Couldn't Get it Down

Just a thought: there's no reason to fly a "stabilized" approach in a
piston engine airplane, that is a jet concept developed for the slow
power response of the early jets. It should not be applied rigidly to
piston pounders as it's rarely wise to fly a constant airspeed
throughout the approach (you'll die of old age first g).

That's interesting. From my student days I was always taught to fly a
stabilized approach, from abeam the numbers on crosswind, all the way till
the flare.

As the years have gone by, I've experimented with any number of methods,
and -- while they all work out in the end -- none of them can as easily
yield the consistent greasers of a stabilized approach.

My definition of "stabilized" has evolved over time, however. I used to set
up 80 mph on downwind, and hold that speed precisely all the way around.
Combined with the huge patterns I used to fly as a student, the landing
pattern could become a journey unto itself! :-)

Nowadays, I'll come into the pattern much faster -- at say, 100 knots -- and
stabilize it at 90 knots before I turn base. Then I'll let the speed
gradually erode to 80 or so, and hold it all the way round. My patterns
are MUCH tighter as well.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Please forward photo of yacht!

Mike Z


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:x4Q3c.2179$YG.23444@attbi_s01...
HUGE SNIP--


but I
realized that if I were to touchdown in that crab, my A&P would be making
yet another upgrade to his 42 foot yacht...


Rest of good story snipped

Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I hope I turn out to be as smart and judicious a pilot as you've proven
yourself to be wtih this situation.

Thanks, Jay.

It's funny how your perspective changes with age. As a student, I was
exposed to extremely high winds with my instructor. (Peak gust: 62 knots!)

I was too stupid to be afraid. In fact, I had a great time on that flight,
and at the time felt that it was one of my best lessons...

Until years later, when I realized what a foolish thing it was to do.
True, the winds had come up abruptly, but we didn't check the weather very
thoroughly before departing, either. I find it hard to believe, in
retrospect, that those extreme winds weren't predicted, and we could easily
have bent metal that day.

Then, after I got my ticket, I flew out of a little, single-strip airport in
Wisconsin. There was ALWAYS a cross-wind, and the runway was just 30 feet
wide, so by necessity I got pretty danged good at nailing it in just about
any kind of wind.

However, after a few excursions into the parallel grass strip (and a few
real scares on pavement), my respect for crosswinds increased. I was still
good at handling them, but -- having lived through a few hundred landings --
I was learning my limitations.

Now, for the past seven years I have flown out of an airport with 3
intersecting, 150-foot wide runways. Needless to say, my cross-wind skills
are not what they were, and -- although I think I'm still pretty danged
good -- I've learned that there are more important things in life than
landing.

Most importantly, however, is the knowledge that I must pay for any repairs!
It's *amazing* how that changes your perspective!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I was flying a tiny electric model one day in a light wind. I thought I was pretty cool slowing down until I could land vertically.

Pretty cool that is, until the wind abruptly stopped when I was 8 foot up. Can you say splat?

Mike Z


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:g6%3c.6559$Gm5.17364@attbi_s04...
It's funny how your perspective changes with age. As a student, I was
exposed to extremely high winds with my instructor. (Peak gust: 62 knots!)

Big Snip
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

There are three kinds of landings - those that are work, those that
are a piece of cake, and those that are a piece of work.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:x4Q3c.2179$YG.23444@attbi_s01...
No, this is not a story about Viagra's side effects... ;-)

Amazingly, today dawned clear and sunny -- against all predictions. Thus,
once the kids were at school, it was time for us to head to our favorite
"$100 Breakfast" in Muscatine, IA.

Conditions seemed perfect, but I knew some weather was predicted to move in
later. Thus, a call to flight service was in order, even though Muscatine
was just 20 minutes away. (It's always a good idea to check on GW's
location during this election season, too...) To my surprise, Ft Dodge
Flight Service was calling the surface winds at 15, gusts to 20, from 180.
We had just walked our daughter to school, and the winds were light -- but
obviously there was a big low pressure center moving in from the north,
causing an increasing southerly flow.

Still, the winds were right down the runway in Iowa City, and 60 degrees off
of runway 24 in Muscatine. So, I figure it would be a piece of cake...

We departed normally, lightly loaded with just the two of us and climbing
out at better than 1400 feet per minute. Immediately we were buffeted by
moderate turbulence, but nothing we hadn't felt a hundred times before. In
a few minutes we were enjoying the smooth ride at 3000 feet.

As we proceeded southeasterly, we noticed our flight path across the ground
was quite different from the direction we were facing. The crab angle was
severe, and incredibly our ground speed during the climb out was just 54
knots! Even after we leveled off we were seeing just 95 knots -- a
quartering headwind at 45+ knots!

Still, the ride above the haze layer was smooth, and we weren't going far.
As we enjoyed the ride I tuned in Muscatine's AWOS.

"...wind 180 at 19, gusts to 27..." Uh-oh. This could be more
interesting than I anticipated.

Coming from the north we'd have to cross over the field to enter the
downwind for 24, and the wind would be pushing us in toward the runway at a
good clip. Thus, I set up to cross over just southwest of the field, and
entered a much wider than normal downwind.

I started to get an inkling of what was in store when I had to maintain a 45
degree crab angle in order to fly a parallel downwind. After we descended
to pattern altitude the turbulence had returned with a vengeance, including
some rare "triples" -- the kind of air that bumps you up and down three
times in rapid succession, almost as if you were hitting multiple railroad
tracks in a car at high speed.

Mary had grown strangely quiet, and was rocking from side to side in sync
with the wings rocking, in a vain effort to maintain her upright balance.
I was so busy trying to keep from being blown back over the airport on
downwind that I hadn't noticed the violent rocking until I saw her motions
out of the corner of my eye.

This *was* going to be interesting.

Turning onto base, it seemed like the plane didn't want to turn or descend.
I'd get Atlas set up for a 90 knot descent, only to be tossed up and see my
air speed erode to 75. Then, after correcting a moment later we'd be
instantly at 100. A stabilized approach was simply out of the question.

Turning onto final was like turning a boat. With the wind trying to push me
past the runway, the instinct was to steepen the bank angle -- but a
thousand landings had taught me not to over-do that! Thus, my turn to
final was an exercise in will, banking, over-banking, correcting, banking,
over-banking, correcting. Instead of the usual graceful, sweeping turn onto
final, it was a series of 20 little banks, all connected together by my
furrowed brow.

I was really working now.

Sliding down on final, keeping my airspeed at 100 knots, sort of, I realized
that I was having to hold an impossible left crab angle to maintain runway
alignment. Kicking in right rudder, and opposite aileron helped, but soon
the runway was drifting to the left in the windshield again.

More aileron, more right rudder, more crab...

Now I was *really* working. Curtly I commanded Mary to turn the cabin heat
down. It was already off.

Soon I had full rudder deflection, full opposite aileron, AND a 45 degree
crab. At last the runway was remaining steadfastly in front of me -- but I
realized that if I were to touchdown in that crab, my A&P would be making
yet another upgrade to his 42 foot yacht...

Worse, since I was already at full deflection on the rudder AND aileron,
there was nothing left with which to kick out! In a flash a greasy
breakfast served by an ugly waitress didn't seem like a valid reason to fly
anymore. Applying full power and releasing my aileron and rudder, I was
astounded to see the runway literally *fly* away from us -- sideways!

For the first time in I can't remember when, I executed a go-around...

Once safely at altitude and out of the bumps, I realized my hands were
hurting. I slowly pried them off of the yoke, marveling at how different
this trip -- taken so many times before -- could suddenly change for the
worse. I remarked to Mary how much "fun" this was, but she had another term
for it.

Needless to say, the trip back to Iowa City was quick. And even with the
wind directly on the nose, I had one helluva time making an acceptable
landing. What a day...

Once the plane was in the hangar, we sat and enjoyed the sunny skies. No
one driving by could possibly have a clue how treacherous that pretty blue
sky was today...

My most memorable go-around was a trip to Montauk Point at about 4AM or so. As
a fairly new pilot, I was taking some friends to a fishing charter that had
already been arranged, and in the earlier weather briefing I was concerned
about fog (because fog happens down there). I arrived, there was no fog at
all. However the winds were such that I was holding full rudder and full
aileron to keep the nose paralell to the runway. I was just about doing it
too, and a twin on the ground (the rest of the party) was reporting 20 kt
direct crosswind. Well, lets take a look. But coming in low over the dunes we
got bounced around quite a bit and I decided that this wasn't going to work
out. I gave it one other shot and thentold the twin that the wind exceeded the
capability of this aircraft. I decided we'd go on to Nantucket or Martha's
Vinyard and just bum around there for the day.

Upon later reflection, I realized I might have been able to make it in coming
the other way, over the town rather than over the dunes. But better to be down
here wishing you were up there....

In any case, although it was disappointing (and there was quite a bit of
pressure to get down), the friends with whom I'd been flying had a lot more
respect for me as a pilot for abandoning the approach rather than trying again
and again and maybe changing the shape of the aircraft. And they say that to
this day.

Jose




--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...
snip
In any case, although it was disappointing (and there was quite a bit of
pressure to get down), the friends with whom I'd been flying had a lot
more
respect for me as a pilot for abandoning the approach rather than trying
again
and again and maybe changing the shape of the aircraft. And they say that
to
this day.

Jose

You were right, you made the right decision, and all that stuff... But as a
somewhat fanatical striped bass (or rockfish, if you are from the
Cheasapeake) fisherman I'd have asked you to do a low pass so I could jump.
Fishing Montauk with a good charter captain is one of the best of all
possible days.

Michael

Please forward photo of yacht!

Actually, I've got some pix if you'd like. He treated us to a day on the
lake last summer.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Gene Seibel wrote:

There are three kinds of landings - those that are work, those that
are a piece of cake, and those that are a piece of work.

I like that!

George Patterson
Battle, n; A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would
not yield to the tongue.

I was going to go pick up my 172 today, thinking that it SEEMED like
such a pretty day with the sun shining.

One listen to the weather report quashed those thoughts...The winds
aloft were impressive.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Ryan in Madison, WI