"Ramapriya" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks, Pete. I wasn't asking any specific questions as such, and only
wanted to know whether you guys can generally tell these parameters
without actually reading them off the instruments.

Yup. If anything, obtaining the information from outside references can be
easier than using the instruments. The human brain isn't really configured
to process numbers, and even an analog gauge doesn't translate directly to
human perception.

"Airspeed is less difficult than altitude" gives me a definite complex,
because that was the one thing I just couldn't estimate at all.

As Bob and Bob have pointed out, estimating airspeed in the situation you
described is different from estimating airspeed when it really matters. At
cruise altitude, you mainly just set your power setting, stay on altitude,
and let the airspeed be what it will be (though it should generally always
be the same for a given weight and power setting).

But during landing, you're close enough to the ground to get a good
perception of airspeed, and of course there's all the other points of
reference I mentioned. Actually though, movement relative to the ground is
the least important reference; even in a jet, your groundspeed can be
significantly different from airspeed (and airspeed is what matters, while
groundspeed is what you can see), and in a light plane, winds can cause as
much as a 50% or more difference in perceived groundspeed versus actual
airspeed.

But again, as far as airspeed goes, the visual reference is the least
important. You can easily tell the actual airspeed from the air noise and
from how the controls feel (again, may not apply in an Airbus, where the
controls are not directly connected to the control surfaces).

And btw, it was only recently that I learnt that an airplane could also
be landed by looking out the window. A good pilot friend told me that
he routinely landed by purely visual references! Until then, I was
under the belief that nobody sensible could afford to take his eyes off
the instruments in a phase of flight as critical as the final. That's
probably because I can't perceive airspeed

If you actually were flying, I think you'd be surprised at what you can
perceive. But yes, visual references is *primary* for all pilots. The
instruments are used mainly when the pilot cannot see outside the airplane.

Pete