Cessna 150 maneuvers?

[Peter Ha]

Hey folks,
So now that I got my 150 home; what maneuvers are recommended?
Recently, I completed a long cross-county where I flew as straight and level as possible(cause I was mostly TERRIFIED the whole flight).
What do C150 pilots do to expand their flying repertoire?
I don't mean training or ratings but SPECIFIC maneuvers that I can practice.
Thinking of practicing slow flight this weekend to see what's the SLOWEST speed C150 will handle.

 

[RyanB]

Yeah, run through the private pilot check ride maneuvers (steep turns, slow flight, stalls etc.)

I’d imagine you probably have a pretty good feel for it though after taking it cross-country, but it never hurts to brush up on those types of things. I flew an Aerobat not long ago that was so docile it wouldn’t truly stall, it just got mushy on the controls. Easy and fun airplanes to fly!

 

[bobmrg]

With full flaps and some power you can make the airspeed indicator read zero or pretty close. I can't imagine being terrified in a 150....it is a pussycat. Yo can expand your repertoire by trying things that you have not tried before. The Airplane Flying Handbook is a good reference. In any airplane you need to be comfortable with the airspeed indicator at the slow end of its range. I get the feeling that you are concerned about stalls...remember that it is angle of attack that stalls the wing, not airspeed. When I was teaching primary students back in the day I regularly covered the flight instruments and had the students fly patterns...it is all about looking out of the window and controlling attitude by reference to the horizon. Orville and Wilbur Wright did not have an airspeed indicator and they did pretty well.

Bob

 

[RyanB]

Yo can expand your repertoire by trying things that you have not tried before. The Airplane Flying Handbook is a good reference. In any airplane you need to be comfortable with the airspeed indicator at the slow end of its range. I get the feeling that you are concerned about stalls...remember that it is angle of attack that stalls the wing, not airspeed.

I agree, but some things that haven’t been done before are best to do with a CFI, rather than trying to attempt solo, even in an airplane as docile as a 150.

 

[GeorgeC]

If your plane is legal for spins, get a CFI and do some. Also, the commercial maneuvers.

 

[smv]

Find a day when winds aloft are 40+kts and do some backward flying. Slow flight into a strong headwind. The stonger, the better.

 

[Dana]

I can't imagine being terrified in a 150....

I was, once, many years ago when I was very young and foolish and attempted to fly a 150 upside down. (Note to the OP: Unless your real name is Bob Hoover, DON'T try that!). I survived and the airplane was reusable, but I sure never tried it again.

Legally, you're limited to the maneuvers listed in the POH, which IIRC are stalls, spins, chandelles, and lazy 8's. Learn what the plane will do at its limits... practice short field landings and takeoffs, go up just to shoot landings in a strong gusty crosswind, do some cross countries with all the electronic navigation stuff shut off. Visit grass airports. Practice spot landings with the engine at idle from downwind and you not touching the throttle. Then shut off the engine (at altitude and over the airport just in case), slow the plane until the prop stops windmilling, and see how it glides (it'll be different). When you get confident enough and if your airport isn't that busy, land that way.

 

[denverpilot]

No one has mentioned this but remember there’s no need to actually get the commercial certificate to have trained on the commercial maneuvers. Grab a CFI and make sure you meet the minimums plus more for your existing certificate (short/soft field landings, steep turns, etc... all to standards and easily accomplished) and then do some commercial maneuvers. They’re all about aircraft control.

 

[G-force]

Grab a CFI and go do some spins. The 150's snap over alot more abruptly than any 172 I've ever flown.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

Why were you terrified?

 

[Kritchlow]

Then shut off the engine (at altitude and over the airport just in case), slow the plane until the prop stops windmilling, and see how it glides (it'll be different). When you get confident enough and if your airport isn't that busy, land that way.

I do not think this is good advice.

 

[Brad W]

I can't imagine being terrified in a 150....it is a pussycat.

ha ha...once when I was actively flying larger singles I went out for a flight in a c152 after having not flown one in a long time. I was terrified exactly but it was a windy day, probably springtime, and that thing sure was hard to control on final compared to the larger and heavier stuff I'd been flying.

 

[t3chiman]

... SPECIFIC maneuvers that I can practice....

I was always uncomfortable with accelerated stalls. You're at a steep attitude, cross-controlled; when the 150 stops flying, no telling which way it will roll.

 

[Jim Carpenter]

Crosswind t/o and landings, and rough, gusty conditions, might want to get a CFI to go along.
No-flaps landing, if you're not already comfortable with that, easy enough to do on your own.
Engine-out glide practice, with engine at idle (not suggesting actually shutting it off), from different altitudes aside from abeam the numbers at pattern altitude. Being able to hit your spot consistently, as during your checkride, is something that most of us don't practice enough.
And, I like the spin idea, as well, find a CFI comfortable with spins and go do some spin and recovery training. That said, be sure your plane is approved for this, I know 150s are/(were), but, I believe there is an AD out requiring some kind of rudder/tail reinforcement in order to be approved for spins, but that may only apply to later 152s (anybody know offhand? I don't have time to research right now).

 

[GeorgeC]

I was always uncomfortable with accelerated stalls. You're at a steep attitude, cross-controlled; when the 150 stops flying, no telling which way it will roll.

Why were you cross controlled in an accelerated stall? I thought they were just bank and yank and recover.

 

[Witmo]

...That said, be sure your plane is approved for this, I know 150s are/(were), but, I believe there is an AD out requiring some kind of rudder/tail reinforcement in order to be approved for spins, but that may only apply to later 152s (anybody know offhand? I don't have time to research right now).

There's a rudder stop AD for many models of both 150s and 152s that prohibits spins unless the stock rudder stops are replaced with approved larger stops. Apparently there were at least two incidents of Cessnas that could not recover from a spin because the rudder jammed at full deflection due to the original rudder stops.

 

[Jim Carpenter]

There's a rudder stop AD for many models of both 150s and 152s that prohibits spins unless the stock rudder stops are replaced with approved larger stops. Apparently there were at least two incidents of Cessnas that could not recover from a spin because the rudder jammed at full deflection due to the original rudder stops.

That's it, thanks!

 

[Witmo]

Why were you cross controlled in an accelerated stall? I thought they were just bank and yank and recover.

An accelerated stall is any stall where the g-loading is greater than 1 g. No need to be cross controlled or even banked. They're usually practiced in a coordinated turn because generally that's where you might actually encounter an accelerated stall in normal flight. Like any stall, if you're not in coordinated flight, you risk entering a spin because you have both ingredients present, yaw and stall. You probably know this so this answer is directed at t3chiman.

 

[denverpilot]

I was always uncomfortable with accelerated stalls. You're at a steep attitude, cross-controlled; when the 150 stops flying, no telling which way it will roll.

Why were you cross controlled in an accelerated stall? I thought they were just bank and yank and recover.

Beat me to it. Shouldn’t be cross controlled at all...

 

[WDD]

Start your instrument training with your new airplane.

 

[t3chiman]

Why were you cross controlled in an accelerated stall? I thought they were just bank and yank and recover.

Holding a bit of opposite aileron to avoid overbanking in the steep turn. If my technique was off, well, that's why I was practicing.

 

[Witmo]

Holding a bit of opposite aileron to avoid overbanking in the steep turn. If my technique was off, well, that's why I was practicing.

Good on you for practicing. I used to practice steep turns in a thermal in my 150, The climb rate in a stock 150 is so anemic it helped to work a thermal to get to altitude quicker. I also liked to practice steep spirals as they are handy for forced landing practice or getting down through a broken cloud deck.

 

[Kritchlow]

I was, once, many years ago when I was very young and foolish and attempted to fly a 150 upside down. (Note to the OP: Unless your real name is Bob Hoover, DON'T try that!). I survived and the airplane was reusable, but I sure never tried it again.

Legally, you're limited to the maneuvers listed in the POH, which IIRC are stalls, spins, chandelles, and lazy 8's. Learn what the plane will do at its limits... practice short field landings and takeoffs, go up just to shoot landings in a strong gusty crosswind, do some cross countries with all the electronic navigation stuff shut off. Visit grass airports. Practice spot landings with the engine at idle from downwind and you not touching the throttle. Then shut off the engine (at altitude and over the airport just in case), slow the plane until the prop stops windmilling, and see how it glides (it'll be different). When you get confident enough and if your airport isn't that busy, land that way.

Actually (other than the idiotic first item and the idiotic recommended last maneuver, I find Dana’s suggestions to be very good.
Personally I would not continuously go practice a turn-around-a-Point. That seems silly to me. Most of Dana’s stuff is practical.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

 

[Kenny Phillips]

If your plane is legal for spins, get a CFI and do some. Also, the commercial maneuvers.

Yep. A 150 spins more merrily than a 172 (which essentially recovers with control relaxation).
Very disorienting for the first few, then you can sort of see what's happening.
In the real world, I just wanted to know what a spin felt like; in terms of being useful, the 150 (and 172) telegraph what they are gonna do far in advance, and you'd really have to be ignoring things to stall accidently. (I have a personal story about that, but I'll reserve it for a few more decades.)

 

[Dana]

Actually (other than the idiotic first item and the idiotic recommended last maneuver, I find Dana’s suggestions to be very good.

The first was very stupid; as I said I was very young and foolish. Landing without power... could be idiotic if you're not prepared for it, but done properly it's no different from what any glider pilot does every flight. You need to know your airplane before you try it, and you'll know it even better afterwards. On the occasions I've done it (in a few different planes I've owned) it always started with having my "chop the power on downwind" spot landings nailed, followed by shutting the engine off on final, high with plenty of room on a long enough runway, and finally shutting down higher... all on a calm day at a deserted airport with room to land alongside the runway if necessary. Not something to try at your typical busy airport.

 

[wilkersk]

Go to 3,000' agl, 3 miles from the approach end of the runway. Pull the throttle back to idle (carb heat on). And, ....land. Have to find a runway thats not busy. And, be ready to wave it off as soon as someone discovers your little party and crashes it.

When you can pick your spot of intended touch down, and even fwd slip to get in on the numbers without scaring the bejeebers out of passing motorists, you're good to go.

Don't try to get too aggressive on the first couple of tries. Just pull the throttle back and see how it works for ya. Add throttle and go around if you start to get uncomfortable at all. But, work on expanding the envelope.

 

[wilkersk]

An accelerated stall is any stall where the g-loading is greater than 1 g. No need to be cross controlled or even banked. They're usually practiced in a coordinated turn because generally that's where you might actually encounter an accelerated stall in normal flight. Like any stall, if you're not in coordinated flight, you risk entering a spin because you have both ingredients present, yaw and stall. You probably know this so this answer is directed at t3chiman.

The Navy Flying Club required an annual flight review (long before FAA mandated BFRs). One thing they did to everyone who checked out in the T-34 was an approach turn stall. we'd go up to about 3,000' agl and set up for an down wind leg. On the base leg to an imaginary landing with a long straight road beneath us, they'd have us over shoot the base leg and exaggerate the turn to final. With flaps extended, it took deliberate effort to stick the nose down and keep the airspeed nailed. So, we'd let the nose come up on that aggresive turn to get back to the runway and, sure enough we'd get the stall with sudden off-camber break to the outside with no warning buffet, that was like ridding the "Sidewinder" carnival ride.

The recovery was pretty standard. But often, we'd be far enough into the break that we'd have some pretty extreme unusual attitudes. And, we'd have lost 700 to 1,000 feet by the time we got the descent arrested!!!! Great learning experience!

They stopped doing that after the first big airframe corrosion ADs. We just talked about it. I never got to fly one again after the last wing spar AD.

 

[Southpaw]

Grab a CFI and go do some spins. The 150's snap over alot more abruptly than any 172 I've ever flown.

Yes in deed they do ! Startled the BJ out of me. My 172 with the Horton wings is a ***** cat in comparison.

 

[Kritchlow]

The first was very stupid; as I said I was very young and foolish. Landing without power... could be idiotic if you're not prepared for it, but done properly it's no different from what any glider pilot does every flight. You need to know your airplane before you try it, and you'll know it even better afterwards. On the occasions I've done it (in a few different planes I've owned) it always started with having my "chop the power on downwind" spot landings nailed, followed by shutting the engine off on final, high with plenty of room on a long enough runway, and finally shutting down higher... all on a calm day at a deserted airport with room to land alongside the runway if necessary. Not something to try at your typical busy airport.

And if someone pulls out on the runway in front of you?

there is just no need to shut the engine down and stop the prop. That’s just dangerous. It can be simulated with a zero thrust setting.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

And if someone pulls out on the runway in front of you?

Then you climb until you can reach the next runway.

 

[Dana]

And if someone pulls out on the runway in front of you?

That's why I specified a deserted airport, with room to land alongside the runway.

 

[Kritchlow]

That's why I specified a deserted airport, with room to land alongside the runway.

That does not cut it, plus that is only one of many issues that may arise.
Regardless, that can be simulated, so there is zero reason to take that risk.