000 cockpit. The last time I flew a Cessna with G1000 was in November 2011. Since then I've been flying only Cirrus SR20 and SR22.

Even though I successfully completed the checkout in C182 without problems, I noticed some deficiencies in my handling of the aircraft. Clearly, I wasn't current in the C182 to secure the level of control and performance that I'm used to in the Cirrus aircraft. I fly about 50-70 hours in the Cirrus yearly.

Maintaining currency and frequently practicing flight operations in the cockpit is the best way to sustain flight envelope in both normal and abnormal circumstances.:ok:

WP

[thing]

Since then I've been flying only Cirrus SR20 and SR22.


How awful!

[phiggsbroadband]

How awful!


Yes you can soon forget how to start a Cessna when it is hot.....

[maxred]

A couple I quite like.......


Pre-Flight - Physically Touch/push-pull Anything that Can or Shouldn't Move

Anytime you have to touch the prop, assume it wants to kill you!!!

Also pay particular attention to fuel pre take off. I have fuel, I have enough fuel, it is in the correct tank, and it is switched on...Oh, and I have put the cap back on:=

[India Four Two]

Oh, and I have put the cap back on... and have I disconnected the grounding wire?

Not too serious in a fixed wing, although there is a risk of a prop strike, but potentially fatal in a helicopter, as a friend of mine found out.

He was lucky that he figured out what was happening before he had lifted too far! :sad:

[mary meagher]

First learn to fly gliders. Then you will be a much better pilot.

[tmmorris]

Also pay particular attention to fuel pre take off. I have fuel, I have enough fuel, it is in the correct tank, and it is switched on...Oh, and I have put the cap back on

I'll second that. My son (aged about ?6 at the time) kept trying to attract my attention during takeoff... Once I realised he was serious and listened, he told me the fuel cap on his side was missing (PA28, so very obvious). Quick circuit to land, no obvious fuel loss...

ATC recovered it from the threshold - it had been sitting on the wing next to the tank during taxy.

[Hireandhire]

All women lie about their weight!

I took a young woman from my office flying on a warm day, and tactfully asked her just to discreetly write her weight down so I could do a 'weight and balance' the night before. With hindsight we were well over max weight on take off;initially I had trouble taxiing in a straight line (I thought I had a flat tyre!)and the stall horn squeaked on climb out. Fortunately I had located to a long hard runway and optimized the fuel load.
With hindsight, if the engine had just run sick for a moment, we would have been in deep trouble, with a stall/spin accident looming large. As it happens, we had a very sociable flight, but I emerged with a few more gray hairs and a lot more cynical.

[thing]

All women lie about their weight

They do because they don't know how serious it is not to tell the truth. But then you can't say 'Tell me the truth or we'll die.'

As a rule of thumb I add 28 pounds onto any weight a women gives me.

[maxred]

Thing, that is 2 stone, or two dress sizes. Dear God, that is a lot.

Do they lie so much?:eek:

[Gertrude the Wombat]

All women lie about their weight!
That's what the scales at the flying club are for.

[Duchess_Driver]

Always ask yourself "What's the wind going to do to me?"

Learn to "Guestimate" before you Calculate....

And just because no one else has said it yet...

"It's never good to run out our airspeed, altitude and ideas all at the same time!" ;)

DD

[Mechta]

Don't try and multi-task when walking through a packed hangar or on a flightline. Trailing edges make very effective meat slicers when they catch you unawares.

[P.Pilcher]

Through out my entire flying career I have always remembered "There old pilots and there are bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots". I can name at least two old friends who forgot that one and are no longer with us due to aviation incidents. Also "there is always plenty of gravity - how much fuel have you got?" This thread is full of other similar excellent "aide memoirs".

P.P.

[thing]

Do they lie so much?:eek:

In my experience yes. I don't think they lie deliberately, they just see a different person to the one you and I see when they look in the mirror. I also add ten pounds onto any weight a male gives me as well.

[Pirke]

People usually forget clothing, headsets and bags as well. Once I had woman with a small purse of over 2kg... I don't wanna know what was in there :) The aircraft I fly is always on its rear CG limit before being too heavy, and those "little bags" really add up in the back.

[BroomstickPilot]

'That's what the scales at the flying club are for'.

This fascinates me. I can't say I can recall ever having seen scales at a flying club - ever. And on returning to flying in 2005 I visited about 12 flying clubs across the South-east of England over a period of two years. Although I do agree scales should be provided and their use by all personnel intending to fly mandated.

Personally, I never took passengers with me when flying and I always weighed myself and my kit on the bathroom scales at home. (My instructors always knew their own weight). So the absence of scales at the club or flying school never bothered me. I assumed most others must have done the same.

In the fifties even airline passengers had to be weighed before boarding; (in the days when BEA operated DC3s and Viscounts).

So which flying clubs do provide scales for members' use?

Regards,

BP.

[BroomstickPilot]

I'm old in years but not in hours, but this is the main thing that underpinned my flying until I was compelled to pack in a few years ago on financial grounds.

I would say that to be a good pilot you need to be thorough, organised and meticulous, especially with the boring bits that you have to do on the ground, such as checking Met and NOTAMS. (How many times has a Red Arrows display been called off because some idiot has blundered into their display space because he/she clearly has not checked NOTAMS)?

Being meticulous and thorough, however, requires TIME. So it is necessary to arrive at the aerodrome with a good couple of hours to devote to it.

Every good flight commences with sound preparation on the ground. I made a checklist of all the preparations that had to be completed, or calculations made before flying, and laminated it in plastic. This could then be used every time I flew, completed items being ticked off with my permanent marker pen and the whole being wiped clean later in the day with some meths and a rag.

When carrying out a pre-flight inspection, (I hate the term 'walk-around check',) I would do the same things in the same order, so that if I was temporarily distracted then on resuming my check I knew exactly where I was up to.

Even my pilot case was divided up into compartments by partitions made from strong corrugated cardboard and packing tape so that everything I needed to fly had its proper place and its presence could be easily checked.

Well that's my two penneth.

Regards,

BP.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

So which flying clubs do provide scales for members' use?
There were some at Cambridge Aero Club. I haven't seen them recently, but they were hidden under a bookshelf or cupboard or something, you had to know they were there.

There's always the danger that if you do something helpful like provide scales they'll be removed by some H&S bod on the grounds that they're not calibrated. Thus forcing you to use the bathroom scales at home, which ... guess what! ... aren't calibrated either.

[tmmorris]

RAF Benson FC definitely has scales. And IIRC the FOB says to use them...

[flybymike]

I tend towards the view that if i'm reduced to having to weigh things then we are probably too heavy anyway.

[Pilot DAR]

Assure the configuration of your aircraft (wheels, flaps, engine controls, fuel, etc.) before you do the next thing with it. Use a checklist if you like, but assure the configuration no matter what....

[PPLvirgin]

airspeed, airpseed, airspeed! I passed my PPL in March last year, 2014. this was drilled into me all the time.
Great advice, as often I would be looking external and my airspeed whilst not critical at critical points such as turn on final or takeoff - it was too close for comfort because i had been distracted!

Now its always correct and safe airspeed first.

I intend to complete my IMC this year and an Aero's course, all to help improve my flying and experience.

Ps, I am neither old or experienced but always look on here for experienced hands and advice, this is a great thread to learn from. :D:D:ok:

regards

Tris

[Big Pistons Forever]

PPLVirgin

I call the ASI "the devils instrument" because falling under its siren spell is the beginning of the path to the aviation hell of inhabited by airplane drivers, not pilots.

I highly recommend you find a good instructor and go fly a bunch of circuits with the ASI covered. You will find that attitude plus power will always give you the desired airspeed and you can recognize the beginnings of gross deviations from the ideal by the feel of the controls :ok:

[9 lives]

Yeah, I've got to agree with BPF on the ASI issue. THe ASI is a wonderful instrument for assuring you that you're not flying the plane too fast (for those GA types capable anyway!). For slower flight, I would rather see the momentum/inertia, and flight path managed (which requires zero reference inside the cockpit in VFR flying). Feel the plane, and the momentum you carry, then consider the trend, and the available flight path. Do they all sum up to look good?

If you have honed this important "eyes out" skill, the rest of the flying is going to work out very well.

[mary meagher]

Forget what that guy said, if you were looking out for traffic you had your priorities RIGHT.

Of course in PPL training, they don't practice spins any more, but I certainly hope you could recognise approach to a stall? Even though some airline pilots have a problem with Airspeed, in any light aircraft or glider if you have ANY airmanship at all, you can FEEL your airspeed is OK. You don't have to nail it!
(Though it is useful to maintain proper approach speed when on approach; a quick glance at the ASI from time to time should do.)

Like I keep telling everybody, to become a good pilot, learn to fly WITHOUT an engine....in gliders. That will give you the true basics.

And LOOKOUT is the one that can save your life if it is your habit to always be aware of whats coming at you! After you have your ATPL, then you can blame the controller....

[Crash one]

I've said it before, been round the circuit at least twice with the pitot cover still on. I can't recall what the threshold speed is that I use. All down to my instructors beating "attitude" into me. Gliding I remember an old Polish guy who flew with almost no instruments in the panel being asked " how do you know how high you are?" "When my fag goes out it's high enough". Reliance on a bunch of numbers in a light aircraft is a nonsense. What is Vr? FFS.

[abgd]

On my first solo I inadvertently left the alternate static open reducing the ASI by about 10 knots. On a gusty day in a Tomahawk I'm very glad I trusted my intuition that there was something wrong and added a fair bit extra.

[Mach Jump]

Guys.

I know you mean well, but please stop telling newly qualified pilots that it's somehow 'cool' to ignore their ASIs during critical phases of flight, and to rely instead upon some mysterious sense of 'feel' they have not yet sufficiently developed.

Tris.

In time you will develop an inceasing 'sense' of what 'feels like' the right speed for various situations, but even then, you will use it in combination with the ASI. Have a great time with the IMC and aeros. Both of these will help develop that sense of 'feel'.


MJ:ok:

[9 lives]

but please stop telling newly qualified pilots that it's somehow 'cool' to ignore their ASIs during critical phases of flight, and to rely instead upon some mysterious sense of 'feel' they have not yet sufficiently developed.

How about we tell new pilots that it's okay for them to refer to the ASI, but not rely upon it? The underlying implication being that it may not work one day, so they best have a plan B.

[India Four Two]

so they best have a plan BAbsolutely. It's happened twice to me. Once after takeoff, due to a mud-dauber wasp's nest in the pitot. I had forgotten to check the ASI during the takeoff roll.

Once due to rain water in the system - and a water-ballasted Open class glider behind me. I elected to continue the takeoff rather than risk having the glider run into me, if I aborted.

[PPLvirgin]

thanks MJ - good advice as always.

India Four Two - on your second point - in my naivety i would think that was pretty dangerous to continue as you might have put yourself in iminent danger? or were you aware that a glider behind would have been critical and needed to land anyway?

I know when my abort line is and what my ASI should be, so until i have much more extensive experience(although even then) if the ASI is not working I would probably abort - surely this is the safest thing to do at all times?

regards

Tris

[mary meagher]

PPLvirgin, you sure have been brainwashed! I think you need to fly with a gnarly old instructor and ASK HIM TO COVER UP YOUR ASI!!!! If you have more than 20 hours solo, you will be pleasantly surprised that you can actually survive without being glued to the instruments.

India Four Two is plenty experienced or he wouldn't be a tug pilot. and he correctly weighed up the risks. If you are not actually flying in Instrument Flying Condition, even an average pilot can manage without most of them.
Do I need an ASI? no, not even on approach. three times flew with the pitot tubes taped up (my mistake, but no problem). And Altimeter? Cows get bigger. Trees look quite detailed. Radio up the duff? who needs a radio anyhow? GPS? follow the road. Or the shoreline.

The only thing that will spoil your entire day is meeting another aircraft which you fail to notice. Because you were fixing your attention inside the cockpit instead of outside.

[abgd]

surely this is the safest thing to do at all times?

'All' is a very big word.

What if, by the time you realise, there isn't enough time to stop before the end of the runway?

What if your aircraft doesn't have an ASI? My very first aircraft didn't. And I'm not talking about radio control ones. Though their pilots seem to manage pretty well too.

[thing]

RAF Benson FC definitely has scales.

So does RAF Waddington FC. Must be an RAF thing. We just like to know stuff about people.

[India Four Two]

PPLvirgin,

It was a decision made very quickly after an assessment of my options. I had an 850 Kg aircraft with dodgy brakes about 40 m behind me. It was a short, hard runway and a high density altitude - probably 5000-6000 feet.

I could have dumped the rope and slowed to turn off at the end, but there was a possibility that the glider pilot might have had to veer off the runway to avoid me. The terrain either side of the runway was rough with 50 cm bushes, so there would have been a significant risk of a ground loop.

So I felt the best option was to continue and fly an appropriate attitude, particularly since I had had a previous experience of ASI failure. Without mentioning my problem, I did ask the glider pilot if the speed was OK. ;)

By the time we reached release altitude, the ASI had slowly come to life. I was flying a Bellanca Scout. On the ground, the pitot tube is angled upwards, as you can see in this photo of a different Scout that had a very precise bee strike:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/Beeinpitottube.jpg

We had had a thunder storm the night before and I think some rain had found its way into the pitot.

mary, thanks for the vote of support. :ok:

[India Four Two]

RAF Benson FC definitely has scales.
So does RAF Waddington FC. Must be an RAF thing. We just like to know stuff about people.

Obviously, they need the scales in case a pie-eating Albert crew wants to go flying. :E

[thing]

Pie eating E3 and Sentinel pilots you mean...:). The front end crews tend to be alright, it's the back enders who reside close to the galley who get porky. Some of them have to be strapped into the same crew position the whole flight as they shift the cg too much if they wander around.

[Big Pistons Forever]

That's what the scales at the flying club are for.

As was noted most flying clubs do not have scales. This issue recently came up at the flying school where I occasionally teach at. At my suggestion they decided to adopt the Transport Canada direction for commercial operators of small aircraft.

When using passenger volunteered weights the weight used for aircraft weight and balance calculations the weight shall be increased by 10 lbs and then a further clothing allowance of 8 lbs (Summer) or 14 lbs (Winter) shall be added.

Renter pilots must complete a full weight and balance calculation prior to each flight and use the above criteria for the calculations.

[Pilot DAR]

Inspired by the forced landing thread....

If you are committed to a landing on an unknown patch of land, plan any error to be an overshoot error, rather than an undershoot error. Even if you cannot slip off the extra energy at the very end, you'd rather overshoot through the far fence at 10 knots, than through the near one at 60 knots!