Scudrunners

Here are some of the most common problems I found that low time pilots had when I was in the advanced flight training business.


Controlling taxi speed with brakes and not reducing the throttle setting.


Chasing airspeed during the climb after take off, resulting in a roller coaster climb profile.


Improper transition from climb to level flight.


Inability to judge height above runway during the flare, hold off and touch down.


No attempt to keep on or near runway centre line.


Poor x/wind correction and poor control of touch down drift.


Those were the most common and in my opinion point to poor initial flight training.

To this must add trying to hold altitude with the pitch trim.
I see this while conducting recommend rides on CPL candidates.
That's two hundred hours of habit-practice that has to be undone.
The quickest way is an explanation of why it's wrong and the threat of stabbing them in the hand with a pencil the next time they do it.
This usually happens within two minutes.
After that, except for the slow learners, just my picking up my pencil from my knee board as they move to climb or descend a bit is sufficient.
I relish their look of alarm when I stop by the pencil sharpener on our way out to the flight line.
I've even seen this habit in Class IV students.


How about them not knowing how to employ the natural stability of the airplane when in cruise?
Using rudder pressure to hold a heading and minute changes of power to hold altitude; "Look Ma; no hands!"


Or excessive verbiage on the radio?
"Presently at Hangar One, requesting permission to taxi to the active runway for an Eastbound Departure to Glen Valley with ATIS Delta."
Or:
"Skyquest, Eastbound with Delta."
the instructor is getting paid by the minute so talk all you want. But you're paying for this by the minute, so...

[quote author=Four Bars link=topic=5879.msg15414#msg15414 date=1489888572]
To this must add trying to hold altitude with the pitch trim.
I see this while conducting recommend rides on CPL candidates.
That's two hundred hours of habit-practice that has to be undone... I've even seen this habit in Class IV students.
[/quote]
It's even harder to undo when I find it in 1600 hour ATPL holders.  Incredible how many "pilots" are mostly along for the ride.

Jamming throttle in / yanking out.  Hard on engine. Hard on aircraft.


Being behind the airplane. Late with radio calls, configuration changes, everything. Not thinking "what's next required".


Poor situational awareness. This is a brutal one. Not monitoring correct freqs for airspace.


Eg, Not being simply aware before TO or landing, of position of every other aircraft near the circuit, and having eyes on those planes. This would have prevented recent accident.

[quote author=Chuck Ellsworth link=topic=5879.msg15411#msg15411 date=1489885676]Controlling taxi speed with brakes and not reducing the throttle setting.[/quote]


I think a lot of people believe that 1000 RPM is a minimum setting. I have a fuzzy memory of being told to maintain that setting to keep oil pressure "up". To me, if you're getting at least 60 PSI at min idle then there shouldn't be any issue driving around with reduced power settings.


The only reason for 1000 RPM idle I can come up with off the top of my head would be to increase the amount of splash oil making it onto the cam and cylinder walls.


Let me know if I'm wrong though, I'm still pretty new at this flying business.

Where did the rule for 1000 RPM minimum become the norm for a power setting when taxiing?


And who decided that rule?

Once again, your age is showing Chuck. I've flown modern piston singles that the POH states the engine should not be idled below 1000 RPM.

My '74 172 POH has no mention of minimum idle speeds. The 172S book says:


[quote]LEANING FOR GROUND OPERATIONS


1. For all ground operations, after starting the engine and when the engine is running smoothly:
    a. set the throttle to 1200 RPM.
    b. lean the mixture for maximum RPM.
    c. set the throttle to an RPM appropriate for groun operations (800 to 1000 RPM recommended).


NOTE: If ground operation will be required after the BEFORE TAKEOFF checklist is completed, lean the mixture again (as described above) until ready for the TAKEOFF checklist.


TAXIING


When taxiing, it is important that speed and use of brakes be held to a minimum and that all controls be utilized (Refer to Figure 4-2, Taxiing Diagram) to maintain directional control and balance. [/quote]



Most of the flight school checklists I've seen don't explicitly say minimum 1000 RPM, but it's pretty heavily implied. After start, 1000. After run-up, 1000. After landing, 1000. You can see how that would lead someone to treat it as a standard ground running number if they aren't told otherwise.

[quote]Most of the flight school checklists I've seen don't explicitly say minimum 1000 RPM, but it's pretty heavily implied. After start, 1000. After run-up, 1000. After landing, 1000. You can see how that would lead someone to treat it as a standard ground running number if they aren't told otherwise.


[/quote]




If your school has two C172"s one on wheels and one on floats do you teach using 800 to 1000 RPM while maneuvering on the water in the float equipped one?
[quote]


They teach this on the water as well?

[quote]
[font=verdana]Most of the flight school checklists I've seen don't explicitly say minimum 1000 RPM, but it's pretty heavily implied. After start, 1000. After run-up, 1000. After landing, 1000. [/font][/quote]


I am sure they do not teach this on the water.




[/quote]

[quote author=Chuck Ellsworth link=topic=5879.msg15470#msg15470 date=1490037726]
If your school has two C172"s one on wheels and one on floats do you teach using 800 to 1000 RPM while maneuvering on the water in the float equipped one?
[/quote]
Trick question: the water one won't need the thousand RPM.  As our little airports slowly disappear and students demand their training out of 'real' airports anyways, the odds are that the wheeled 172 will have to start up, do a runup on the corner of the school's apron, taxi a quarter mile, hold short of a crossing runway for an arrival, taxi another half mile, wait third in line at the active then watch a bunch of planes land before they're released.  After all that time spent idling on 100LL, cold plugs will be fouled plugs so you'll either have to lean it out some for the taxi or hold a higher RPM when stopped.  Just to pick an arbitrary figure, let's say a thousand RPM.


It's often a lowest-common-denominator thing (unless recommended or demanded by the POH) and like SOP creep this stuff appears to just get dumber as time goes on.  I have some thoughts on fixing it, but they wouldn't go over well.