Any pilot has had landings that they wish nobody saw. My worst landing since I got my landing was a night flight with my date. We came in for landing and misjudged where the runway was and bounced hard, and then again. I managed to save the landing but I did not know exactly what to say after it finished. I had over a thousand landings and the one landing I wanted to go well did not. Every pilot has stories like this so what are some tips you can do to make you landings better, but remember every one has a landing every once and while that they are less than proud of.
When landing and you are on final if you look at the runway you should notice it rotating around a line somewhere on the runway. It looks like one end of the runway is going down, and the other end if going up. It takes some practice to see this, but once you do you can almost see where you are going to land. If you put this line at the end of the runway, and are at the proper speed you will land on the numbers. By trying to land towards the end of the runway you get more time in the flare and you’ll be less likely to force the plane down.
Extending your final. This is the single best thing you can do to improve your landing. By extending your final you have more time to setup the perfect approach. It allows you to fix any problems before you have a lot of things to think about. This also gives you time to make sure your flap settings are right, your trim is set and if you have retractable gear, MAKE SURE ITS DOWN.
Proper energy control. This is key, most people say proper speed control when dealing with landings, but energy is better. Energy is a combination of your altitude and speed. It does not help to be on your final speed but too low or too high. So you need to control your energy. We all know that the throttle controls altitude and pitch controls speed during the final approach phase. To low increase the throttle, to high reduce the throttle. While this is the rule I’ve seen too many good approaches go bad because the student gets a little nervous making these adjustments so close to the ground. You have to remember that winds are going to change as you get closer to the ground, so at 500 to 800 feet the winds could be 10 knots stronger, so as you get closer change is needed. Even on completely calm days I have needed to adjust the throttles to make a good landing. Also many students and some pilots get a little scared when they pull the throttle back close to idle when they are still a few hundred feet off the ground. It gives them this feeling that they will fall out of the sky. After you do this a few times that feeling will go away and you’ll get a better understanding on how the airplane glides, but you need to realize that if you go into a thermal or get a huge tail wind you are going to need to reduce the throttle probably to near idle. The faster you recognize this and pull the throttle the better off you will be. Of course if you feel uncomfortable you can always go around or go to another airport.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Differences Between Night and Day
Every pilot has at some point been puzzled by the FAA’s convoluted definition of day and night flying and what you can log as day or night in your log book. I come here to give you my understanding of the rules based on attending classes held by FAA lawyers on the FARs.
To start lets list the rules and then go through them. Night is defined as the time between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the American Air Almanac, converted to local time (FAR Part 1). No person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying passengers during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, unless within the preceding 90 days that person has made at least three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise (FAR 61.57 b1).
These are two very different definitions of night. One states that it is between civil twilights and other suggests it is an hour after sunset. So first I will define civil twilight, it is the time when the sun is less than 6 degrees below the horizon, this is the time that most consider sunset, and vice-versa for morning civil twilight and sunrise. So night is defined as sunset to sunrise, but in order to be current for flight one hour after sunset till one hour before sunrise you must have meet the proper requirements.
OK now that everyone is completely confused I will attempt to explain. You can log night hours anytime after sunset till sunrise. You SHOULD only log night landings if they occur from one hour after sunset till one hour till sunrise. This is because only those landings during that time are legal for currency, if you did not you would need a second column for those landings you could use for currency.
An example: It is possible to log all of your hours at night but not get a single night landing. But you need three one hour after sunset till one hour before sunrise in order to carry passengers.
I hope this post has helped you understand the differences and made you feel more confident when filling out your logbook.
Monday, August 4, 2008
How to find the right flight instructor
If you have just decided you want to learn how to fly you want to find a good flight instructor, someone who will teach you all the required skills without empting your wallet. The problem is that there are usually a lot of instructors to choose from and someone with little to no flying experience cannot tell until well into their training if they have a good flight instructor. I will share my personal experience on this subject. I have had four instructors total and until I found a good one I had no idea that the others were subpar. So I will discuss this subject from the student perspective as well as the perspective of a flight instructor.
First thing when you are looking for an instructor is look at his qualifications. You may see something like this around his name CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI so on and so on. Since most new pilots have no idea what these mean I’ll explain. CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) if he does not have this rating he cannot training you period dot. CFII (Certified Flight Instrument Instructor) an instructor needs to have this rating in order to train you for an instrument rating. It comes after a private pilot’s license if you decide to continue your aviation education. MEI (Multi-engine instructor) not huge for a beginning student. AGI (Advanced Ground Instructor) do not be fouled and think that because an instructor has this he or she must be super awesome. All that is required for this is a written test, no teaching is needed. Instructors get this license because it never expires unlike a flight instructor’s license which has to get renewed every 2 years. There is something that you can look for under his credentials that will tell you if he has been a successful flight instructor so far. If it says he has a gold seal on his instructor’s license or you ask and he says he has it. It is a very good sign. It means that he has recommended at least 10 applicants for a license and at least 8 have passed, so he has an 80% pass rate in a 24 month period. Another qualification is called Master Flight Instructor. It unfortunately is not run by the FAA which handles the gold seal and all of the other licenses, this one is held by the NAFI (National Association of Flight Instructors) and this person has to be a flight instructor for at least 4 years and submits an application which is reviewed by the association before it is awarded.
After making sure they have the proper qualifications you need to ask the instructor some specific questions. First always ask for the rate of ground and flight time with the airplane. Make sure you budget for at least 60 hours of flight time (should include rental for the airplane plus the cost of ground instruction) and 60 hours of plain ground instruction also you need to know the cost of any kits and materials you need in order to complete your training. You can definitely shop around for prices every flight school I have been too has a different price, only problem is you have to use an instructor from their school to get their rates. After you have asked all of the financial questions you need to ask some questions of your specific flight instructor. How long has he been an instructor is a common question but hard to make any definite judgments based on that fact. Many starting instructors are very gun-ho and are more motivated that instructors who have done it for many years. A better question is to ask your flight instructor why he became a flight instructor. Some people become flight instructors to gain hours for the airlines, which is not a bad reason it just means that they did not become a flight instructor because they enjoy teaching which is what you want in a flight instructor. Be sure to ask about their method of teaching. I for instance like to teach with a white board or a model airplane. Some like to use PowerPoint slides or other aids. Some people just like to discuss it and using the kit do not feel anymore instruction on the ground is needed. Check to make sure that their style of teaching will work well with you. Second always ask when they are available. Make sure your schedules can work together. Flight training takes a lot of time and if you and your instructor can only meet once a month it will hinder your ability to complete you license effectively.
Lastly once you have gone up and flown with a flight instructor you should be looking at some of the things he does to see if he is a good instructor. A good instructor lets you fly the plane and should never make you feel uncomfortable. I’m not saying that he will let you land it on your first flight but most of the time you should be flying and having a lot of fun. He should be able to answer your questions concisely and effectively or wait and discuss it on the ground. Being a new student you are going to make mistakes, that’s why your flight instructor is there to make sure you get the airplane back on the ground safely. Some instructors can get very nervous when flying with students always looking like they are on edge and constantly correcting the littlest things. On your first couple flights comments like “we are in a turn why don’t you level us out” or “lets go more over that way” are good things you should hear a lot. Stuff like “Wahoo you kinda scared me a little there” or “What are you doing we are in a turn” should never be said on a first flight. They are usually signs that the instructor is nervous and it will tend to make flying less fun and seem more like work.
Finally flying is supposed to be fun and with a little practice it can become a lot of fun. Flying over huge waterfalls, or national monuments or the chance to go somewhere for a day that would have taken you hours in traffic to drive too. Picking the right flight instructor is the first step, and always if you find out later you do not like your flight instructor just ask to be reassigned no flight instructor should take it personally since we all have different teaching styles.
First thing when you are looking for an instructor is look at his qualifications. You may see something like this around his name CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI so on and so on. Since most new pilots have no idea what these mean I’ll explain. CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) if he does not have this rating he cannot training you period dot. CFII (Certified Flight Instrument Instructor) an instructor needs to have this rating in order to train you for an instrument rating. It comes after a private pilot’s license if you decide to continue your aviation education. MEI (Multi-engine instructor) not huge for a beginning student. AGI (Advanced Ground Instructor) do not be fouled and think that because an instructor has this he or she must be super awesome. All that is required for this is a written test, no teaching is needed. Instructors get this license because it never expires unlike a flight instructor’s license which has to get renewed every 2 years. There is something that you can look for under his credentials that will tell you if he has been a successful flight instructor so far. If it says he has a gold seal on his instructor’s license or you ask and he says he has it. It is a very good sign. It means that he has recommended at least 10 applicants for a license and at least 8 have passed, so he has an 80% pass rate in a 24 month period. Another qualification is called Master Flight Instructor. It unfortunately is not run by the FAA which handles the gold seal and all of the other licenses, this one is held by the NAFI (National Association of Flight Instructors) and this person has to be a flight instructor for at least 4 years and submits an application which is reviewed by the association before it is awarded.
After making sure they have the proper qualifications you need to ask the instructor some specific questions. First always ask for the rate of ground and flight time with the airplane. Make sure you budget for at least 60 hours of flight time (should include rental for the airplane plus the cost of ground instruction) and 60 hours of plain ground instruction also you need to know the cost of any kits and materials you need in order to complete your training. You can definitely shop around for prices every flight school I have been too has a different price, only problem is you have to use an instructor from their school to get their rates. After you have asked all of the financial questions you need to ask some questions of your specific flight instructor. How long has he been an instructor is a common question but hard to make any definite judgments based on that fact. Many starting instructors are very gun-ho and are more motivated that instructors who have done it for many years. A better question is to ask your flight instructor why he became a flight instructor. Some people become flight instructors to gain hours for the airlines, which is not a bad reason it just means that they did not become a flight instructor because they enjoy teaching which is what you want in a flight instructor. Be sure to ask about their method of teaching. I for instance like to teach with a white board or a model airplane. Some like to use PowerPoint slides or other aids. Some people just like to discuss it and using the kit do not feel anymore instruction on the ground is needed. Check to make sure that their style of teaching will work well with you. Second always ask when they are available. Make sure your schedules can work together. Flight training takes a lot of time and if you and your instructor can only meet once a month it will hinder your ability to complete you license effectively.
Lastly once you have gone up and flown with a flight instructor you should be looking at some of the things he does to see if he is a good instructor. A good instructor lets you fly the plane and should never make you feel uncomfortable. I’m not saying that he will let you land it on your first flight but most of the time you should be flying and having a lot of fun. He should be able to answer your questions concisely and effectively or wait and discuss it on the ground. Being a new student you are going to make mistakes, that’s why your flight instructor is there to make sure you get the airplane back on the ground safely. Some instructors can get very nervous when flying with students always looking like they are on edge and constantly correcting the littlest things. On your first couple flights comments like “we are in a turn why don’t you level us out” or “lets go more over that way” are good things you should hear a lot. Stuff like “Wahoo you kinda scared me a little there” or “What are you doing we are in a turn” should never be said on a first flight. They are usually signs that the instructor is nervous and it will tend to make flying less fun and seem more like work.
Finally flying is supposed to be fun and with a little practice it can become a lot of fun. Flying over huge waterfalls, or national monuments or the chance to go somewhere for a day that would have taken you hours in traffic to drive too. Picking the right flight instructor is the first step, and always if you find out later you do not like your flight instructor just ask to be reassigned no flight instructor should take it personally since we all have different teaching styles.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
About Me
OK I am starting this blog about flying and everything related to the pilot side of it. First off I would like to state my experience on the subject. I am a Certified Flight Instructor with an instrument instructor rating. I have flown over 400 hours with many hours spent in college competitions. I have placed in both regional and national competitions at the collegiate level. I currently am in pilot training for the United States Air Force where I hope to go on and become a fighter pilot one day.
Please feel free to leave comments on any post about topics you wish me to discuss or questions you would like answered.
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