AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 100

The Only 16' Canoe
That Fits On A Small Plane
Sea Eagle Travel Canoe 16

P&E

ON INSTRUMENTS

®

The inflatable Sea Eagle Travel Canoe is
a 16' canoe you can pack on a small plane,
in a car trunk or an RV. Comfortably fit
up to 3 paddlers. Patented design
allows it to glide through water and
3 separate air chambers make it
completely buoyant.
* 16'x38 " Inflated
* Patented Design
* Inflates in 9 Minutes
* Only 60 lbs.
* Fits 1-3 People

Fits On
A Small
Plane!

40 " x24 " x16 "
Deflated

Call 800-944-7496 for
a FREE catalog or visit:

Dept AC031B, 19 N. Columbia St., Port Jefferson , NY 11777

SAVE ON THE THINGS
YOU NEED... AND THE
THINGS YOU WANT

Visit aopa.org/lifestyles to start
saving today.

of sensory illusions.

you too much airspeed, and a long or hard
landing. The other bleeds off airspeed at a
critical time-when you're at low altitude
and close to the ground.
The " black hole approach " deserves
some mention as well. On a night approach
with no moon or starlight, to a runway surrounded by featureless and unlit terrain, it
can indeed feel like you're flying in a dark
void. With no visual cues-except perhaps
the runway lights-there's no horizon, no
way to visually judge your descent profile, and no way to visually assess your
groundspeed as you close in on the runway. Confusion ensues as you try to come
up with a nominal combination of pitch and
power. Without a view ahead, illusions can
take over, misleading you into flying too
fast or slow, or at an incorrect pitch angle.
Black-hole takeoffs can be equally dangerous, because any runway lights are fast
disappearing behind you, instantly leaving you with zero visual references. Yes,
you're on instruments, but it can be a fight
between what the panel tells you and what
the body feels. Give way to an impulse, and
loss of control can follow.
Are there any antidotes to disorientation and illusions? First of all, stay current
on instrument flying, and believe your
instruments. If you have a flight director,
100 | AOPA PILOT March 2021

use its command bars to keep you focused
on course and pitch guidance. If you have
an autopilot or integrated flight control system, use them. Choose airports served by
precision approaches, and simply defined
arrival and departure procedures. Don't
fly with cold symptoms, as clogged eustachian tubes can affect the inner ear. As a
most aggressive measure, consider avoiding
night flights. Above all, make gentle control inputs, and move your head as little as
possible. It's hard to do, what with reading
checklists, scrutinizing charts, and adjusting switches and dials, but try your best.
Fly long enough, and you'll probably
encounter one or more of the illusions
and sensations we touched on here. I
know I have.
The only way to safely experience
those lomcevak-inducing vestibular disorientations is to get a ride in a device
called the Bárány chair-a devilish device
that spins you around. My father, who flew
in World War II, talked about how the
Bárány chair was used to disqualify prospective pilots. If you fell or puked after a
session in the chair, you were out. He said
he hated the chair, but so did everyone
else. Wonder why.
AOPA
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org

COURTESY COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE

ENJOY AOPA MEMBERS-ONLY
DISCOUNTS ON:
- Avionics
- Pilot Supplies
- Hangars & Ground - Services
Equipment
- Training
- Parts
- Travel

NO ONE IS A FAN of the Bárány chair, designed to expose you to the disorientation
http://seaeagle.com http://www.aopa.org/lifestyles
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021
