AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019 - 81

P&E

PROFICIENCY

Relax and go
with the flow
Brain teasers and the big picture
B Y C AT H E R I N E C AVAG N A R O

AFTER DEPARTING FROM HUNTSVILLE

Executive Airport Tom Sharp Jr. Field
(MDQ) in Alabama, the twin-engine Piper
Seminole began to roll and its nose sliced to
the right as one of the engines lost power. I
pushed the yoke forward to ensure an airspeed sufficient to maintain aircraft control

and respected FAA designated examiner. He started his aviation career in the
U.S. Air Force and then joined the NASA
team that included aerospace engineer
Wernher von Braun. After retiring from
NASA, he served as a designated examiner and conducted more than 10,000

"Ever hear of pilots who fear turning from the
departure leg of the pattern to the downwind
leg? How can you make sense of that?"
and began the engine failure checklist by
reporting, "Identify-right engine failure"
since left rudder application was necessary
to correct the attendant yawing motion.
Before I could verbalize the next step, Mr.
Clyde, an FAA designated examiner on this
flight with me, interrupted with, "I recently
flew a Cessna 172 at 35 knots airspeed without stalling. How was that possible?"
"Verify-right engine failure," I said as
I closed the throttle on the right engine
with no power change. I responded, "Well,
you were flying with a fair amount of
engine power and with flaps extended. I'll
bet you weren't at maximum gross weight
or at a forward CG either." Mr. Clyde confirmed: "Yeah, that was part of it."
I announced, "Feather," and while the
propeller on the right engine slowed to a
halt, I continued with, "And 35 knots was
your indicated airspeed and not calibrated
airspeed, correct?" He nodded and, with a
smile, gave me the next task to complete.
Clyde Shelton, or Mr. Clyde as I
always called him, was a well-loved

practical exams in north Alabama. Mr.
Clyde appreciated the technical side of
aviation and encouraged his candidates to
achieve a deeper understanding of flight
principles. In 2010 and 2016, respectively,
he was inducted in the Tennessee and
Alabama aviation halls of fame.
My own entrance into aviation came later
than I would have liked-after earning tenure as a mathematics professor at Sewanee:
The University of the South. But I instantly
saw so many mathematical applications
in aviation that studying each subject only
intensified my interest in the other. During
my first practical exam with Mr. Clyde two
years earlier, we spent much time discussing
the technical aspects of aviation and he noted
my eagerness to learn. I enjoyed his myriad
questions, and answering them felt more like
a fun game than part of a practical exam. If
flying as a single pilot had strengthened my
ability to multitask, being the mother of two
young boys honed it to a sharp point. Mr.
Clyde proved quite the taskmaster that day,
and I readily accepted the challenge.
aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 81

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019
