Altitude Accuracy

[Okavango]

I've done about 25hrs of hour building so far and I'm trying to keep things as tight as possible to prevent slipping into slack habits. I know for the CPL you need to maintain altitude to +/- 100', though I'm frequently changing by 200'. I'm generally pretty good at getting everything in trim and I think this problem is mostly due to thermals and low level turbulence as most flying has been in 2000-3000 ft band. The problems are on flights in the early afternoon - generally everything is ok say in an evening or at higher altitudes. I feel to control any better I'd start continually looking at the instruments which I don't really want to do. Am I being too hard on myself, is it a case of quick scans of instruments or is it a feel you build up over time to naturally counteract turbulent changes of altitude? Thanks.

[ReverseFlight]

Thermals are a real pain at low levels on hot summer days and besides if you've got anything stronger than a light breeze, mechanical turbulence will be more felt down in the lower altitudes.

Consult your hemispheric levels and change to cruising at a higher available level. You have a much better view for your cross country navs and you get out of the thermal, turbulent and polluted inversion layers. Only thing additional is to allow more time from your top of descent.

Don't chase the altimeter. Occasional glances and frequent small adjustments will promise a much smoother ride. :ok:

[Aerospace101]

Up your scan rate mate. Accept nothing but perfection! - is what my instructor used to scream at me :ok:

[Halfbaked_Boy]

I echo what Aerospace101 said -

Increase your scan, and if you know you're in the chop, have a quick scan at least once every three seconds or so, and make an analysis as to the rate of change of altitude (I say it like this because the VSI is useless in turb, too much delay for the accuracy you want!) - if the altimeter's increasing, apply forward pressure gently, and continue increasing that forward pressure until it reverses, and what I find helps, is to fly the aeroplane as though it weren't turbulent at all. Don't fight it, pretend it's some big ass guy trying to swing punches at you, but you don't need to jump all over the place swinging back, just step from side to side smoothly.

Just try to relax, and you'll find you're more efficient, but in saying that, if you hit the rough stuff, deviations of +-50 feet are acceptable and probable, especially if you have a high workload as well.

Again, as the poster above mentioned, strive for perfection, fire the arrow at the ant and for sure you'll hit the anthill :ok:

[BigGrecian]

As an instructor who has flown in convective regions a lot - I know how difficult it can be.

Having said that if your up and down consistently by +/- 200' I would suggest this represents a more fundamental problem with trimming or the way you hold the control column.

I would very strongly urge you to have a flight with an instructor to rectify this situation as soon as possible - as trying to rectify this during a CPL course is difficult as a certain skill level is all ready assumed - and it is also normally pretty expensive to fix at CPL rates.

Get it fixed early - otherwise your going to pay for it later (ability and financially)

[Okavango]

Thanks all. I don't think it's the trimming as when in calm conditions all is well. Just to clarify, this is all in a C152 so probably not as stable as other trainers. Either ay, comments taken on board and i'll get it sorted. Cheers.