Enjoying a good Flight Manual

[9 lives]

Ok, I admit it.... Most people collect something, I collect Flight Manuals (and operating manuals, and their equivalents). They contain some pretty interesting information, and show an evolution. There are even some plot twists! My collection exceeds 50, from rag and tube, through GA aluminum, into modern G1000 and composite, to a few jets, with some helicopter and quasi military on the side. Yes, I even buy some of those WWII "Pilots Notes" reproductions sold at UK flying museums.

Somewhere in the early '70's, GAMA (a US manufacturer's association), participated with the FAA, to establish a format for a Flight Manual, and the FAA made them a requirement for new aircraft. Prior to that, there were various forms of documents filling that role (and for some aircraft, more than one!)

We gained a fixed, and very predicable format, though in some cases, lost some pretty interesting information too!

But in the core, the manufacturer wanted us to know some things about operating their plane safely (and their lawyers were even more interested in that!). They tell us about the plane, they tell us what is limited, and some things never to attempt. Then, they'll tell us what to do in an emergency, and then when things are normal. They'll tell us what kind of performance to expect, and all about weight and balance. Finally, the manufacturer will possibly provide some other interesting information. Of these seven sections, Sections: 2, 3, 4, and 5 are usually "approved", which means that you are required by regulation to follow what they say.

After all of that, you should expect to find some supplements. These will be for things which represent additions, changes or modifications to the aircraft. Depending upon their vintage, they should follow the same format, and will also have "approved" sections, that you must follow.

So, I know that the sky awaits, and you'd rather fly than read, but at some point, give it a glance - and find out something you did not know about the plane you thought you knew!

Has anyone found a surprise in a Flight Manual? I certainly have over the years....

So,

I get the impression he could quote 'The Manual' from memory

Yup.... And my other hobby is flying the plane!

[India Four Two]

I also collect manuals of aircraft I have flown. My most extensive set of manuals is for the various versions of the Chipmunk and my most treasured one is for the Spitfire IX.

I recently returned to Canada and started flying with my gliding club after an eight year hiatus. I haven't flown one of the gliders yet, but I've been checked out for towing again in our Scout and the new 182.

find out something you did not know about the plane you thought you knew!

When preparing for my most recent Scout flight, I had trouble climbing in. One of our other pilots pointed out that the seat was in its forward position. You would think that after 40 years of flying a Scout (off and on), I would have noticed that! :eek:

Yes, it is in the manual.

I recently flew with the Calgary Flying Club and as part of the checkout on a 172, I had to do an open book exam. It is really annoying how the pertinent information, mainly numbers, is scattered all over the manual.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I have a fair number, although also a standard personal template into which I've mapped the same information for everything I've flown (or might fly), in the same layout. I think it would be an exaggeration to say that I read them for leisure.

Has anyone found a surprise in a Flight Manual? I certainly have over the years...

I think that the biggest I ever found, after several instructors had told me otherwise, was the bit in the PA28 POH telling me not to use the carb heat on approach.

I have had, err, forceful discussions over the years with a few instructors who have tried to tell me to fly an aeroplane contrary to the POH. It does illustrate that flight manuals aren't read enough.

G

[patowalker]

The POH of my Aerial Arts Chaser included this WARNING - Smoking can be bad for your health - Do not smoke while re-fuelling or words to that effect.

[Jetblu]

Yup. Operating handbook on Yamaha R1 says............

steering will be ineffective if the front wheel leaves the ground.

[9 lives]

The flight manual for an aircraft can be a very good, and indeed probably most concise reference as to what should, and should not be done with that model of aircraft. If it says that you can do something, it'll probably tell you something about how to do it safely.

If, on the other hand, it makes no mention of doing something, it might be wise to consider not doing it. Like retracting flaps for glidepath control. If the manufacturer intended a maneuver or technique for flight, they would have mentioned it in the flight manual, under normal, or emergency procedures.

Consider what you would face, were you to have an accident doing something which was not described in the flight manual, and outside the norm of airmanship. The insurance company is going to ask you why you were doing that, and what was your reference procedure. If you don't have a good answer, they might decide to deny a claim.

It was wisely pointed out in another thread, that flight manuals were borne of "pilots's notes", which ferry pilots used as a reference when they had to jump into something new and ferry it. Otherwise, the instruction to operate the aircraft was the result of intense training, so if you were well trained on type, you did not really need a book about it later. But for those who could not receive that training, the pilot's notes/operators manual/POH, flight manual filled that role.

So when you're thinking about things you could do in the plane, consider what the flight manual describes for that plane....

[tecman]

I pay serious heed to all my Flight Manuals but extreme literalism leads to having to defend the indefensible, and sounding absurd in the process. I don't believe all operational circumstances will be covered in any manual and the best comment of the recent intertwined threads came from Flying Lawyer, who effectively cautioned against judging other pilots' professionalism on the basis of different choices to those which we ourselves may make. That deserved more consideration than it got.

One obvious problem for POH fundamentalists is the matter of chronology. I also enjoy collecting a few flight manuals and I have in front of me some C150 manuals for 1959-60 and 1977. There is no mention in the earlier manual of many topics covered in the later editions - including emergency handling guidance. EFATO in your '59 C150? Need to ditch your 1960 model? Well, Cessna had nothing to say about about either of those so the reductionist view leads to labelling what may now be accepted emergency flying as dangerous test pilot stuff.

A more contemporary example might be open-canopy operations in the Tecnam P2002 (including the JF certified variant). GA and sport pilots around the world have amassed a fair bit of experience in these operations but, short of insisting that the canopy be locked for landing and take-off, the Flight Manual gives no guidance for these operations, despite the feature being canvassed in e.g. promotional material. While taking obvious precautions, I certainly did not feel like a dangerous maverick as I beetled along with the canopy open at a reduced-power 70 kt cruise in the beautiful autumn sunshine today, nor would I feel any more secure simply because of a few, probably vague, sentences added to the POH. (I did get sunburned - a topic for the next edition POH?).

The topic of flap modulation on final is actually in the same category as the emergency handling references in the early Cessna manuals. It's not my practice to do it routinely but in the event of e.g. an engine failure, I'd have no hesitation in adjusting flap "as required" to achieve the desired outcome, especially in highly variable conditions (one example of which might be the boiling turbulence encountered in high summer in these parts of the world).

[India Four Two]

short of insisting that the canopy be locked for landing and take-off,

A Tecnam Golf that I flew in NZ, had "air conditioning" - a short loop of bungee cord between the latch and the hook on the canopy. :cool:

[tecman]

Bungee cord is good if you just want the canopy open a little, although some people use a short dog-leash arrangement. Somewhat counter-intuitively, what you're trying to do is stop the canopy rolling *forward* - which it will do quite easily - and scalping a tall pilot or passenger with the roll bar. When cruising it's not a problem of course: the canopy sits happily fully open at the rear stop.