Flight Training - January/February 2021 - 49

Figgles still off, we do some more turns
(not necessarily steep) and again play
with the rudder pedals. I encourage them
to look out the side window and watch
the line that the wing tip inscribes across
the ground. As they press left and right
pedals (at first, with my help), they see
how the wing tip is dragged forward or
back across their ground reference. This
provides another way to measure coordinated flight-by watching how the wing
tip moves across the ground in a turn. Of
course, they can also feel their shoulders
swaying side to side, providing a tactile
measure correlated to the visual cues
of the wing tip. This is helpful in many
phases of flight but will pay dividends
especially when attempting the commercial eights on pylons maneuver.
UNLOADING THE WINGS
Many students have an academic knowledge that stall speed is not constant.
However, many have never really seen a
good demonstration of that, or learned
to coordinate their feeling of weight in
the seat with the increased stall speed of
the airplane. For this lesson, we leave the
Figgles off.
We start first with a power setting
slightly above what is necessary for level
flight at the approach speed and then
commence a wings-level, flaps-up stall,
recovering when we hear the stall warning
horn. I ask them to pay close attention to
the airspeed indicator and to make a note
of the speed at which they first hear the
horn. We allow the airplane to recover
and build up more speed, then roll into a
steep turn while pulling back to increase G
loading (i.e., an accelerated stall condition). In some cases, I help with a little
more back pressure, to ensure we get a
good demonstration. I ask them to note
the speed at which the horn is heard and
then we recover.
Depending on how aggressive the pull
back is, the horn will typically sound about
15 to 20 knots higher (in a Cessna 172)
during the accelerated stall than it does in
the unaccelerated (wings-level) condition.
For many students, this is an eye-opening,
first-hand demonstration of how the base
to final turn can get them in trouble-and
moves it from an academic theory to this
could happen to me.
From here, we will engage in a series of
steep turns. I encourage them to pull back
on the elevator until they feel themselves

getting heavy in the seat, then push forward on the controls to unload the wings.
We repeat this exercise, concentrating
on developing a sensitivity to the feeling
of weight in the seat, and observing the
immediate unloading of Gs when the controls are pushed forward. I point out how
the elevator control produces an instant
reaction in G loading and how, if they are
ever in a base-to-final turn and feel themselves getting heavy in the seat, this is their
first line of defense: They should push
forward on the elevator and, above all else,
resist pulling back to tighten up the turn.
Getting heavy in the seat is a warning sign,
and it is important to be sensitive to that
feeling and know what to do in response.
Developing sensitivity to G loading
without looking at the instruments is
a Zen skill and has the potential to go
beyond simply flying the airplane better. It
produces potentially life-saving benefits,
particularly when you consider that flying
with Zen produces a sensitivity to not
only G loading of the aircraft, but also to
cross-controlled situations-all the while
keeping eyes outside the cockpit.
The Zen lessons provide an immediate
reward in terms of the ability to fly steep
turns. I have seen students struggling with
this maneuver transform their performance simply by removing the distractions
of the instruments.
However, they provide a lot more than
that. Aside from the confidence to fly the
airplane in the event of an instrument
failure, students become much more
attuned to the airplane, what it is doing,
and what it is telling them-how it " talks "
to them. They develop a greater sensitivity
to remaining in coordinated flight without
having to fixate on the ball. It also pays
dividends in one of the most important
areas of flight: the traffic pattern. It helps
give students the confidence to keep their
eyes outside of the airplane, looking for
traffic and setting up the pattern. It gives
them better sensitivity to keeping the
airplane coordinated and unloaded, particularly in the base to final turn.
In IFR flight, we learn to ignore everything except the instruments. However,
in VFR flight, flying by the " seat of your
pants " is a valuable skill. Like my old
instructor used to say: " Fly with your
butt! " FT
DAVE FORSTER is a CFI and experimental aircraft
builder from Texas.
AOPA.ORG/FT

49

TAKE YOUR
AVIATION CAREER
TO NEW HEIGHTS
You're cleared
for takeoff on the
AOPA Job Board

POST

a resume so employers
can find you.

SET UP

job alerts so you never
miss a new opportunity.

SEARCH

thousands of active
listings from hundreds of
the top employers in all
sectors of the industry.
Go to jobs.aopa.org for
your next career move.
Posting a Job?
AOPA members get

20% off!
Powered by
http://jobs.aopa.org http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT
Flight Training - January/February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January/February 2021
