First encounter with spatial disorientation.

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snglecoil

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Chris
I’m roughly halfway through training for my instrument rating, but no actual time in IMC yet. I have a really good hood that limits most but not all glimpses outside the airplane. Despite trying hard not to cheat, I’ve never experienced the effects of strong spatial disorientation...until this morning. Wow! I don’t know what was different about this morning. It was clear and a million with some of the smoothest air I’ve been in for a while.

I noticed the first hint after going under the hood on initial climb out. it really, kicked in, though, during my first approach. My body was screaming at me that I was in a mushing left turn. It took every ounce of willpower to trust those instruments. Despite my efforts, I put myself too high to attempt the landing on the relatively short runway. Just when I thought I had everything back under control, going missed intensified the disorientation.

Thankfully by the 3rd approach, The effect had subsided and I flew it beautifully. All in all, despite being a technically bad couple of approaches, I’m actually very glad I got to experience those strong sensations. I certainly appreciate just how much more work I need on this rating and why it is so important.

Anyone have a similar experience?
 
It's not uncommon to get "the leans" when first transitioning from VMC to IMC on departure. (Sensation of not being level despite being level.) After a few moments of concentrating on the instruments, your brain readjusts.
 
I dropped a pencil, turned my head to look at the DPE in right seat for a second, then pitched down to retrieve the pencil, at the same time turning my head back to the left. Sat bolt upright, and caught the "leans" on my IFR checkride. He thought it was educational, but it was soooo difficult to ignore. I don't think I was 100% successful for the first few seconds, but it was a 172, and so I had a little time to adjust.
 
My first experience with “the leans” was during primary training on a night flight over a deserted area. That was very disorienting. I’m working on my IR now and have gotten some mild leans under the hood but I think that first experience helped me understand how to get through it. Go fly VFR some dark night over the middle of nothing sometime if possible.
 
snglecoil said:
I’m roughly halfway through training for my instrument rating, but no actual time in IMC yet. I have a really good hood that limits most but not all glimpses outside the airplane. Despite trying hard not to cheat, I’ve never experienced the effects of strong spatial disorientation...until this morning. Wow! I don’t know what was different about this morning. It was clear and a million with some of the smoothest air I’ve been in for a while.

I noticed the first hint after going under the hood on initial climb out. it really, kicked in, though, during my first approach. My body was screaming at me that I was in a mushing left turn. It took every ounce of willpower to trust those instruments. Despite my efforts, I put myself too high to attempt the landing on the relatively short runway. Just when I thought I had everything back under control, going missed intensified the disorientation.

Thankfully by the 3rd approach, The effect had subsided and I flew it beautifully. All in all, despite being a technically bad couple of approaches, I’m actually very glad I got to experience those strong sensations. I certainly appreciate just how much more work I need on this rating and why it is so important.

Anyone have a similar experience?
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Yup. Hadn't flown in the goo for about a year or under the hood for about half a year. Departed in pretty low weather, ceiling was about 3 hundred feet if I remember right. I felt it right away, really took will power to trust the AI. Got on top in a couple minutes so it wasn't all that bad. I had never experienced it before other than during unusual attitude training a long time before that.
 
My only spatial disorientation happened after entering clouds at 150’ AGL after taking off from a remote strip. Totally unexpected. I remember every moment.
 
I have yet to experience it, even during unusual attitude recoveries under the hood. If/when I do for the first time, I hope it's with my CFI in the plane. Sounds awful.
 
MuseChaser said:
I have yet to experience it, even during unusual attitude recoveries under the hood. If/when I do for the first time, I hope it's with my CFI in the plane. Sounds awful.
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It is awful. You have never flown VFR at night over nothing? Very lucky for you if you have and never felt that effect.
 
It is crazy. You read about it. You study all about the reasons behind it. It wasn't until I experienced those senses...that I have trusted my entire life...trying to kill me that it became real! :) I'm actually really glad I got to experience it in training with an instructor in the plane vs. on my own or with passengers. Training on instrument procedures has come pretty easily up until this point. Honestly I was starting to get impatient building to that 40 hours of instrument time. I definitely have a lot more respect for the training process after yesterday's experience
 
When I was working on my Commercial, I had to get a few hours under the hood since I didn’t have my instrument rating. My instructor had me start out with a couple of steep 720-degree turns under the hood, and the vertigo hit hard. Two hours later, the was still struggling with it when he had me tracking an NDB, and when I slowed the airplane down and threw some flaps out, he realized that the vertigo wasn’t had been complaining about was very real.

After the lesson, I very carefully drove home, as down, and tried to study. Couldn’t pull words off the page. I was seriously screwed up!
 
MauleSkinner said:
When I was working on my Commercial, I had to get a few hours under the hood since I didn’t have my instrument rating. My instructor had me start out with a couple of steep 720-degree turns under the hood, and the vertigo hit hard. Two hours later, the was still struggling with it when he had me tracking an NDB, and when I slowed the airplane down and threw some flaps out, he realized that the vertigo wasn’t had been complaining about was very real.

After the lesson, I very carefully drove home, as down, and tried to study. Couldn’t pull words off the page. I was seriously screwed up!
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After reading what you typed, it seems as if you're still screwed-up. ;)
 
MauleSkinner said:
When I was working on my Commercial, I had to get a few hours under the hood since I didn’t have my instrument rating. My instructor had me start out with a couple of steep 720-degree turns under the hood, and the vertigo hit hard. Two hours later, the was still struggling with it when he had me tracking an NDB, and when I slowed the airplane down and threw some flaps out, he realized that the vertigo wasn’t had been complaining about was very real.

After the lesson, I very carefully drove home, as down, and tried to study. Couldn’t pull words off the page. I was seriously screwed up!
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I'm tryin to pull your words off the screen reading this and I'm screwed up. I think your spell check is screwed up.
 
luvflyin said:
I'm tryin to pull your words off the screen reading this and I'm screwed up. I think your spell check is screwed up.
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My guess is that he was using a speech-to-text function of some kind. The texts I get from a friend of mine who does that frequently really require some mental gymnastics to translate.
 
I was doing a BFR once and my instructor pilot wanted me to do a face bender up against a mountain. I knew the drill so I reduced speed, put out some flaps, turned at about 50* adding power, and pulled to reduce the turn radius. It spun my inner ears like nothing I'd ever felt before. I felt slightly sea sick for hours after. I couldn't explain it until a few days later when I was told I had a sinus infection. On the flight day I had no symptoms that I was aware of but I knew I didn't feel good. I pay better attention to how I feel these days. Stuff we learn.
 
MuseChaser said:
My guess is that he was using a speech-to-text function of some kind. The texts I get from a friend of mine who does that frequently really require some mental gymnastics to translate.
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Yeah. I was trying to think of what them things is called. Puncuation and grammar things to. I just called it spell checker and figured the point would get across.
 
The leans are entertaining and potentially deadly. I’ve spent half a flight leaning my upper body into a door because my brain said the airplane was banked and the instruments didn’t. Just find a way to be comfortable and trust the instruments.
 
My first experience with it was last week practicing night landings. I was used to watching the horizon during take offs. Can’t really see over the dash with the nose that high. I felt something was wrong, but wasn't sure. The attitude indicator showed me banking 20-30 degrees. There is no way. My body told me I am flying level. My brain knew the instrument was correct. At first I half corrected it. Decided the instrument was right and finished correcting. I think I leaned over against the window after getting the wings level. My head was messed up for hours
 
So I had another training flight today. We had some of the worst turbulence I've yet to fly in. I love to fly, but honestly, this one just wasn't fun at all. The good news is that there was not even a hint of disorientation. The bad news...my instructor was seriously regretting his lunch selection. :D
 
Spacial disorientation is a strange thing, and results from a difference between what your internal senses believe, and what your outside observation supplies to the brain. An hour of continuous aerobatic flight did not bother me, partly because I was manipulating the controls 3/4ths of the time. The plane was doing what I expected it to do, so all was fine.

At Disney, Florida, the theater in the round, filmed from an aircraft flying moderate banks over fascinating terrain, I became disoriented and dizzy, had to hold on tight to the rails to keep upright, and nauseous. The cure was to close my eyes, removing the input that contrasted with reality, and gradually, my mental confusion subsided, and I could open my eyes and enjoy the show, but frequently closed them if any disorientation began to be felt.

I have never had such reaction to in flight conditions, except to a very minor degree, when doing unusual attitude recovery after a very violent series of preparatory gyrations. Fortunately, that went away as soon as I was given control, opened my eyes, and started getting the instruments back to coordinated flight.
 
snglecoil said:
So I had another training flight today. We had some of the worst turbulence I've yet to fly in. I love to fly, but honestly, this one just wasn't fun at all. The good news is that there was not even a hint of disorientation. The bad news...my instructor was seriously regretting his lunch selection. :D
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Was wondering, I noticed in your original post you mentioned it was a smooth weather day. I’ve not experienced the leans, but read that one type of it happens when the plane very slowly rolls slightly to one side and because it is so slow and even doesn’t really register. So when you correct it to level, your brain is sure you just rolled much further to the other side.

I’m guessing there are different ways to get it, and some people get it from different inputs, but maybe the calm smooth weather can bring it on worse than say mild turbulence? Maybe extremes, like extremely smooth air or strong turbulence both could bring it on? Or no correlation.

my wife suffers from crystal sickness. Also called BPPV, and has to do with calcium crystals that are out of whack and cause dizziness, disorientation, etc., can come with age. Started happening when she was around 56 or so. There is an exercise called the Epley maneuver, which she can do that helps. Wouldn’t be practical in an airplane (involves tilting the head and laying down on one side, etc.) but when she gets the symptoms they often last a long time, but if she does the exercise, often is ok for a long while. IF that was a contributing factor, it still might help to do them on the ground, in the morning. I kid her it seems like that old game where you try to roll a BB into a small indent that they used to have in the 50’s.
 
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