AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2022 - 22

PROFICIENT PILOT
Abandonment
issues
Don't be afraid to execute a go-around
BY BARRY SCHIFF / AOPA Foundation Legacy Society chairman
A FR I END HAD recently purchased a used Cessna 182RG, and
I was providing him with the instruction needed to satisfy his
insurance requirements. We were on final approach to Southern
California's Big Bear Airport (L35) with two other friends filling
the rear seats. The long-range fuel tanks were half full, so the airplane
was obviously heavy.
Big Bear is a nontowered mountain airport at an elevation of
6,752 feet, and the density altitude on that summer day was 9,700
feet. While we were on final to Runway 26, a Cirrus in the run-up
area began moving slowly toward the runway. My friend, however,
was concentrating so much on the gusty approach that he didn't
notice the evolving conflict.
The Cirrus pilot was oblivious to our presence. He nonchalantly
taxied onto the runway for takeoff without making an S-turn
to look for traffic, or uttering a word on the CTAF frequency. I said
nothing and waited for my student to begin a go-around. After
far too long a delay, my friend finally applied some power, but the
heavy airplane was configured for landing and failed to respond
with much enthusiasm. It began to sag toward the runway in a
nose-high attitude.
Had it not been for my intervention, my friend's timidity with
the airplane would have led to an insurance claim during his first
week of ownership. Or worse. My friend made two major mistakes.
The first was not recognizing soon enough that a go-around had
become necessary. The second was not shifting mental gears and
reversing his course of action in a safe yet expeditious manner.
This failure to go around in a timely manner often is the result
of a pilot suffering from " landing expectancy " -a complacent perception
that an approach and landing can be completed safely
because of a failure to recognize the development of threatening
conditions. Consequently, a pilot might continue an approach
beyond the point where assertive action was needed to save the day.
Experience does not offer immunity from landing expectancy.
The more successful approaches a pilot has made, the more
confidence he or she will have that the next approach will be as
successful as all previous ones have been.
Numerous accidents occur annually because pilots are not as
prepared to abandon an approach as they are to continue. This
provides a clue to a reliable and simple technique that can be used
during every approach to combat and eliminate the complacency
22
AOPA PILOT / September 2022
associated with landing expectancy. All a pilot needs to do is ask
himself at some point during every approach, " Am I as prepared
to reject this approach as I am to continue? "
My friend's second mistake was being timid with the controls. A
properly executed go-around should be performed aggressively. It
demands the immediate application of maximum-allowable power.
Because a go-around typically begins with the airplane in a slow,
high-drag configuration, full power should be used to arrest the
descent and begin a climb. Pilots sometimes apply only partial power
in an attempt to " be gentle with the engine. " Although it might otherwise
be admirable to avoid rapid and large throttle movements,
the occasion of a go-around is not one of those times. Concurrent
with the application of full power, the pilot should comply with
the go-around instructions in the pilot's operating handbook. This
includes adjusting pitch attitude to maximize climb performance.
Consider that this could initially require a slightly nose-low attitude
and having to accept a temporary sink rate until the flaps are
retracted sufficiently to enable the airplane to climb.
When performing a perfectly executed go-around in a heavily
loaded airplane at high density altitude, a pilot should expect that
it might not be possible to prevent a loss of altitude while reconfiguring
the airplane because of the limited power available from
a normally aspirated engine.
One way to determine the go-around capability of an airplane
at altitude is to practice the maneuver up high. At 9,000
feet, for example, begin a simulated approach with the airplane
in landing configuration. Upon reaching, say, 8,500 feet-not an
unusually high density altitude for many airports in the western
United States-initiate a go-around to determine how much altitude
might be lost while reconfiguring the airplane and before the
aircraft begins to climb. This provides an indication of what can
be expected during an actual go-around under similar conditions.
Unfortunately, the loss of 100 or 200 feet of indicated altitude during
this maneuver might not seem like a big deal at altitude. Try, though,
to imagine what losing as much or more altitude would be like while
on short final, and experiencing
the visual and unnerving
sensation of the ground rushing
up to meet you.
BarrySchiff.com
BARRY SCHIFF has been
flight instructing since age
18 and has every instructor
rating except powered lift.
http://www.BarrySchiff.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2022

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