AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019 - 20

PROFICIENT PILOT

In the company of eagles

BY BARRY SCHIFF

Lessons learned from the birds

BARRY SCHIFF

has flown 357
different types
of aircraft (and is
seeking more).

20 | AOPA PILOT March 2019

ONCE WHILE IN EAST AFRICA, I had the pleasure of flying with F.W. "Bill" Woodley, the chief game warden for
Kenya's mountain national parks. Woodley used a Piper
PA-18 Super Cub to locate lost mountain climbers, spot
poachers, direct firefighting countermeasures, and conduct law-enforcement activities.
He had a reputation for being a mountain pilot
extraordinaire. It was said that he could coax high-altitude performance out of an airplane that exceeded even
the optimistic claims of its manufacturer. This included
operating the Cub from a short, unimproved strip at the
14,000-foot level of Mount Kenya and routinely nursing
it to substantially above its service ceiling.
My stated purpose in accompanying Woodley on a
simulated mountain rescue was to research a magazine
article about him. My underlying reason, though, was to
determine if his reputation was justified or just a fable.
Prior to climbing into the front seat of the Cub,
Woodley removed his boots and socks. This, he said,
helped him to better feel what the Cub was doing. My
skepticism needle pegged. He also handed me an oxygen mask.
After departing Nanyuki, Woodley pointed the nose
toward Mount Kenya, an extinct volcano that rises
abruptly to 17,057 feet, the second tallest mountain in
Africa, Kilimanjaro being the highest.
At 15,000 feet, the Cub's climb rate had pooped out,
and it appeared that the summit of Mount Kenya was
beyond reach. Woodley fine-tuned the mixture once
again and moved to within a wingspan of the mountain. He then spotted some eagles soaring over the edge
of a bluff and moved the Cub toward them. The birds
held their ground as Woodley joined their formation.
We hugged the sunlit slope and began to gently rise,
occasionally lifting a wing to avoid an outcrop of rocks.
Moments later, we were skimming above the glacier
defining the summit, and the Cub was still climbing.
After returning to Nanyuki, Woodley told me that
the techniques he used to milk the last drop of performance from his airplane are not mysterious. "All I do,"
he said, "is look for large birds. They are masters of soaring flight; they know how to avoid sinking air and locate
rising air."
This is not particularly new to sailplane pilots.
Capitalizing on rising currents to remain aloft without
power is a challenge they accept during every flight. But
as Woodley demonstrated, the principles used to lift

sailplanes and the outstretched wings of birds also can
be used to enhance airplane performance. For example:
* When flying along a valley (narrow or wide) with
a crosswind, alter course to the downwind side. This
places the aircraft in rising air and, by maintaining altitude, increases cruise airspeed. Those who fly on the
upwind side of a valley lose performance even when
winds are light.
* When practical, conduct flights along the windward
sides of other rising terrain and avoid the leeward sides.
* When climb performance after takeoff is likely to be
anemic (such as when heavily loaded at high density
altitude), visualize how the local wind is influenced by
the shape of terrain to determine where up and down
currents are most likely to occur. Alter course to avoid
sinking air and take advantage of rising air.
* Rising air usually can be found beneath fair-weather
cumulus, while sinking air often characterizes the air
between them.
* Expect the strongest thermals over dry, light-colored,
sunlit areas; sinking air is typically found over terrain
that appears moist and darkly colored.
Conventional wisdom suggests that VFR pilots
should attempt to maintain altitude when flying
through updrafts and downdrafts. Such wisdom, however, is counterproductive and prolongs flight time.
Maintaining altitude in a downdraft, for example,
requires raising the nose, which results in reduced airspeed, and this prolongs time spent in the downdraft.
Adding power at such a time-especially on warm
summer days-can result in an overheated engine (in
addition to increasing fuel consumption). As the soaring
flight of birds teaches us, we should allow the downdraft to have its way and go with the flow. Birds dive out
of downdrafts, so maintain or even increase airspeed,
accept the altitude loss, and pass through the downdraft
as quickly as possible to minimize its effects.
Lowering the nose to maintain altitude in an updraft
make no sense. This increases airspeed-sometimes
excessively-and rejects Mother Nature's offer of free
altitude, which later can be used to offset the altitude
loss in the downdraft that inevitably follows. Instead,
take advantage of the updraft and allow the airplane
to climb for a longer period by not increasing airspeed.
We have so much to learn by observing the flight of
eagles and other soaring birds.
AOPA
www.barryschiff.com

http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2019

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