AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2024 - 91

FLYING SMART /
'Your airplane'
Lessons on exchanging flight controls
BY CATHERINE CAVANARO
the grass and ultimately came to a stop near
the edge of the runway. I had never seen a
ground loop before and, while the event was
over in a few seconds, it seemed to happen in
slow motion. After the pilots taxied the airplane
to the tiedown spots and shut down,
two flight instructors hopped out and joined
us on the porch. They explained that each
of them thought the other was landing the
airplane so, it turned out, that nobody was
in control, and they were both along for the
ride. Fortunately, the Champ was fine and
any damage that day was limited to egos.
Lesson: Always ensure someone is controlling
the airplane.
On another fall day, my student Jim and
I returned to the Sewanee Airport (UOS)
from a local flight in my Cessna Aerobat
Wilbur. Sewanee is nestled atop and near the
edge the southern part of the Cumberland
Plateau and winds from the west often hit
the side of the plateau and swirl around
the airport. Visitors, and even based pilots,
need to stay on their toes to land in the typical
gusty conditions. Wilbur's light wing
loading makes that task even more challenging.
As perceptive as I try to be as an
instructor, I woefully underestimated Jim's
discomfort as he turned onto short final and
approached our runway surrounded by tall
trees. He managed to guide the Aerobat
toward the flare but, as Wilbur swayed and
yawed back and forth, Jim apparently had
enough. He suddenly threw his hands up
in the air and snapped his feet from the
rudder pedals and yelled, " Your airplane! "
Fortunately, my hands and feet were sufficiently
close to the controls, so I jumped on
them and landed Wilbur without incident.
But, wow, that was a close one.
After the ground portion of an instru "
YOU HAVE THE flight controls. "
" I have the flight controls. "
" You have the flight controls. "
This exchange between two pilots
may seem like overkill for anyone except
a professional flight crew or a newbie just
trying to pass a checkride. Based on my
experience, though, I wonder how many
loss-of-control events occur from a clumsy,
or nonexistent, transfer of aircraft control
between two pilots. Many of these don't
cause enough damage to make their way
into the NTSB accident database but can
hurt airplanes and people, nevertheless.
Several years ago, I found myself basking
in the glory of a beautiful fall day at one
of my favorite local grass strips. The hum of
an engine pulled my attention toward the
downwind leg of the pattern where I saw
an Aeronca Champ setting up for a landing.
The neat orange and yellow airplane
turned final and floated toward a point near
the beginning of the runway. The mains
touched down, and as the tail lowered, the
nose began to yaw to the left. Without the
usual wagging of the rudder during the landing
roll, the aircraft continued its yaw and
reversed direction as its right wing scraped
ment practical exam, my candidate Sarah
dutifully performed the items on the startup
checklist of the Diamond DA40. On the
CTAF, she announced her intentions to taxi
toward the designated runup area. Sarah
moved the throttle lever forward and, once
the Diamond rolled a few feet forward, she
stomped on the toe brakes and the airplane
came to a stop. Sarah hadn't retarded the
throttle, so I felt the airplane still straining to
move forward. She then pulled her feet from
the toe brakes and blurted, " Your controls! "
Most candidates ask me first if I would like
to check my brakes before releasing the
AOPA PILOT / February 2024
91
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2024

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