FlyingForFun
23rd Sep 2001, 21:22
Well guys, yesterday I took my first steps towards "real" flying when I took to the skies in a Piper Super Cub for the first time.
And what a great feeling it is! The amazing sensation of being so close to the sky that you can almost touch it, the feel of actually flying, rather than controlling a machine which does the flying for you - if anyone was thinking about trying it, then don't think - do it!
So, at the risk of boring those of you who have been there done that, or just don't care, here's how the lesson went.
Started off talking to my instructor about what was going to happen. Didn't spend too long talking about theory, because I'd read most of the theory already. Instead, the instructor explained that the aim of the lesson was to explore how the PA18 handles in the sky - stalls, steep turns, that kind of thing. Basically the same as you'd do for a checkout on any new aircraft. We weren't going to look at the characteristics related to taildraggers any more than necessary.
Having said that, though, taxying, take-off and landing are things you have to do every time you fly, so I couldn't get away from the tail-wheel completely.
We headed out to the aircraft and did a thorough pre-flight. Spent extra time looking at the various things which are different to the PA28 - the trim works in a completely different way, for example.
Satisfied not only that the plane was ready to fly, but also that I could find my way around it, it was time to climb in. Well, climb in is a little bit of an understatement - what we actually did was contort ourselves in! It took a bit of experimenting, but eventually I found that, for me, the easiest way was to put my right foot on the step which is to my left, then squeeze my left leg over the top of my right leg. I can then lift my left foot over the wing struts, place it somewhere roughly over the front seat, grab hold of the internal front cross-members with both hands, and haul myself in! My instructor performed similar contortions to squeeze herself into the rear seat, then we went over all the switches, guages and so on (there aren't very many!) as well as how to close the door, fasten the four-point harnesses and other important stuff.
Once I was familiarised with the inside, we started running through the engine starting checklist. Radio off, mixture rich, throttle slightly open, not much different to the PA28 really. Have to make sure you hold the stick back, that's the only real difference. "Clear prop", mags on, start - er, mags on, hold on a sec, I don't have the key. Turned to instructor, "You haven't got a key back there, have you?" Oops! There was an anxious moment when we realised that one of us was going to have to get out to get the key, and repeat the contortions to get back in again! And of course, being the gentleman that I am, I let her go!
Right, try again. "Clear prop", mags on, start, and she fired up straight away. Now to see what thing's like to taxy. Well, surprisingly easy, actually! I'd heard horror stories about taxying taildraggers, but the tailwheel steering seemed to be fairly authoritative. Visibility over the cowling was minimal, but I could just about see the ground in front of me. Still, better to do S-turns, so that's what I did. Nice and slowly, out to the threshold, line up and roll forward to make sure we're going straight.
When my instructor gave the word, I added power, with just a tiny bit of right rudder needed to correct the slipstream effect. I kept the plane pretty straight, then my instructor gave the word for me to lift the tail. Pushed the stick slightly forward, nothing happened. A bit more, still nothing. Pushed it much more forward and the tail came up - and I realised I was heading for the left hand side of the runway! Not to worry, though, because my instructor was telling me to pull back just a touch and get the plane off the ground. (I think I felt her foot on the rudder, too, but I'm not sure!)
I've read that the Super Cub is not the best aircraft for learning take-offs, because it's too powerful - the take-off is over before you realise what's going on. That was certainly the case with me. I really didn't have any time to figure out how to correct the fact that I was drifting left, because we were airborne so soon after it happened. I guess I'll need to be a lot more alert during the take-off if I'm to really understand it.
Once we'd taken off, the amazing feeling of having the air so close to you on both sides started to take over. I saw all the landmarks I recognised, but they all looked - different, somehow. It was almost like someone had put a fresh coat of paint over the whole of Reading, made the whole town more brightly coloured, more real. The Thames wasn't just a blue line on the ground, I could actaully see water. I can only imagine what it must be like to fly a true open-cockpit plane.....
But no time for that, there was work to be done. I started off just doing a few 30-degree-bank turns to get the general feeling of how the aircraft handles. Needed a bit more rudder than I was used to, but not much. Everything was much more responsive, kind of like driving a low-end sports car instead of a Mondeo. And the whole experience was so slow and peaceful - there's plenty of time to think about what you're doing. It took a while to get used to lifting a wing to look in the direction I'm turning - this was the first time I'd ever flown a high-winged aircraft.
Next, it was on to steep turns. Sitting in the middle is great - it means there's only one sight picture to learn for steep turns, instead of having to learn a different picture for each direction! It took a few goes to get it right, but no problem once I'd find the right attitude.
Stalls are a little more interesting than in a PA28. We started off with a clean, power-off stall. Well, "started off" isn't quite right, because it took a while to happen. I cut the power, genly pulled back on the stick to keep height, and the nose came up, and up, and up, and how high is this nose going to go? We'll be pointing straight up if it doesn't stall soon! I felt one wing trying to drop, and pulled it back easilly with a bit of rudder. Then the other wing started to drop. I could feel things becoming less stable, but no sign of the actual stall. Then, SNAP, it went! I pushed the nose down, added power, and recovered easilly.
We did several other stalls in various configuration. Stalls with flaps didn't take quite so long to happen, but I just can't see anyone getting into an unaccelerated stall in one of these things accidentally - you have to try so hard to slow it down enough.
Next was PFLs. The Super Cub likes to glide. It just keeps going and keeps going. My instructor warned me about this, so it didn't catch me out too much, but it took a bit of getting used to. But it goes along with everything else in the Cub - you have so much time to think about what you're doing. Obviously set the best-glide speed and attitude straight away. Then, look round to see where you're going to go. The chances are, if you can see it, you can get there, so that's no problem! Now then, we've got so much time now, I'll do the restart checklist, and if it doesn't restart I can climb out, get under the cowling, check the fuel lines are tight and the filter's not clogged, the air intake isn't blocked, maybe even change the engine if you've got a spare one in the back - ok, so maybe you don't have time to change the engine, but you've got lots of time! Yet, with all this time, I still managed to miss the farm-strip that was conveniently well within gliding distance when my instructor pulled the power. Twice! Can't blame anyone for that except me - recognising things on the ground has never been one of my strongest points, and this just served to remind me of that.
Before long, my time was nearly over, and we had to head back. Now it was time to experience being one of the slower aircraft in the circuit! It started off when we were joining the circuit, having descended on the deadside, when I noticed the Tiger Moth that had been behind us on the deadside was cutting in front of us by passing over the centre of the runway instead of the upwind end. My instructor swore at him. I made our circuit a bit wider to keep a safe gap behind the Tiger - couldn't do that without flying over one of the noise-abatement areas, but safety comes before noise abatement.
Flew downwind, turned base, cut the power, tried to slow down - and found myself going up, and not slowing down much at all! Before I knew it, I was 100' above the circuit height, and now going too slow because I'd over-compensated for being too fast! Happened to glance out the left window and see a different Tiger Moth cutting us up, this time a little below us and to our left, on base leg! My instructor swore (again), but this time decided to get on the radio and ask him what he thought he was doing.....after which she said she couldn't believe she'd done that, she's never normally that rude! Anyway, the Tiger Moth apologised, he said he'd seen us but hadn't realised we were in the circuit. I can see his point - we were very high - but we'd been making all the appropriate radio calls, and we were exactly where the base leg is for the published circuit on this runway. Anyway, the Tiger got out of the way and let us go first.
There was a bit of a crosswind, so as we turned final my instructor suggested I should land diagonally across the runway to reduce the crosswind. I think this confused me a little - trying to track straight down an imaginary diagonal-centre line is something I've never done before. I'll have to mention that to my instructor next week, because I forgot to after we finished the lesson. I thought I made a pretty good job of it, but when we were a few feet above the runway, my instructor told me to add power and go around. I did, of course, but didn't know what I'd done wrong. My instructor said I didn't have the stick back far enough. I thought the stick was back plenty, but made a mental note to pull it back even further next time. Flew a circuit (no Tiger Moths in the way this time!) and then flew the same approach to the diagonal centre-line. This time I got the stick much further back - but still not far enough, as I found out when we landed, and bounced, and bounced, and bounced, and, well, I don't know how many times we bounced, because I lost count after 5! I hate to think what would have happened if my instructor had let me land first time! During the bouncing, I completely lost directional control, and felt my instructor working the rudders. I couldn't equate what she was doing with the rudder, with what I could see outside, though. But eventually the plane settled on the ground, the tailwheel got a bit of grip, and I was back in an aircraft I could control!
Exited the runway and taxied back. A last-minute change of mind about where to park (due to not seeing the space until we got a little bit closer to it), and I pushed the rudder to the left to turn into the space. I wasn't turning fast enough, so added a bit of left brake, which did the job perfectly. Then, suddenly, I found myself spinning around to the left! I pressed the right rudder, and found myself doing a nice 180 to the right when I only wanted to turn 30 or 40 degrees! Well, the aircraft wasn't facing the direction I wanted it, but it was in a parking space, so I decied to leave it there! I'd just discovered what happens when the tailwheel unlocks..... I think I need a bit more practice before I start trying to turn tight corners!
Well, that was it - my first hour in the Super Cub was over. And I can't wait for the next one! Next weekend I'll be back in the circuit, learning to take off and land all over again. I don't know how long it's going to take - but I know I'm going to enjoy it!
Have fun!
FFF
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PS - If you got to the end of this post, congratulations! It's amazing how much you can type in one post when Chat isn't working.....
And what a great feeling it is! The amazing sensation of being so close to the sky that you can almost touch it, the feel of actually flying, rather than controlling a machine which does the flying for you - if anyone was thinking about trying it, then don't think - do it!
So, at the risk of boring those of you who have been there done that, or just don't care, here's how the lesson went.
Started off talking to my instructor about what was going to happen. Didn't spend too long talking about theory, because I'd read most of the theory already. Instead, the instructor explained that the aim of the lesson was to explore how the PA18 handles in the sky - stalls, steep turns, that kind of thing. Basically the same as you'd do for a checkout on any new aircraft. We weren't going to look at the characteristics related to taildraggers any more than necessary.
Having said that, though, taxying, take-off and landing are things you have to do every time you fly, so I couldn't get away from the tail-wheel completely.
We headed out to the aircraft and did a thorough pre-flight. Spent extra time looking at the various things which are different to the PA28 - the trim works in a completely different way, for example.
Satisfied not only that the plane was ready to fly, but also that I could find my way around it, it was time to climb in. Well, climb in is a little bit of an understatement - what we actually did was contort ourselves in! It took a bit of experimenting, but eventually I found that, for me, the easiest way was to put my right foot on the step which is to my left, then squeeze my left leg over the top of my right leg. I can then lift my left foot over the wing struts, place it somewhere roughly over the front seat, grab hold of the internal front cross-members with both hands, and haul myself in! My instructor performed similar contortions to squeeze herself into the rear seat, then we went over all the switches, guages and so on (there aren't very many!) as well as how to close the door, fasten the four-point harnesses and other important stuff.
Once I was familiarised with the inside, we started running through the engine starting checklist. Radio off, mixture rich, throttle slightly open, not much different to the PA28 really. Have to make sure you hold the stick back, that's the only real difference. "Clear prop", mags on, start - er, mags on, hold on a sec, I don't have the key. Turned to instructor, "You haven't got a key back there, have you?" Oops! There was an anxious moment when we realised that one of us was going to have to get out to get the key, and repeat the contortions to get back in again! And of course, being the gentleman that I am, I let her go!
Right, try again. "Clear prop", mags on, start, and she fired up straight away. Now to see what thing's like to taxy. Well, surprisingly easy, actually! I'd heard horror stories about taxying taildraggers, but the tailwheel steering seemed to be fairly authoritative. Visibility over the cowling was minimal, but I could just about see the ground in front of me. Still, better to do S-turns, so that's what I did. Nice and slowly, out to the threshold, line up and roll forward to make sure we're going straight.
When my instructor gave the word, I added power, with just a tiny bit of right rudder needed to correct the slipstream effect. I kept the plane pretty straight, then my instructor gave the word for me to lift the tail. Pushed the stick slightly forward, nothing happened. A bit more, still nothing. Pushed it much more forward and the tail came up - and I realised I was heading for the left hand side of the runway! Not to worry, though, because my instructor was telling me to pull back just a touch and get the plane off the ground. (I think I felt her foot on the rudder, too, but I'm not sure!)
I've read that the Super Cub is not the best aircraft for learning take-offs, because it's too powerful - the take-off is over before you realise what's going on. That was certainly the case with me. I really didn't have any time to figure out how to correct the fact that I was drifting left, because we were airborne so soon after it happened. I guess I'll need to be a lot more alert during the take-off if I'm to really understand it.
Once we'd taken off, the amazing feeling of having the air so close to you on both sides started to take over. I saw all the landmarks I recognised, but they all looked - different, somehow. It was almost like someone had put a fresh coat of paint over the whole of Reading, made the whole town more brightly coloured, more real. The Thames wasn't just a blue line on the ground, I could actaully see water. I can only imagine what it must be like to fly a true open-cockpit plane.....
But no time for that, there was work to be done. I started off just doing a few 30-degree-bank turns to get the general feeling of how the aircraft handles. Needed a bit more rudder than I was used to, but not much. Everything was much more responsive, kind of like driving a low-end sports car instead of a Mondeo. And the whole experience was so slow and peaceful - there's plenty of time to think about what you're doing. It took a while to get used to lifting a wing to look in the direction I'm turning - this was the first time I'd ever flown a high-winged aircraft.
Next, it was on to steep turns. Sitting in the middle is great - it means there's only one sight picture to learn for steep turns, instead of having to learn a different picture for each direction! It took a few goes to get it right, but no problem once I'd find the right attitude.
Stalls are a little more interesting than in a PA28. We started off with a clean, power-off stall. Well, "started off" isn't quite right, because it took a while to happen. I cut the power, genly pulled back on the stick to keep height, and the nose came up, and up, and up, and how high is this nose going to go? We'll be pointing straight up if it doesn't stall soon! I felt one wing trying to drop, and pulled it back easilly with a bit of rudder. Then the other wing started to drop. I could feel things becoming less stable, but no sign of the actual stall. Then, SNAP, it went! I pushed the nose down, added power, and recovered easilly.
We did several other stalls in various configuration. Stalls with flaps didn't take quite so long to happen, but I just can't see anyone getting into an unaccelerated stall in one of these things accidentally - you have to try so hard to slow it down enough.
Next was PFLs. The Super Cub likes to glide. It just keeps going and keeps going. My instructor warned me about this, so it didn't catch me out too much, but it took a bit of getting used to. But it goes along with everything else in the Cub - you have so much time to think about what you're doing. Obviously set the best-glide speed and attitude straight away. Then, look round to see where you're going to go. The chances are, if you can see it, you can get there, so that's no problem! Now then, we've got so much time now, I'll do the restart checklist, and if it doesn't restart I can climb out, get under the cowling, check the fuel lines are tight and the filter's not clogged, the air intake isn't blocked, maybe even change the engine if you've got a spare one in the back - ok, so maybe you don't have time to change the engine, but you've got lots of time! Yet, with all this time, I still managed to miss the farm-strip that was conveniently well within gliding distance when my instructor pulled the power. Twice! Can't blame anyone for that except me - recognising things on the ground has never been one of my strongest points, and this just served to remind me of that.
Before long, my time was nearly over, and we had to head back. Now it was time to experience being one of the slower aircraft in the circuit! It started off when we were joining the circuit, having descended on the deadside, when I noticed the Tiger Moth that had been behind us on the deadside was cutting in front of us by passing over the centre of the runway instead of the upwind end. My instructor swore at him. I made our circuit a bit wider to keep a safe gap behind the Tiger - couldn't do that without flying over one of the noise-abatement areas, but safety comes before noise abatement.
Flew downwind, turned base, cut the power, tried to slow down - and found myself going up, and not slowing down much at all! Before I knew it, I was 100' above the circuit height, and now going too slow because I'd over-compensated for being too fast! Happened to glance out the left window and see a different Tiger Moth cutting us up, this time a little below us and to our left, on base leg! My instructor swore (again), but this time decided to get on the radio and ask him what he thought he was doing.....after which she said she couldn't believe she'd done that, she's never normally that rude! Anyway, the Tiger Moth apologised, he said he'd seen us but hadn't realised we were in the circuit. I can see his point - we were very high - but we'd been making all the appropriate radio calls, and we were exactly where the base leg is for the published circuit on this runway. Anyway, the Tiger got out of the way and let us go first.
There was a bit of a crosswind, so as we turned final my instructor suggested I should land diagonally across the runway to reduce the crosswind. I think this confused me a little - trying to track straight down an imaginary diagonal-centre line is something I've never done before. I'll have to mention that to my instructor next week, because I forgot to after we finished the lesson. I thought I made a pretty good job of it, but when we were a few feet above the runway, my instructor told me to add power and go around. I did, of course, but didn't know what I'd done wrong. My instructor said I didn't have the stick back far enough. I thought the stick was back plenty, but made a mental note to pull it back even further next time. Flew a circuit (no Tiger Moths in the way this time!) and then flew the same approach to the diagonal centre-line. This time I got the stick much further back - but still not far enough, as I found out when we landed, and bounced, and bounced, and bounced, and, well, I don't know how many times we bounced, because I lost count after 5! I hate to think what would have happened if my instructor had let me land first time! During the bouncing, I completely lost directional control, and felt my instructor working the rudders. I couldn't equate what she was doing with the rudder, with what I could see outside, though. But eventually the plane settled on the ground, the tailwheel got a bit of grip, and I was back in an aircraft I could control!
Exited the runway and taxied back. A last-minute change of mind about where to park (due to not seeing the space until we got a little bit closer to it), and I pushed the rudder to the left to turn into the space. I wasn't turning fast enough, so added a bit of left brake, which did the job perfectly. Then, suddenly, I found myself spinning around to the left! I pressed the right rudder, and found myself doing a nice 180 to the right when I only wanted to turn 30 or 40 degrees! Well, the aircraft wasn't facing the direction I wanted it, but it was in a parking space, so I decied to leave it there! I'd just discovered what happens when the tailwheel unlocks..... I think I need a bit more practice before I start trying to turn tight corners!
Well, that was it - my first hour in the Super Cub was over. And I can't wait for the next one! Next weekend I'll be back in the circuit, learning to take off and land all over again. I don't know how long it's going to take - but I know I'm going to enjoy it!
Have fun!
FFF
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PS - If you got to the end of this post, congratulations! It's amazing how much you can type in one post when Chat isn't working.....