Flight Training - November/December 2022 - 14

PREFLIGHT FLIGHT LESSON
BY EMMA QUEDZUWEIT
UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
IS YOUR GUT TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING?
WHAT HAPPENED
Ignoring reservations about
flying a new airplane leads
to a rookie-and almost
disastrous-mistake.
Thankfully, instead of panic, my brain
locked into a thought process born of flying
and detective work: Gather info, deduce
cause and effect.
I looked out my window. The grass was
IT WAS A SUNNY CALIFORNIA AFTERNOON WHEN I MADE QUITE
possibly the stupidest decision of my life. I was lining up for
a short-field takeoff at Auburn Municipal Airport (AUN) in a
Cessna 172 decked out with surveillance equipment for the detective
agency I worked for. Although I had flown many missions
in it, today was my first time as its pilot in command, solo, for a
radio check on some newly installed avionics. Unfortunately, my
gut was setting off alarms I couldn't shake.
I was a private pilot whose flight time and muscle memory
were mostly in a battered rental Cessna 150 that never produced
its expected horsepower, and even though I had just been
checked out in this very 172, I was not comfortable with the airplane.
I dismissed my anxiety. Who was I going to trust: my own
limited experience, or my far-wiser flight instructor who assured
me I was ready to fly the airplane? Ignoring my gut, I applied
right rudder, added full power, and released the brakes.
The aircraft shot left off the runway.
Startled, I reverted to my training habit when the airplane
did something I didn't understand-release the controls and let
the airplane tell me what was going on or correct itself. This
works great at altitude, but here the problem only got worse.
The aircraft raced across the ground at an angle. Grass passed
beneath me, then the taxiway, then more grass-all in split
seconds as I sat in confusion. Directly in front of me, a California
Highway Patrol helicopter sat innocently in its parking spot, and
it dawned on me that I wasn't getting out of this.
14
FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
TECHNIQUE
PHYSICS AND YOU
In most Western
aircraft, the propeller
spins to the right,
causing an equal and
opposite reaction that
forces the left wheel
down, resulting in
a tendency to turn
left that increases
with power. Other
turning tendencies
like P-factor (a result
of the propeller's
function as an airfoil),
spiraling slipstream,
and gyroscopic
precession affect an
airplane in different
ways, depending on
what you're flying and
the phase of flight.
aopa.org/ft/physics
rapidly passing, and I suddenly noticed I
was not experiencing the bumps that would
accompany going across the ground at this
speed. Realizing I must be airborne, I hauled
the airplane into a banking climb, conscious
of the stall risk but having no choice.
Clearing the helicopter, I eased back on the
controls and returned to a proper climbout.
With fear now setting in, I nursed the
airplane to altitude, performed the radio
check, and returned to the airport without
incident, where two CHP officers in
a golf cart were waiting for me. From the
ground, it appeared I had taken off from the
taxiway, which I assured them I hadn't. I
was clueless as to what happened, and the
only explanation I could think of was, " The
rudder felt weird. " No kidding. My muscle
memory had led me to apply enough rudder
to counteract the left-turning tendencies of
a short-field takeoff in a languishing Cessna
150-inadequate for the more-powerful 172.
My checkout had not included a short-field
takeoff, giving the instructor an over-estimation
of my skills, and I had accepted the
sign-off with faith despite my discomfort.
I walked away with the hard lesson that
a simple error could have killed me and
destroyed several aircraft because I had
failed to listen to my gut, develop a proper
reaction to an unexpected aircraft behavior,
or build muscle memory with an airplane
before I commanded it.
As pilots, we often avoid exposing our
shameful mistakes, and I get it. I still don't
like telling this story, but if swallowing my
pride helps make someone a safer pilot, I'll
gladly shout it from the rooftops.
TOP LEFT: ALEX WILLIAMSON; ABOVE: STEVE KARP
http://www.aopa.org/ft/physics
Flight Training - November/December 2022

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