Training manuals
 

Evening all. I’ve just passed AIB, and will hopefully get an offer as either a Pilot or Observer soon. I have 0 hours flying time, and was just wondering if there are any basic Piloting manuals that are worth getting; so when I start, not everything is completely new to me. If anyone knows what books the Navy recommend through initial training, that’d be fantastic.

Thanks in advance,


Tony

Congratulations on passing AIB - but don't worry about reading up on the aviation side. All the flying, in fact all the training, is based on the expectation that you know less than zero at the outset.

If you get a P slot then my suggestion would be to go gliding a few times - it will give you loads of confidence, you'll learn to balance the aircraft in turns, and you'll have fun.

Otherwise just relax, but do get fit. I'd suggest a mix of running, swimming and circuit training to give you all round stamina and strength.

Here's one for you:























OK - a spoof. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks, I think i'll take that advice and get a few lessons. Any reasons to go gliding though and not powered? Or was that just because gliding is cheaper?

No need to buy that book either, i've already got the DVD's :)

Might be worth boning up on the history of Iraq, Afganistan, North Korea, Northern Ireland..................................................... ...........

Effects of controls are better felt in a glider. No prop wash on the rudder for one thing; and there's obvious adverse yaw with use of aileron, so you have to get used to using rudder to hold a balanced turn.

Have fun.

Gliding is a great and relatively benign training environment. If you get any private powered training, you run the risk of learning in a non-standard (ie not Military) way that will have to be "unlearnt" during your training. This will add time and stress where you will have little of one, and plenty of the other already. As already stated, gliding will teach you some solid fundamentals and some Airmanship, plus you will be over the "wow" factor of being in the cockpit and can concentrate more on the lessons. Well done, remember to enjoy it!!!

'Aerodynanics for Naval Aviators' (Yes a Spam production), but great 'simple' explaination of all academic aspects.

If you want to read something that puts complex aerodynamic theories into thoroughly simple, very easy to understand text, with good 'at a glance' diagrams, get a copy from Amazon of:

Mechanics of Flight by D.R. Philpott, A.C. Kermode, and R.H. Barnard (Paperback - 14 Jun 2006)

It is a truly excellent book, the sort that any novice can read easily and get a very firm grasp of the basics from of basic aerodynamics (including differences between subsonic, transonic and supersonic flow and flight effects), effects of controls, forms of propulsion, the atmosphere....the lot.

I used the original version by A C Kermode only all the way through university and flying training, and still refer to it now.

Thanks, I got a copy of that book, and i'm making my way through it now.



Why is that, out of interest? I have fairly good knowledge on what has happened and is happening in these places.

thermonkey

If you pass thru all the hoops at BRNC and EFTS - you will be able to track down OLDBEEFER at Shawbury and ask him personally what his post means!

Good luck

;)

Glad to have helped. Good choice.

A decent maths book (as was suggested above by another PPRuNer) might come in handy if your mental maths is at all shaky. Remember, when flying - certainly in the early days of FT, pilot or nav - you leave 90% of your brains behind in the crew room! So mental arithmetic has to be second nature, and accurate.

If you're interested in taking your maths to the level where you will understand such as compass swinging (assuming it's still taught), buy:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/03...V62156294_.jpgEngineering Mathematics 5th ed by Dexter J. Booth and K.A. Stroud (Paperback)http://g-images.amazon.com/images/G/.../stars-4-5.gifBuy new: £33.99 £30.59 In stock Used & new from £27.00You save: £3.40 (10%)
Stroud does for maths what Kermode does for wider aeronautics. Again, it is truly a marvelous way quickly to get to grip with maths beyond arithmetic.

Ahh, well that was the recommended text in my first year of University, and I have a very similar book to that, covering all the same topics. I'll brush up on it over the next few months (just flicking through, everything looks very familiar, but I don’t think I can actually remember how to do any of it!) Are there any topics in particular that I should be competent on?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for the help!

Trig and resolution of vectors is always useful for heading, track, wind - simple stuff.

Some understanding of spherical trig (but you won't be expected to do it, unless something changed radically), so you understand map projections, rhumb lines, lat and long, time zones, line of sight (theoretical by trig and actual with refraction/diffraction).

Aside from these, expansions for Sin, Cos, Sin-sq and Cos-sq are useful - more from the point of understanding that actually doing. Hint, if anyone mentions compass swinging to you, consider plumbic swinging instead!

Thereafter there are just three things that really count: mental maths, mental maths and mental maths.

However if you want to go on to something like the GD Aerosystems Course in the years ahead, Stroud (or the book you've got already) will be invaluable (I'm an asq of some years). What I like about Stroud is the easy steps through modules of growth. A complete numpty IQ of 10 can't fail to learn degree level maths from it.....I did!