IFR flight #2

Today Charles and I went over some of the preflight stuff once more, as a refresher, and reviewed the basics of instrument flight (straight and level, standard rate turns, ... ). This was after I wrestled with the hood for a bit, quickly deciding that I like the foggles better. I had hoped the hood would block more of the outside world than the foggles, but it didn't and was harder to manage.

The new things we looked at were: constant rate climbs and descents, constant rate and airspeed climbs and descents, doing each of those while turning, and timed turns.

The two most challenging aspects of today's flight were the constant airspeed and rate climbs and descents, and trying to time turns while doing those.

I felt almost overwhelmed, especially in the latter task. But that is the point: to push my ability to manage multiple variables at once, since parts of IFR flights have many simultaneous tasks, such as climbing turns while listening to ATC and having passengers ask questions. :) It drove home how it could be that people forget to "always fly the airplane first".

Check out the extended entry (the link below) to see some of notes I made on the procedures I have studied so far.

After today's 1.0 hours under the hood, I was exhausted. :)


Here's the rough, general idea of how to perform these maneuvers.
This is currently unfinished.

This is for the C-172R I fly in; and the power settings would need tweaking
based on density altitude. All airspeeds are 90 knots. Always re-trim the
airplane after a state change (power, attitude) when you plan to stay in a given
state for more than a few seconds. Your mileage may vary.

Constant airspeed climb:

  • pitch up to an attitude that should give you 90 knots at full power, wait
    for the airspeed to get to 90
  • apply full power at 90 knots
  • be ready with
    the right rudder
  • control airspeed with pitch
  • To level out:

    • pitch down to slightly above level attitude
    • keep power in
    • when you reach cruise airspeed (~110 knots) bring power back to cruise
    • pitch to level

Constant airspeed descent:

  • bring power back to 1700RPM
  • hold level until you reach 90 knots
  • pitch down to maintain 90 knots
  • control airspeed with pitch
  • To level out:

    • pitch up to slightly above level attitude
    • bring the power into a cruise level, 2100RPM
    • use right rudder to counteract the p-forces
    • let the airspeed come up
    • use pitch for altitude holding
Constant rate climb:
  • pitch up to an attitude that should give you 500 ft/min at full power
  • apply full power
  • be ready with the right rudder
  • control climb rate with pitch
  • To level out:

    • pitch down to slightly above level attitude
    • keep power in
    • when you reach cruise airspeed (~110 knots) bring power back to cruise
    • pitch to level

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Updating data on the Garmin Perspective system

Image
After changing from the Avidyne system to the Cirrus Perspective (G1000) system, I had to relearn an important part of owning an airplane: how to update all the data the systems use. There's even more data in the Perspective, including AOPA directory data and more charts. In this walkthrough, I make use of the Jeppesen app for Apple OS X: JDM .  It has worked well for me, though I did need to call Jeppesen when I first set this up to get my subscriptions fixed up.  They gave great customer support when I did. The process starts (optionally) by hooking up a ground power unit (GPU).  In the case of the Cirrus, you can certainly do this without it, but I tend to hook it up just to be sure.  The systems draw about 8-10amps while updating, but you won't generally have the power on for long.  One tip I've read: power up the GPU before plugging it into the plane, at least for the one I bought.  That saves the plane from seeing any power spikes that might have occurred when t
Read more

Hiking to Rocky Peak in Steamboat Springs

Image
Did a great hike today that is not in the commonly used hiking apps.  The trail is generally easy to see, though there were times that we lost it.  There are plenty of bushes and undergrowth draping over the trail, so bring long pants. Leg gaiters might be nice too, just to protect your legs a bit. Many parts of the trail are actually drainage ditches.   Here's a KML file from our trip down - we followed the trail much better after learning what to avoid on the way up. We went right after a thunderstorm had come through the previous night, so got pretty soaked due to the plants being wet.   Found the path to the top and saw 2 moose along the way - gorgeous views for the entire trek.  2 miles to get to the top from the parking near the hot springs with about 1800' of elevation gain.  Certainly not a beginner's hiking trail, but not a problem for those with some experience (and lungs that are used to the altitude).
Read more

G1000 transistion training - emergencies - final flight

Image
For the final flight in my G1000 transition course we focused on failure scenarios. Not the "engine goes POOF" kind but the avionics kind. Normal situation This picture shows what the 2 Garmin screens show in a normal (non failure) situation. You can see we have 2 screens - the left PFD focusing on flight performance (airspeed, heading, attitude, altitude) and the right screen (MFD) focusing on engine data, mapping, checklists, and everything else. Failed PFD screen In this scenario the screen that is right in front of you (the PFD) has failed. This basically means the screen has gone dark. We simulate that by dimming the screen down to 0% brightness. After darkening the PFD we shot a GPS approach into Rock Hill. When this failure has occured you shift the G1000 into Reversionary mode. That means the info that is normally split across 2 screens is now merged into 1. It actually duplicates the same data on both screens, but since the PFD screen is no longer functioning
Read more