Into the Sun

Ah, but landing -- tht is the real test. I'd just love to see you touch
down in that left or right "tack". :-)

Nah - then I just close my eyes

Tony

--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

Despite the winds Saturday evening (15 G 25), we had a smooth
departure and headed back towards Atlanta

Was that you I saw going down the coast at an almost 45 degree crab? Very
windy!

"JohnH" wrote in message
...
Despite the winds Saturday evening (15 G 25), we had a smooth
departure and headed back towards Atlanta

Was that you I saw going down the coast at an almost 45 degree crab? Very
windy!

It was windy, but the only time I was over the beach was for about 2 minutes
over Ocean Isle, NC. After takeoff on 06, we made a 220 degree right turn
which took us out over the beach, then it was on couse (280 degrees) to
Atlanta...

Besides, it would take some SERIOUS wind to cause a 150 knot plus aircraft
to need a 45 degree crab, and you won't see me flying a 1600 lb tailwheel
airplane in that kind of wind.

KB

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message ...
We had gone to the NC beach for the weekend, and had to bug out because of the hurricane threat. I was
worried that even if the hurricane didn't head right for us, that the outlying winds might get strong enough
to prevent us from departing.

Despite the winds Saturday evening (15 G 25), we had a smooth departure and headed back towards Atlanta,
getting a smooth ride and a bit of a tailwind for most of the flight. The one thing we didn't have in our
favor was visibility. We were literally headed right into the setting sun for 2 hours. The haze didn't help.
I felt a little better about traffic avoidance because we were using flight following, but I had a truly
miserable time looking into the sun for the whole flight, despite my sunglasses.

By the time we neared home, my pupils had contracted to the point that I was having real problems getting
them to open up enough to see the panel, which is flat black. On this evening, it was sea of black with a
bright orange ball perched on top, and the instruments barely visible. As soon as we changed course to enter
the pattern at our home field, everything was better...

Other than picking a course that isn't into the sun, or choosing a better time to fly, is there any cure for
the sun in the eyes problem?

I just hang a hang a spare map down from the visor, completely blocking the sun and the area around it....
--
Cheers,
John Clonts
Temple, Texas
N7NZ

I know of two fatal midairs in which sun-blindness was a contributory
factor. No matter what the reported visibility, in those conditions it is
essentially zero. Only solution other than changing course is to get some
kind of opaque disc or sheet that can be stuck to the windscreen.

Way back (how long ago will become apparent), I was landing on 25 at Phoenix
near sundown. The controller kept telling me that the runway was dead ahead
and counting down the miles, but I couldn't see it. I asked him for the
localizer freq...but at that time PHX didn't have an ILS. I finally picked
up the threshold markings when I was right on top of them. Scary.

Bob Gardner

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...
We had gone to the NC beach for the weekend, and had to bug out because of
the hurricane threat. I was worried that even if the hurricane didn't head
right for us, that the outlying winds might get strong enough to prevent
us from departing.

Despite the winds Saturday evening (15 G 25), we had a smooth departure
and headed back towards Atlanta, getting a smooth ride and a bit of a
tailwind for most of the flight. The one thing we didn't have in our
favor was visibility. We were literally headed right into the setting sun
for 2 hours. The haze didn't help. I felt a little better about traffic
avoidance because we were using flight following, but I had a truly
miserable time looking into the sun for the whole flight, despite my
sunglasses.

By the time we neared home, my pupils had contracted to the point that I
was having real problems getting them to open up enough to see the panel,
which is flat black. On this evening, it was sea of black with a bright
orange ball perched on top, and the instruments barely visible. As soon
as we changed course to enter the pattern at our home field, everything
was better...

Other than picking a course that isn't into the sun, or choosing a better
time to fly, is there any cure for the sun in the eyes problem?

On Mon, 12 Sep 2005 20:31:26 -0700, "Bob Gardner"
wrote:

I know of two fatal midairs in which sun-blindness was a contributory
factor. No matter what the reported visibility, in those conditions it is
essentially zero. Only solution other than changing course is to get some
kind of opaque disc or sheet that can be stuck to the windscreen.

Way back (how long ago will become apparent), I was landing on 25 at Phoenix
near sundown. The controller kept telling me that the runway was dead ahead
and counting down the miles, but I couldn't see it. I asked him for the
localizer freq...but at that time PHX didn't have an ILS. I finally picked
up the threshold markings when I was right on top of them. Scary.

Ever tried a "blind" touchdown? Where you can't see the runway even over
the threshold because of the sun?

It can be done if you treat it as a "glassy water landing" like a seaplane,
and set up the proper deck angle with power and fly the plane onto the
runway (water).



Bob Gardner

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...
We had gone to the NC beach for the weekend, and had to bug out because of
the hurricane threat. I was worried that even if the hurricane didn't head
right for us, that the outlying winds might get strong enough to prevent
us from departing.

Despite the winds Saturday evening (15 G 25), we had a smooth departure
and headed back towards Atlanta, getting a smooth ride and a bit of a
tailwind for most of the flight. The one thing we didn't have in our
favor was visibility. We were literally headed right into the setting sun
for 2 hours. The haze didn't help. I felt a little better about traffic
avoidance because we were using flight following, but I had a truly
miserable time looking into the sun for the whole flight, despite my
sunglasses.

By the time we neared home, my pupils had contracted to the point that I
was having real problems getting them to open up enough to see the panel,
which is flat black. On this evening, it was sea of black with a bright
orange ball perched on top, and the instruments barely visible. As soon
as we changed course to enter the pattern at our home field, everything
was better...

Other than picking a course that isn't into the sun, or choosing a better
time to fly, is there any cure for the sun in the eyes problem?



--
Jay.
(remove dashes for legal email address)

Kyle Boatright wrote:

Other than picking a course that isn't into the sun, or choosing a better
time to fly, is there any cure for the sun in the eyes problem?

I get my best results from the darkest flip-up plastic sunglasses (K-mart
specials). Won't work if you don't wear glasses, though. I adjust them so that
they shade everything above the dash. That way I can still see the instruments
and avionics clearly. I also wear a baseball cap all the time. The visor is
great, though it won't help when the sun is directly ahead and low. It also
won't help if you're studying to be a rapper. ;-)

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

On 2005-09-13, Kyle Boatright wrote:
Other than picking a course that isn't into the sun, or choosing a better
time to fly, is there any cure for the sun in the eyes problem?

On a recent flight to Oakland, I had to make do with flying an hour with
my hand blocking the sun, or moving my head so the aircraft structure
blocked the sun. Once in the Oakland area, I had to fly the ILS on a
beautiful clear sunny evening - I couldn't see the airport until around
2 miles out. Everyone else (from the airlines to other light GA pilots)
were telling ATC they couldn't see $FOO due to the sun being in their
eyes.

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"