Flight Training - November 2011 - 50

INSTRUCTOR REPORT»

Syllabus: USE ONE
More than anything, students need structure. Even Part 61 independent flight instructors can introduce a proper syllabus into a student's training program. Many are online for free, so there's no reason not to use one. Check www.safepilots.org for more.

In fact, I first introduce traftraf fic patterns and approaches without actually landing, ending final approach with a go-around and climbing back to reenter the downwind. It eases the student’s mind to know that every attempt does not have to end with an actual landing.
SEPARATE THE TASKS. A good touch and go maintains the standalone integrity of taking off and landing. You should divide the touch and go into a landing, with all that’s required to call it successful— a stable approach, a flare from the glide into level flight, holding

off to effect a slow touchdown on the main gear, followed by a modicum of deceleration, perhaps allowing the nosegear to touch. Then, we can leave the landing as a done deal, reposition the flaps, add power, and retrim without looking away from the runway. The airplane is still rolling at high speed, so flight controls must be combined with ground directional-control techniques to maintain runway alignment: keep the nosewheel light, use rudder to stay straight, and use aileron to keep wings level and/or fight lateral drift. At this point, we’ve entered the takeoff phase of the touch and go. The nose is raised to a proper takeoff attitude and the airplane allowed to lift off as it gathers airspeed; avoid yanking the airplane off the ground or driving it down the runway to climbout speed. The liftoff comes at slightly above clean stall speed and acceleration con-

tinues toward VY while countering p-factor and adjusting crab angle for any crosswind. If the runway is too short to allow for a few seconds of rolling along before taking off, it shouldn’t be used for touch-andgo practice. Not every student will nail every landing on target; there has to be enough room to permit a touchdown anywhere in the first third of the runway, clean up, and lift off to climb out with a generous obstacle clearance, foibles notwithstanding. “Cleared for the option” means the control tower is maintaining enough separation to allow a full-stop landing if needed—the other options being a touch and go, a go around, or a stop and go. Always keep the controller advised, avoiding any surprises. If you are planning to land long (beyond the normal touchdown zone), make a stop and go, do a low approach only, practice an engine failure on

There’s no reason to ever run out of fuel
» By David Jack Kenny

ADD AN HOUR
WHEN A STUDENT pilot told the chief

flight instructor that he was having trouble thinking of any good reason an aircraft should ever run out of fuel, he had barely finished the sentence before the older man cut him off. “That’s because there aren’t any!” The student had to admit that this pretty much settled the matter. However flimsy the reasons, though, it still happens. Last year an average of six airplanes a month went down short of the runway because their pilots couldn’t manage to get fuel into the engine(s)— and that represents a real improvement. Preliminary figures show that 68 airplanes got bent this way in 2010, almost two-thirds of them (43) because of complete fuel exhaustion: The pilot just flat

ran out of gas. In another 25, the engine ran dry even though there was usable fuel on board; some error in setting selectors or pumps or shut-off valves kept it from getting to where it was needed. A decade earlier, fuel exhaustion caused 82 accidents, and starvation accounted for 50 more, so there’s been some progress. It’s not just students and low-time pilots, and it’s not just fixed-gear singles. Deficient fuel management has brought down 10 King Air twin turboprops over the past 10 years. (One, a professionally crewed charter flight, crashed in a place called Yeehaw Junction. Imagine calling your boss to explain that.) Turbine-powered aircraft sustained at least 17 fuel-management accidents during that decade, and there

were 100 involving twins. More complicated systems offer more opportunities to screw things up without changing the basic equation: Hours of fuel on hand should equal hours of flight—actual hours, not just planned—plus one. Flight planning can get complicated, but a few basic calculations are always essential. Is there room to get off the ground without scaring anybody? When it’s time to land, can you put the airplane on the runway and keep it there until you decide to turn? And is there enough gas to get from here to there with at least an hour’s worth left over? Keeping that “golden hour” in reserve ensures that you won’t try to cut it close, until it gets too close for comfort—or you find yourself phoning home from someplace with a colorful name.
David Jack Kenny, manager of aviation safety analysis for the Air Safety Institute, prefers to double the Golden Rule and land with at least two hours reserve.

50 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

http://www.safepilots.org http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - November 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November 2011