Friends, the following is an extract from a recent GASIL magazine, and I was hoping the more enlightened may explain the theory involved here-certainly food for thought!
'Although we have no official confirmation, we are reliably
informed that one of the modern generation of light aircraft
(foreign- registered) suffered a rather unsettling failure last winter while flying above cloud. The particular aircraft’s instrument
system is electrically powered, including the attitude and direction
indicators as well as the turn coordinator.
This failure appears to have happened to the pilot of the
aircraft involved. A total electrical failure left him without
either instruments or radio, and in a situation which required a let
down through cloud. Fortunately, in this case, during his instrument training, his instructor had shown
him that, in extremis, it is possible to maintain straight flight using
only the magnetic compass and the aircrafts natural stability?
Turning onto South (the only direction in which the method
works)? (why?)
the pilot reduced power and was able to maintain direction by
responding to deviations in compass heading indications until
he came out of the bottom of the cloud.
The method described has been used several times in the
past, but is not often practised. Those of us who are qualified to fly on instruments and who have not been taught the technique might consider practising it in simulated instrument flight conditions with a safety pilot, especially as we believe that the NTSB (the American AAIB) have reported a fatal accident in an aircraft with a similar instrument fit recently which appears to have also involved a total electrics failure. '
Regards
