Emergency Exit

On Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 8:15:54 PM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:

First step in PT3 is to push stick forward, then AFTER establishing stable airspeed, initiating a steep turn. People stall-spin on PT3 because they initiate the turn before establishing stable airspeed.

Pushing the stick forward after pulling the tow release, and before initiating the turn, is asking for trouble.

Huh? If you think of flying as pushing and pulling on the stick (unless doing aerobatics) you are already setup for a problem at some time in the future. Pressure, dude, pressure...

Establishing the appropriate airspeed after a release on tow may require lowering the nose (slow tow behind an Agcat), or raising the nose (the towplane loses his engine and starts going down before you release). Neither response requires any pulling or pushing, just using pressure on the stick to establish the appropriate angle of attack (nose position) to initiate a turn..

Rote responses to emergencies are not always the best solution - even a PTT at 200 ft gives you plenty of time to figure out what to do and do it right - not just blindly shove the controls around!

Next time you get a tow, brief the tow pilot to reduce power at the top of the tow (simulating engine failure), lower his nose to descend at glide speed, then rock you off - it is a LOT different from the usual release during a stabilized climb at normal tow speed. Also a good time to brief and practice open spoilers (at safe altitude) with towplane rudder waggle response..

Plus it's fun!

Kirk