Unable to see and correct or even react to drift.....
 

Le raffiche di vento spostano l?aereo dalla pista, l?atterraggio è da brividi - Corriere TV


Why dont pilots decrab anymore ?
The technique is no longer teached, even among instructors the common practice is to flare then freeze at the controls waiting for touchdown drift be damned..

I have been watching crosswind landings in major airports where notorious schools operate, and there is no one a/c landing at the same spot along the runway, often nosewheel touching at the same time as mains, and nearly always, even in no wind situations, looks like most pilots and instructors cannot "see" drift, or take no action at correcting it....

I am a taildragger pilot and myself have a tendency if not concentrated to land with some drift - After decrabbing or breaking the slip with opposite controls- ( Had to mount a go pro to notice it) But the amount of lack of airmanship, drift and abuse I see around is alarming, Cessna's and Pipers can take it, But those schools using Tecnams and Sport Cruisers eventually do damage landing gear whether by torsion or bending the nosewhhel strut.

Damn right Tangoalpha....The ATO I was cooperating with using Diamonds increases all Flight Manual Ref speeds by 10 knots and engine Rpm's on DA 20's by 200 RPM...

They are afraid of slow flight and stall.....Luckily they have a 1200 meters concrete runway....

I've had various instructors, CPLs with IR, CPLs & PPLs fly with me in a Navajo & a C414 over the last few years. A majority of them couldn't fly the 'straight' part of straight & level. Instead they'd do a very slow & gradual series of 'S' turns. The only time the longitudinal axis was aligned with the required heading was as it crossed it.

No knowledge of the technique of keeping wings level while using the rudder to prevent the heading from moving. Lots & lots of riding brakes against power while taxiing, too.

Huh? How does flying with varying yaw help you hold an accurate heading? I hope you haven't been teaching anyone this crap...

Varying the yaw to give a constant heading indication will mean the heading of the aircraft is varying. The heading indication is showing you the heading of the aircraft with the ball centred.

Remember when you were taught 'Straight and Level'?

Ignoring altitude, there were three elements to maintain. 1. Wings level. 2. Constant heading. 3. Balance(ball centered). If you can maintain any two of these, the other one will look after itself.

The ailerons are the most direct method of maintaining 'wings level'

The rudder is the most direct method of maintaining direction.(Preventing yaw)

The balance will then take care of itself, because, if you hold the wings level with the ailerons, and maintain direction with the rudder, the ball will be in the centre.


MJ:ok:

Standard of taxiing is quite often abysmal these days - I am horrified by the way some "pilots" taxi an aircraft.

Maintain direction with the rudder?

What are you on about?

You're not still recovering from a wing drop at the stall with rudder too are you?

No.

In a stall situation, I'm maintaining direction(preventing yaw) with the rudder, whilst arresting the wing drop by reducing the angle of attack.

The primary purpose of the rudder is to prevent yaw.


MJ:ok:

And note that preventing yaw with rudder during stall/stall recovery is *not* 'picking up the wing with rudder' :mad: After the stall is recovered it is then time to roll using aileron to achieve wings level flight.

Very common. Probably our fault. We tell them they must maintain 1200 RPM to stop the plugs fouling and then tell them off for using the brakes to slow down whilst maintaining 1200 RPM.

Soooo, the briefing goes something like this.
'When taxying, when you need to slow down, power to idle first, THEN use the brakes if necessary - you wouldn't drive a car with power against the brakes. AFTER coming to a halt (holding point, power checks, waiting in a queue) set brakes, then 1200 RPM. When moving off again, reduce to idle BEFORE releasing the brakes.'

I think the 2 hardest things about learning to fly are
a: use of the radio
b: taxying.

TOO

WRONG-the vertical fins primary function is to prevent yaw

No.

The primary purpose of the vertical fin is to provide directional stability.


MJ:ok:

which is the prevention of yaw

Often idle is set above Flight Manual figure (The ATO am at sets 150 to 200 Rpm more because they are scared engine could quit on final), and pilots /students/instructors develop grotesque handling habits on final, landing, while taxying, let alone the computations from the Flight manual are all hence unapplicable despite these same are used for briefing calculations.

Keep 1200 RPM to prevent fouling....The proof that instructors don't know and cannot understand leaning, not only on the ground but on cruise at well.

I have a privately owned a/c and learned proper leaning the hard way after 25 years of fliying, because of plug fooling on the ground and need to optimise power and save fuel at different settings on these prehistoric but very reliable Lycomings, where mixture is set rich on purpose for cooling reasons due to uneven mixture distribution along intake manifolds of different lenghts and curvature let alone baffling issues on air cooled cylinders where not one cyl temp is the same ( Check your GAMI indicator if you have one).

NO instructor i know is able to decypher the settings on MAP/ Fuel flow gage, Best power vs best economy at 55/65/75 % ranges and match them to the FM numbers.
The figures on Flight manual for fuel consumption at different settings and altitudes are of no use if then you don't set the throttle accordingly to point those indicators on the gage where they need to be. It works, without doing this you will never be able to know your range...leaning takes more than....wait for 5'000 feet and then lean to roughness followed by enrichment to get the engine to run smoothly...Nonsense, lean at whatever ft above ground at 55or 65% max on cruise, to get the consumption and smooth running indicated on FM...

Like the unapplicable figures due to use of RPM's AND speeds above those on FM for LDG and TO distances, the fuel consumption computations made on the ground are unusable as well, FM computations and ranges are based on leaning at different pressure altitudes matched with precise RPM's and MAP numbers..

And Match Jump sorry you are wrong Pull What is right, of course the vertical fin and the surface of rudder as an assembly are there for stability, but if the vertical fin was to provide stability in terms of yaw, there would be no need for compensation tabs on rudder surface, which by the way once set will keep the a/c straight without touching the controls at the speed they have been set to, below or above there will be yaw.

I fly aerobatic aircraft only and this is evident across the whole flight envelope range, from stall to VNE, With regular aircrafts used is on a very narrow speed ranges, the ball is always off one way or the other.....And the sad story is that most pilots are either unaware of it or don't care.

No, it isn't.

The vertical fin achieves directional stability by inducing yaw towards any sideslip.

You are confusing stability with trim.


MJ:ok:

Sorry I expressed myself wrong, the vertical fin is the primary surface for longitudinal stability, the rudder for yaw control..

Which prevents yaw which is its primary function. The primary function of the rudder is to control the aircraft in tbe yawing plane about the verical or normal axis.

The horizontal fin(if fitted) is the primary fixed surface for longitudnal stability

This is also incorrect and would be very dangerous teaching with a stalled condition in a multi engine aircraft with one engine inoperative.

The rudder is the primary control used to PREVENT further wing drop. Reducing the angle of attack below tbe critical angle prevents loss of control and unstalls tbe aircraft, the secondary reaction to this is that as control is regained a stable aircraft will reduce but not necessarily eliminate all of the yaw produced due to the stability provided by the fin and fuselage.

Ok. I'm not wasting any more time on this. People can read our opinions and decide for themselves who they think is right.


MJ:ok: