BP, unlike you I think this is an appropriate subject in the PPL course, best done in the later stages and one of those items that can be done over coffee on a dud day, I also teach an Advanced PPL course, basically covering in more depth those areas that PPLs are normally weak in and introducing them to a couple of other bits that they probably have not seen so far, this is always a good thing to talk over on that course.

I suppose two related things we discussed during my recent ppl were control locks left in situ, and reversed controls. For the former, I think the comment was that it was an embarrassing way to die; for the latter that you could sometimes survive just by leaving that control centralised and making do with whatever's left.

Depends what is reversed, ailerons maybe, elevator or even rudder I doubt you would even get off the ground!

You mean being reversed from a maintenance error, if they were connected the wrong opposite way?

Some power pilots are quite surprised to learn that glider pilots don't require the services of an accredited engineer to

1) Remove and replace the wings.

2) Remove and replace the elevator

3) Attach all controls, and confirm that they have been properly installed with another person to double check it has been properly done by walking round the glider and resisting the pilot's control imput, holding the ailerons, the airbrakes, the elevator, and the rudder, ( though that is usually left installed during road transport.)

It is important that THESE CHECKS MUST NOT BE INTERRUPTED BY ANYONE OR ANYTHING.

We do this every time we take that beautiful bird out of its box.

A bit sad that all this sort of thing with your standard spam can has to be done by a firm of engineers - and that any pilot with a sense of self-preservation has to double - nay, treble his inspection after such maintenance to make sure they haven't screwed up!

May I recommend, if somebody can name the source, the video of an amazing circuit flown by a Russian airliner, recently reassembled from cannibalised parts, in which the ailerons were installed wrong way round.....they eventually worked out the problem and got it back on the ground in one piece.

Now my personal experience of difficulty with control function was a flight to 18,000 feet in wave. It had rained the night before, the glider had been left outside, rigged, and the aileron tape, at altitude, froze quite solid! So my turns to stay in the wave system were done with rudder alone, quite gingerly, and of course the problem solved when we got lower, and warmer.

There have been a number of cases when a glider elevator has been jammed, usually because some numpty has dropped his camera into the declevity, or in one case a paraplegic passenger's wooden seat cushion jammed full aft movement of the stick. The highly experienced instructor did not express alarm - you NEVER express alarm to a passenger! but their approach was seen to be rather faster than normal.....no harm done. It was his fault for not doing a proper full and free control check before taking off.

So the moral of this narrative is - thoroughly inspect the controls before flying, and if something alarming happens when you are aloft, KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!

Of course, however, we do wear parachutes.....

After the Annual is done, I always get the maintenance firm to leave inspection covers off and I go around with a light and check everything is secure. Then it goes outdoors, I do the ACF50 treatment (a right messy job) and they put the covers back on.

Reversed ailerons should be obvious during the full and free controls check - they should move opposite to the yoke.
It beggars belief that one would get that far without anybody checking. Maybe the pilots cannot see the control surfaces from the cockpit.

Something like that... Though I have to wonder whether the 'wrong opposite way' means that the elevator is connected to the rudder pedals and vice-versa, and both work backwards. I was just thinking of reversed elevators i.e. you pull back the stick and the nose goes down.

There have been at least a few recent accidents involving reversed controls. One was a taildragger that got airborne as soon as power was applied, then stalled when the pilot tried to push the nose down. Another was a chap who'd done his own maintenance, and asked to do some fast-taxis prior to getting the work signed off. He got airborne and immediately crashed, again killing himself. As I recall, it was the elevator reversed in both cases.

Both my instructor and I had rather less significant adventures with radio-control aircraft and reversed ailerons. I crashed straightaway. He left the ailerons centralised and did a circuit using rudder, elevator and throttle only.

Mis rigged story

PLACING BLAME AT ANY COST - TIME

Yup, and it is required for the helicopter PPL. Both no pedals, and stuck pedals, and generally right through to a landing that way. I have been amazed at the demonstrations of skill and finesse in this regard shown to me by instructors.

Simply the discussion of the topic is worthwhile. Following a previous post of the same story I presented at the beginning, another PPRuNer posted that in that situation, (high downforce required to maintain control) just put the plane into a tight turn, and left the g balance out some of the pitch force. You might not solve the problem, but you can at least get a break while you figure out the next step - simple! Why had no one ever told me that during training?

I hope I did not give the impression that any discussion of the jammed control scenario should be omitted from PPL training. Rather I personally do not explicitly raise it because ab initio training should follow a progression from simple to complex.

In the context of emergencies this means the progression is from the most likely and most dangerous emergencies to those which are less and less probable.
Since there is never unlimited time to teach everything during the PPL, in practice I have found that achieving proficiency on the common emergencies will require the whole course. I strongly believe that an air exercise of jammed controls given to a student that has not mastered all the common emergencies is negative training.

However as a rainy day brain teaser to a good student this subject might have some real value. But again I strongly feel it should be presented in away as to reinforce good operating practices. The backwards control scenario is an example of something that may have to be dealt with in the air but is fundamentally a complete failure of the pilot to take an obvious and basic precaution of checking the controls for correct movement prior to taking off.


The only caution I would give when discussing the jammed control scenario is that this emergency is susceptible to an unwarranted emphasis on the "hero pilot" school of handling an emergency. That is the the only way to save the day is some fancy stick and rudder work and if successful then it was because "I proved I was a hero pilot".
It's a sexy and alluring dialogue.

The only problem is if the student winds up crashing an aircraft, it won't be because his hero piloting skill was deficient it is going to be for the usual unsexy reasons like running out of gas, letting carb ice build to the point of engine failure, losing control during takeoff or landing, running off the end of the runway etc etc.

I guess that is why I had an immediate and visceral response to Andrew172. The number one problem in GA right now IMO is a lack of proficiency in the piloting basics and a lack of understanding of the aircraft and its systems and performance. Those foundation skills and knowledge need to be the emphasis of primary flight training and until fully developed make training in advanced concepts of little practical value.

One of my favorite "emergencies" with PPL's nearing the end of their training (and CPL's too) is to cover the airspeed indicator when the aircraft is in the practice area. The student has to fly back to the airport and land with no airspeed reference. All the skills needed to fly the aircraft were taught in the first flying lesson, attitude plus power equals performance, and it is a wonderful demonstration of the fact that everything you need to fly the aircraft is available by simply looking out the windscreen. When they are settled on final approach and have the runway made I ask them what they think their airspeed is. I then uncover the ASI and I have never had a student out by more then 5 knots :ok:\

I am not a helicopter pilot but my impression was that many of the "no pedal" exercises pilot DAR mentions are being phased out of helicopter training because many more helicopters were being crashed in training then had ever crashed after real tail rotor/pedal failures....

How are things going for you Pilot DAR?

For me life is gradually returning to some semblance of normal since Pene passed away in the fall of 2010.

The Cub project I had in my garage has not progressed very much since you were here, but I am finally going to finish it now.

With regard to the discussion here I decided to comment because of the above comment by you, as it in my opinion addresses the difference in the quality of flying instruction in the world of rotary wing flying compared to fixed wing flying.

Looking back on my career it was my experience that the quality of instruction in the rotary wing sector was better because the experience level of rotary wing instructors was far higher than in the fixed wing world....I don't recall knowing any rotary wing instructors who were teaching students without having any experience flying commercially before they became instructors.

Do you know any?

Chuck Ellsworth.

I agree with your observation Chuck. I had not though of it that way, but I think you're quite right. One of my two instructors (who had a lot more grey hair than I) told me that during helicopter instructor seminars he used to ask Transport Canada why only stuck pedals, and not stuck cyclic and collective, were taught and examined. Apparently no answer was forthcoming...

Life is excellent, and I expect to be along in the next week or two, to tell you all about it in person. I also plan to meet up with another rather famous V.I. PPRuNer. I'll be in touch....