The most important practice you've done?

overdrive148

overdrive148

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overdrive148
Hey guys. I've been out of the left seat for a while and have been looking to get back in it again once I'm out of college (5 classes left!) and also able to afford it.

I've been looking at flight instruction techniques and stuff that should be taught and I am surprised at the kind of stuff I wasn't actually trained on / put through. For example, one thing I am going to get training on for sure when I get back in the air again is practicing engine failure on takeoff. Apparently it's part of a curriculum at some flight schools or flight safety places. And I've never done anything like that, we only commented on some takeoffs that you just establish best glide and settle back down to the runway safely. That, or if it's after takeoff, don't be stupid and try to turn back if you are too low or slow.

Exemplified in the right way to handle the situation here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=234_naonoH8

I also didn't realize how easy it was to become complacent and just run through the motions of the pre-flight. Until, of course, I barely caught the flaps not extending or retracting on our run-up for one of my pre-solo training flights (something my then-instructor didn't catch either, he wasn't paying attention). Hell, I pre-flight my car every time I go to drive and get laughed at by my co-workers and friends, even though it saved me because I caught a flat on the passenger front side that I wouldn't have seen otherwise until I was throwing sparks.

What kind of training have you ladies and gents had that has saved you or made you grateful for specifically (of course, all flight training is that way). I certainly want to be prepared in the air for anything and it's kind of offputting realizing that I haven't had any practical hands on training (on takeoff engine-outs, etc). I am considering putting glider and aerobatic experience into my training plan once I get rolling because I've heard that having both of those gives you more ability and knowledge to deal with situations. Like that one Air Canada airliner that went bingo fuel over Gimli; the pilot's knowledge of best speed and gliding properties from his glider training gave him the edge in getting back to the ground safely.
 
Stall recovery and unusual attitude recovery, proper use of radio, approaching airport and while in pattern in a courteous, clear, concise manner.
 
Emergency procedures. Bar none. We focus on those quite a bit in the military. We also have Critical Action Procedures (CAPS) that must be memorized, and we do a written test of them on the first of every month.

A simulator helps, but if you don't have a sim, just sit in the plane and even with the engine off and nothing on...run through your checklists and CAPS and touch all the appropriate things. Still great training.
 
When to do and when not to do the hairpin turnback.
Then, the execution limits as determined by you with CFI present.

In a piston single this is the analog to the OEI drill, engine failure on departure in a twin. You have to decide well, swiftly, and execute competently to avoid becoming a Post-toastie.

All other emergencies you have a bit of time for sorting, but not for this one. This is the ONLY emergency in which you do not first wind the clock.
 
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Engine out in cruise. What you'll do in the emergency is whatever you've been trained to do, and not much else (at least initially). So, the training better be good.

Get truly comfortable pitching for and maintaining best glide.
 
Autorotations to the ground.
 
When I came back after a long period. I did unusual attitudes ,cross wind landings ,stalls and slow flight. Anyone can fly an airplane fast.
 
If you really want to do engine failure on take off practice, you need to go to a Sim facility. You just can't do what you need to do to really learn it without ending up crashing a few times. Even highly trained airline guys have a tough time judging things. Take US Airways flight that went into the Hudson. He could have made it to the airport, however he chose to put it into the river. Why? Because it was safer to go for the river. He didn't KNOW he could make the runway, and coming up short of the runway would have created a mass fatality scenario, so he chose the nice big flat smooth surface to set it onto.

What is more important to practice is to brief yourself before every take off what your options are in the surrounding area of where you can put it should the engine fail.

The most useful flight training I ever did was my aerobatic course right after my PP. What that showed me was energy management at the edges of the envelope.

In reality the most important piece of training in the PP curriculum is Minimum Controllable Airspeed/slow flight, and it is very disconcerting that I see/hear it taught at 65kts in a 172. Slow flight should be performed with the stall horn screaming at you full time. You should be utterly confident in your ability to control the plane at the edge of stall buffet, because when the engine fails and you have to put the plane down into ugliness, this is the speed you want to be doing. The slower you contact the earth, the less energy that you have to give up coming to a stop. This translates directly into how many Gs the impact into whatever will produce. 50 Gs and you have a 50/50 chance of survival, 100 Gs and you have 0 chance of survival, and that is all if none of the structure penetrates your body, which means you want to be in precise control of exactly where the plane is going to touch down and in what alignment it is with surrounding masses.

Go fly an hour with the stall horn screaming at you, pull the power and learn what the glide slope looks like at that speed. Learn the bottom of the speed envelope like the back of your hand and learn to control the plane precisely there (hint: ailerons neutral, use the rudder). This is much more critical to learn than the Williamson/keyhole type turn, and is actually a prerequisite for making it happen at the lowest altitude.
 
Everything came together for capt. Sullenberger that day. He had an excellent background from the military, lots of hours.minimum wind conditions (read pretty calm water).....it was daylight. It was not too windy at all. He encountered the Canada geese high enough that he could set up a glide of sorts, and........the river was RIGHT there! At night, windy, geese hit at say 100 feet after takeoff, inspite of his obvious skills, maybe a different story. Far different than the accident in Clarence , N.Y. Where the pilot had no business being in the cockpit nor did the co pilot. Needless accident.
 
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Unusual attitude recovery while under the hood. Saved my life in a real IFR upset recovery in an icing situation.

Actually four lives.
 
Well, compare the number of accidents , and you'd conclude the most important training is:

Checking the weather
Fuel management

Actual flight training:
Crosswind landings
Slow flight
 
Theres a lot of great training I'm thankful for that I've done.

The most important stuff is when the instructor makes you THINK and be more professional in your flying.
 
Henning said:
Take US Airways flight that went into the Hudson. He could have made it to the airport, however he chose to put it into the river. Why? Because it was safer to go for the river. He didn't KNOW he could make the runway, and coming up short of the runway would have created a mass fatality scenario, so he chose the nice big flat smooth surface to set it onto.
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Let's also point out that ditching a large plane is likely to kill the flight deck crew (windshields aren't made to slam into water). Sully chose that risk to give his passengers the best chance to survive, rather than hope he could get to a runway. Once he made his decision, he didn't second-guess himself.
 
coma24 said:
Engine out in cruise. What you'll do in the emergency is whatever you've been trained to do, and not much else (at least initially). So, the training better be good.

Get truly comfortable pitching for and maintaining best glide.
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:yeahthat:
I have had one engine out in cruise and was pleasantly surprised with how my training came into play without conscious thought resulting in a net non-event.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Unusual attitude recovery while under the hood. Saved my life in a real IFR upset recovery in an icing situation.

Actually four lives.
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I'd be interested in hearing that story...
 
Engine failures are a given

We teach a very aggravated falling leaf stall before anyone is allowed to solo our aircraft.
 
Precision power off landings, and not always just from downwind abeam the numbers. If the fan hits you want to have practiced energy management so you know you can put it down where you want it, under full control.

Unusual attitude training and spin recovery was right up there on the list too.
 
ChitDisturber said:
Engine failures are a given

We teach a very aggravated falling leaf stall before anyone is allowed to solo our aircraft.
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I was checked out in a da20 and the instructor had me do one of these... Kept the stick full aft and just used my feet to keep it level. It fluttered down at 500-600 fpm... Unbelievable. I never learned these in my training and it really made me more comfortable with stalls. It's not falling out of the sky and is still flying just in a different envelope so to speak. I now fly a Cardinal and haven't attempted these yet in it. Partly because I'm unsure these are doable in all aircraft, not just a near motor glider like the katana. Are there aircraft that you couldn't do this in?
 
mchesney said:
I was checked out in a da20 and the instructor had me do one of these... Kept the stick full aft and just used my feet to keep it level. It fluttered down at 500-600 fpm... Unbelievable. I never learned these in my training and it really made me more comfortable with stalls. It's not falling out of the sky and is still flying just in a different envelope so to speak. I now fly a Cardinal and haven't attempted these yet in it. Partly because I'm unsure these are doable in all aircraft, not just a near motor glider like the katana. Are there aircraft that you couldn't do this in?
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Falling leaf is doable in any GA aircraft, some are more unstable than others, but all do them.
 
Getting my PP-Glider rating and using it.
 
Henning said:
In reality the most important piece of training in the PP curriculum is Minimum Controllable Airspeed/slow flight, and it is very disconcerting that I see/hear it taught at 65kts in a 172. Slow flight should be performed with the stall horn screaming at you full time.
Click to expand...

I started flying again in late August after a LONG downtime, and this is the first thing I did. I didn't go on a burger run or fly to my favorite little scenic airport, right after takeoff I took my butt to the practice area.

And the first thing I did was lots of slow flight, hanging a dirty Mooney on the prop at 56-57kts and the horn blaring. Then lots of stalls, then moved on to doing all the remaining PTS maneuvers until I was satisfied.

Slow flight cures many ills, and is a great way to get that landing sight picture back after a long downtime.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Unusual attitude recovery while under the hood. Saved my life in a real IFR upset recovery in an icing situation.

Actually four lives.
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I'd like to hear this story as well.

Thinking about it now, it's shocking how little I heard that stall warning horn in training, some on landings and stall practice but I shied away from slow flight after we did that as part of the curriculum. My instructor was a bit on edge during the stalls, which made me feel like they're incredibly dangerous to do. Power on stalls scared the hell out of me at first too. I definitely think it'd be a good idea to go buzz around hanging on the prop.

If an engine failed on takeoff I'd probably have the same stupor as to what to do (other than fly the airplane to the ground), much like how my checkride instructor made me transition from a short field landing to a soft field takeoff on the run. I practiced a good amount of short field and soft field but never together and definitely not on the roll. I haven't had spin training either, we only did one simulated one during training and that was it.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Precision power off landings, and not always just from downwind abeam the numbers. If the fan hits you want to have practiced energy management so you know you can put it down where you want it, under full control.

Unusual attitude training and spin recovery was right up there on the list too.
Click to expand...

I did however, practice some of these. It wasn't always pretty or accurate and the first few times I had to cave in and add power but I didn't ever crash or break anything.

Also, I'm curious, in the video on the first post, it says somewhere that if he turned more aggressively and to a higher angle he would've had a longer glide. Any truth to this?
 
dans2992 said:
I'd be interested in hearing that story...
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I've posted it here before, but I left on an IFR flight from Napa to Fullerton in March. WX reported tops at 9K along the route, icing level 6,000 feet at the departure point rising to no icing midway. I filed for 11,000, climbed through a broken layer and was CAVU above the layer, right up to the point where the lower coastal range separates the LA basin from the Central Valley.

At that point the cloud bank started rising. I could either climb above it, or just go in to it and decend, as I needed to lose altitude anyway for the approach. I asked for 8,000 and decended. As soon as I entered the cloud bank, the windscreen immediately froze over solid. I'm thinking holy crap, Batman. I turn the defroster on and look through the side window and keep descending, asking ATC if they can get me below 6,000 feet (probable icing level as apparently there WAS ice.) They said no without declaring, as it was below the MEA. Right around 9,000 I found a clear layer and asked if I could stay there, and they let me.

Still some ice on the wings but the windscreen started clearing. Once it was time to begin the decent for the approach, I decided to dive bomb it to get through the icing as quickly as possible. Don't do that. The dive bomb exercise ended up being some ups and downs, with an unusual attitude recovery in solid IMC. I got it stable, said to myself "just fly the f***ing plane" and descend at a reasonable rate. Once I hit 6,000 feet, miraculously, it was water again and all the ice just melted right off and the approach went without a hitch.

Lessons learned? 1.) Don't be in the clouds, that high and 2.) Don't dive bomb to lose altitude in IMC.

This was a long time ago.
 
Go back over the ground reference maneuvers with the understanding that these are not school figures but are really ways for you to maneuver the airplane with reference to the ground, most specifically in the pattern. Really concentrate on wind - where it is and what it is doing to you and how you adapt to it.
Go back over crosswind landing practice until you have the wind and the controls down really pat.
Stalls. Slow flight. Unusual attitudes.
Get some one competent to get you back up to speed under the hood.
 
mchesney said:
I was checked out in a da20 and the instructor had me do one of these... Kept the stick full aft and just used my feet to keep it level. It fluttered down at 500-600 fpm... Unbelievable. I never learned these in my training and it really made me more comfortable with stalls. It's not falling out of the sky and is still flying just in a different envelope so to speak. I now fly a Cardinal and haven't attempted these yet in it. Partly because I'm unsure these are doable in all aircraft, not just a near motor glider like the katana. Are there aircraft that you couldn't do this in?
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Really unstable ones. But no typical trainer or typical GA fits that bill usually.

Ton of fun with the STOL kit on the 182. Just porpoises along. Can lock your arms around the yoke and hold it full aft. Doesn't even try to fall off to one side most of the time.
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Everything came together for capt. Sullenberger that day. He had an excellent background from the military, lots of hours.minimum wind conditions (read pretty calm water).....it was daylight. It was not too windy at all. He encountered the Canada geese high enough that he could set up a glide of sorts, and........the river was RIGHT there! At night, windy, geese hit at say 100 feet after takeoff, inspite of his obvious skills, maybe a different story. Far different than the accident in Clarence , N.Y. Where the pilot had no business being in the cockpit nor did the co pilot. Needless accident.
Click to expand...

and a ton of glider training.
 
mchesney said:
I was checked out in a da20 and the instructor had me do one of these... Kept the stick full aft and just used my feet to keep it level. It fluttered down at 500-600 fpm... Unbelievable. I never learned these in my training and it really made me more comfortable with stalls. It's not falling out of the sky and is still flying just in a different envelope so to speak. I now fly a Cardinal and haven't attempted these yet in it. Partly because I'm unsure these are doable in all aircraft, not just a near motor glider like the katana. Are there aircraft that you couldn't do this in?
Click to expand...

We do them them in a Grumman AA-1.

It will get sporty rather quickly if you keep it up for a while, especially in a clean configuration. She'll drop in excess of 1,000FPM in a full leaf stall.

Since the Grumman is not a plane you want to spin, we do these pre-solo just incase. I've had new instructors fly with our existing students comment on how quick our students are on the rudder and recovery in a stall.
 
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not the most important practice but one that is very important to me was instrument cross check/scan. so i was flying over the long island sound with my dad doing some unusual attitudes and vor tracking, he had me put my head down and i recovered from the unsual attitudes. after a few of those, he told me to take him back to the airport (KFRG). it was a very clear day so i turned to what i thought was the north shore of long island and dialed in deer park vor just t make sure. then the weird stuff happens. i lose all my bearings and suddenly connecticut and long island do not seem to be where they should be. long island was to the north and connecticut was the the south. after about 10 minutes i look over to see my dad smiling and tells me to check my heading indicator. he switched it 180 degrees and everything was backwards. that was a lesson i'll never forget and i'll be sure to use that on my future students one day!
 
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