Flight Training - August 2020 - 6

ALWAYS LEARNING BY KOLLIN STAGNITO

Vice President of Publications/
Editor KOLLIN STAGNITO
earned his private pilot certificate 30 years
ago this summer. He owns a Cessna 140.
kollin.stagnito@aopa.org

TREES, 12 O'CLOCK

Try as we might, our flying will never be perfect. Sometimes, it's
far from it. What's important is that we keep trying to improve
our skills and learn from the mistakes we'll inevitably make.
Last summer, I made a mistake that led to another lesson learned.
My son and I awoke in our dew-covered tent at the Antique Airplane Association's annual fly-in at Antique Airfield (IA27) in Blakesburg, Iowa. While packing
for our early morning flight home, a check of the weather confirmed a narrow
temperature-dew point spread with visible moisture in the air-ideal conditions for
carburetor ice to form in my Cessna 140's small Continental C-85 engine.
After starting the engine I applied full carb heat. The pilot's operating handbook
advises: "Carburetor ice can form on the ground with the engine idling, therefore be
sure and have the carburetor heat in the On position. Leave it in that position until
you open the throttle for the takeoff run. Then move carburetor heat to the cold air
position. This gives maximum power for the takeoff. Then watch engine for any
indications of ice (roughness or loss of rpm) during climb and apply full carburetor
heat if engine begins to ice."
Engine runup and checklists complete, I did a final flow pattern check of all
instruments, gauges, and controls-confirming carb heat was still on-before taxiing
to the runway. Density altitude would be a factor on this hot, humid morning, and
I wanted to be certain to have full power available for takeoff from this short grass
runway with tall trees 600 feet beyond the departure end. I briefed my son on our
course of action if we experienced carb ice on takeoff; we would avoid the trees that
lay directly ahead by turning right and flying through a narrow valley.
6  FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2020

The Antique Aircraft Association
uses nonstandard procedures during
its fly-in. There are no radio calls in the
traffic pattern, as many airplanes do not
have electrical systems. Every operation is
strictly see and avoid, with one exception:
Takeoffs and landings are controlled by
flaggers standing at the approach end of
the runway, who wave a green flag to clear
aircraft for landings and takeoffs and a red
flag to indicate a go-around or hold short.
As I approached the departure end
of the runway, the green flag was briskly
waved at me in a manner that indicated
"immediate departure." Without delay I
accelerated down the undulating grass
runway. Our wheels broke ground about
when I expected, but our airspeed was not
increasing as quickly as normal. The trees
were growing larger.
When faced with an obstruction at the
end of a short runway, there is a powerful urge to climb immediately to clear
the obstruction as soon as possible-but
that can lead to a decay in airspeed and
significant reduction in climb performance. Accelerating to best angle of climb
airspeed (VX) while still in ground effect
and climbing as soon as you attain VX is
the best course of action. Thanks to good
training, I followed this procedure-but
as we approached the trees, I could see
we would not clear them. I banked right
as briefed, buying time to figure out why
our climb rate was so anemic. A quick
scan of the instrument panel immediately
revealed the problem-carb heat was still
fully applied, reducing engine rpm and
degrading climb performance. I pushed
the carb heat off and the airplane quickly
ascended above the trees. I apologized to
my son for the uncomfortably close view
of the treetops, and we headed for home.
You can view a brief video of the takeoff
here (aopa.org/ft/treetops).
I let myself get distracted by the
unique fly-in procedures and forgot to
turn the carb heat off while applying full
throttle on the takeoff roll. The best way
to avoid distraction is to slow down, be
deliberate, and use flow patterns and
checklists. Since this unwanted adventure,
I always turn the carb heat off during my
final flow pattern check before entering
the runway-and I haven't repeated the
mistake. On the positive side, the pretakeoff briefing really paid off. I just didn't
expect that my tree-avoidance plan would
have to bail me out of my own blunder. FT
http://www.aopa.org/ft/treetops
Flight Training - August 2020

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