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#1
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Thanks for the Spins Rich
Today I had an opportunity to fly with Rich Stowell as part of his
annual Emergency Maneuver Training Clinic in NJ. Yesterday we experienced low viz and fairly low ceilings the entire day with even worse forecast for today, so it didn't look good for us. But today turned out to be an almost perfect Fall day with temperatures in the high 60's to lower 70's. When I arrived at the airport I was greeted by Rich, the airport owners and clinic hosts Linda and Corky, and two other students that had flown with Rich earlier and were going up again for a second session. After chatting for awhile he started the ground school where we discussed the maneuvers we would do, how to operate the parachute, and a host of other questions on emergencies. One of the guys who had gone in the morning was scheduled to fly first after the ground school, but he was willing to give up his spot to me. As reality started to set in about what was soon to happen I became a little anxious, but took his offer to go up first. After getting acquainted with the Super Decathlon, which is a great plane, and getting strapped in, we started up and he allowed me to taxi to the active, do the runup, and takeoff. They aren't kidding when they say you have to be constantly on your toes in a taildragger. After takeoff we climbed to about 4000' to do some dutch rolls. Initially I was a little timid with the ailerons, but eventually got it together although my feet were still slower than I would have liked. After the dutch rolls we moved on to a few power-off stalls. Again, you have to be on your toes as the nose has more of a tendency than the 172 to drop off to either side if you're too slow on the rudder. After a few power-off stalls performed while looking straight ahead, we did a series where I had to pick an object off to the side and focus on it throughout the entire stall. The tendency was to stop looking at the selected object and to look toward the nose as the stall broke, which causes even more disorientation and overcontrolling. But after awhile you can not only sense what the nose is doing by looking at that object, but you can also feel what corrections need to be made during the recovery without looking out over the nose. Following this we did the same exercise with power on stalls, followed by a falling leaf where Rich kept the plane stalled and I attempted to keep the wings level with the rudder. Then he asked if I was ready for a couple spins, to which I anxiously said yes. No demonstration needed, he talked me through the first spin and I did it myself. Power back, 5 knots above stall kick in the rudder and continue pulling. All I can say is "Wow!", the quickness which with you go from looking at the sky to looking at ground is incredible. Again Rich talked me through the recovery and before I knew it we were straight and level and I was asking for more. Don't get me wrong, the remaining three were still somewhat disorienting because everything happens so quickly and the world is spinning around pretty fast, but the actual departure wasn't a surprise anymore. After the second spin Rich told me that I had as many spins as most instructors, which I found to be very sad. On the third spin I released the elevator backpressure just a bit too quickly and the rotations sped up briefly, which was wild. On the way back to the airport we did both an aileron roll and a loop and I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. I was surprised that I didn't have any reservation with just cranking the aileron full left and watching us go from upright to inverted, then back to upright. And the loop, that was a total thrill. I had a little more reservation with pulling the stick all the way back for the loop than I had with the ailerons in the roll, but before I knew it the sky disappeared, I was looking out over the wing, and then the ground came back into view. No discomfort, and although the G-meter registered about 3.5G's, I didn't really notice it. Now my landing back at the field, that I'll keep to myself. I would have to say that with the exception of becoming a pilot in the first place, this was probably the best money I've spent since beginning flying. While I certainly plan to exercise the same caution I always have, my confidence has certainly increased since the specter of the unknown is no longer there. But my respect for spins has also increased, especially seeing the amount of altitude that we lost in that one turn. I hope to make it to Cali to work with Rich more, but also plan to pursue some additional aerobatic training here in the area. I know some of you have already flown with Rich, but if you haven't then do whatever you can to get some time with him. Not only is he a great guy, but he is a great instructor that will make you feel at ease. And if you're in the Jersey area, try to get on the list for next year's clinic at Alexandria Field (N85). It's an absolutely beautiful airport and I found myself there for a few hours afterwards because of the fascinating backdrop of mountain ridges and the amazing Fall colors. Dave |
#2
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On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 20:00:31 -0700, David B. Cole wrote:
After takeoff we climbed to about 4000' to do some dutch rolls. Initially I was a little timid with the ailerons, but eventually got it together although my feet were still slower than I would have liked. After the dutch rolls we moved on to a few power-off stalls. Again, you have to be on your toes as the nose has more of a tendency than the 172 to drop off to either side if you're too slow on the rudder. Great write up. One very small nit to pick - I know a lot of people think a dutch roll is a manoeuvre where the pilot it actively making the aircraft roll back and forth around a point. But the term properly means a combined yawing and rolling oscillation that the aircraft does all by itself. It is hard to have clear communication when we have words that mean different things to different people. For a rant on the mis-use of the term dutch roll, see: http://www.douglasdc3.com/sohn/41.htm For what Bill Kershner thinks about it: http://pulsar.westmont.edu/aeronca/d...ques/0080.html For descriptions of what dutch roll is: http://www.rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk/aeroxtra/dtcstab7.htm http://www.av8n.com/how/htm/equilib.html And to show that dutch roll is not just an issue with swept-wing jets: http://www.berkutengineering.com/pag...rtav898-3.html -- Kevin Horton Ottawa, Canada e-mail: khorton02(_at_)rogers(_dot_)com http://go.phpwebhosting.com/~khorton/rv8/ |
#3
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Kevin Horton wrote in message ...
On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 20:00:31 -0700, David B. Cole wrote: After takeoff we climbed to about 4000' to do some dutch rolls. Initially I was a little timid with the ailerons, but eventually got it together although my feet were still slower than I would have liked. After the dutch rolls we moved on to a few power-off stalls. Again, you have to be on your toes as the nose has more of a tendency than the 172 to drop off to either side if you're too slow on the rudder. Great write up. One very small nit to pick - I know a lot of people think a dutch roll is a manoeuvre where the pilot it actively making the aircraft roll back and forth around a point. But the term properly means a combined yawing and rolling oscillation that the aircraft does all by itself. It is hard to have clear communication when we have words that mean different things to different people. For a rant on the mis-use of the term dutch roll, see: http://www.douglasdc3.com/sohn/41.htm For what Bill Kershner thinks about it: http://pulsar.westmont.edu/aeronca/d...ques/0080.html For descriptions of what dutch roll is: http://www.rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk/aeroxtra/dtcstab7.htm http://www.av8n.com/how/htm/equilib.html And to show that dutch roll is not just an issue with swept-wing jets: http://www.berkutengineering.com/pag...rtav898-3.html Hi Kevin, Pilots picking nits? Who would have guessed ; ) The English language is very colorful, and many terms have multiple meanings depending on the context. In the context of the aerobatic environment, Dutch Roll (note the capitalization, which is customary in this context) is well understood by aerobatic pilots to describe a specific coordination maneuver as opposed to the inherent instability dutch roll common in swept wing aircraft. While it is true that sometimes the use of certain terms can lead to confusion, we nevertheless frequently use terminology that has multiple meanings. For example, ask the airline pilot who is strapping into his aerobatic mount on his day off from his flying job to explain and perform a Dutch Roll, and he will know exactly what is being asked of him. However, ask him to define dutch roll while he's at 35,000 feet in the left seat of his airliner, and he'll likely delve into the aerodynamic issues involved with dutch roll instability. Yes, context is important; but to imply that a particlar phrase or word can and must have one and only one meaning might be a fruitless exercise indeed! Consider the following: We'd have to find another word for "stall" since it means something totally different to me when I'm in my car versus when I'm in my airplane (and there are far more drivers than pilots, so we'd probably lose the battle for exclusive use of that term); We'd have to find another name for "flaps" because, frankly, they don't; The "elevator" does not elevate; "Adding more throttle" or "increasing throttle" doesn't throttle anything; "Snap Rolls" have nothing to do with the roll control. Anyone want to add to this list? Rich http://www.richstowell.com |
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On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 13:23:12 -0700, Rich Stowell wrote:
Kevin Horton wrote in message ... One very small nit to pick - I know a lot of people think a dutch roll is a manoeuvre where the pilot it actively making the aircraft roll back and forth around a point. But the term properly means a combined yawing and rolling oscillation that the aircraft does all by itself. It is hard to have clear communication when we have words that mean different things to different people. For a rant on the mis-use of the term dutch roll, see: http://www.douglasdc3.com/sohn/41.htm Hi Kevin, Pilots picking nits? Who would have guessed ; ) The English language is very colorful, and many terms have multiple meanings depending on the context. In the context of the aerobatic environment, Dutch Roll (note the capitalization, which is customary in this context) is well understood by aerobatic pilots to describe a specific coordination maneuver as opposed to the inherent instability dutch roll common in swept wing aircraft. While it is true that sometimes the use of certain terms can lead to confusion, we nevertheless frequently use terminology that has multiple meanings. For example, ask the airline pilot who is strapping into his aerobatic mount on his day off from his flying job to explain and perform a Dutch Roll, and he will know exactly what is being asked of him. However, ask him to define dutch roll while he's at 35,000 feet in the left seat of his airliner, and he'll likely delve into the aerodynamic issues involved with dutch roll instability. Yes, context is important; but to imply that a particlar phrase or word can and must have one and only one meaning might be a fruitless exercise indeed! Consider the following: Rich, Yeah, I was probably a bit over-the-top with my post. And my perspective is perhaps clouded by my military and flight test background. I guess the important point to reel in is that we need to be aware of when a term could have more than one meaning, and provide enough context to make the intended meaning clear. I first heard the term Dutch Roll used to describe a coordination manoeuvre a couple of months ago. Before that, if I went flying with you and you asked me to do a Dutch Roll, you would have been baffled to watch me do a rudder doublet and count the yaw overshoots. Poor lateral-directional dynamic stabilty (a.k.a. dutch roll) is not just an issue with swept-wing yets. I've heard many a V-tail Bonanza driver complain about the tail wag, which is just a variant of dutch roll. I'd tell you to keep the blue side up, but you probably don't want to do that Fly safe, -- Kevin Horton Ottawa, Canada e-mail: khorton02(_at_)rogers(_dot_)com http://go.phpwebhosting.com/~khorton/rv8/ |
#5
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Rich Stowell wrote:
Anyone want to add to this list? The preflight checklist for the newer Cessna 172s requires that the fuel shutoff be on. If the shutoff were on, wouldn't the fuel [flow] be shut off? - Andrew P.S. See you in a couple of days. |
#6
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Rich Stowell wrote:
We'd have to find another name for "flaps" because, frankly, they don't; The "elevator" does not elevate; "Adding more throttle" or "increasing throttle" doesn't throttle anything; "Snap Rolls" have nothing to do with the roll control. Anyone want to add to this list? "World Series"? BTW: I too am a 'graduate' of a Rich Stowell weekend of spins, or more correctly EMT. I also own his EMT book (www.amazon.com) and videos (books and videos available from http://www.richstowell.com/shop.htm). It was an excellent learning experience. My opinion is that (some amount of) spin training should be part of the pilot certificate training - but that's for another thread. Rich's does great FAA Wings Seminars too. Did I mention Rich is a great guy? Check him out at http://www.richstowell.com Hilton |
#7
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David B. Cole wrote:
I would have to say that with the exception of becoming a pilot in the first place, this was probably the best money I've spent since beginning flying. Wow. Thanks, David. I'm eager for my slot next weekend. - Andrew |
#8
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You should be my friend. I'm actually on the waitlist just in case
any additional spots open during the week. Hopefully the weather will be as nice next weekend as it was this weekend, that way you can really enjoy the character of the airport. You should definitely take the family with you. Call me if you want to catch up and make sure you ask for a roll and a loop. Funny, sounds like a fast food order. "Would you like a roll and a loop with your spins?" Dave Andrew Gideon wrote in message gonline.com... David B. Cole wrote: I would have to say that with the exception of becoming a pilot in the first place, this was probably the best money I've spent since beginning flying. Wow. Thanks, David. I'm eager for my slot next weekend. - Andrew |
#9
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David B. Cole wrote:
You should definitely take the family with you. Why? What would they be doing aside from waiting around during the lecture, while others were flying, and - eventually - when I'm flying? - Andrew |
#10
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Ok, then don't.
Andrew Gideon wrote in message gonline.com... David B. Cole wrote: You should definitely take the family with you. Why? What would they be doing aside from waiting around during the lecture, while others were flying, and - eventually - when I'm flying? - Andrew |
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