Most commonly misunderstood CPL theories/excercises

[Colonel]

Absolutely! 

First thing in the full-blown PFL (from 3000
feet) after carb heat is to dial in a bunch of
nose-up trim, to transition from cruise speed
to best distance glide speed.

Again, this information is hoarded and
guarded by instructors.

But if you do this, the aircraft will pitch
BY ITSELF to the attitude for best glide.

Then, just let go of the controls, and
move onto step #2 (figure out where
to land, plan approach).


This fixation with best distance glide
speed IMHO borders on the insane.

All you have to do, is not stall or spin
on the way down (and crash).  That
hurts.  You shouldn't try to stretch
your glide.  That will end in pain, too.


Scenario:  I am in the Pitts at 10,000
AGL over CYSH and the engine quits.

Am I going to set best distance glide
speed?  Hell, no.  I will do some nice
acro on the way down.  Rolls, loops,
hammerheads, down to high key.

Speed will vary between 200 and 0
mph during the PFL.

A master at work:

[Chuck Ellsworth]

You cannot catch a ball if you do not look
at it.  How people expect to land on a
runway without looking at it, is beyond
me.

Hold on a second there Colonel...

You catch a ball by looking way off in the distance at the horizon.

Just like they teach where to look when landing.

You are so old school I have to forgive you though. 

[Chuck Ellsworth]

  Even if you disagree (and if you do, I'd like to hear your alternative),

Well there was a time when moving from one airplane to another was referred to as getting checked out on a different type, class or category .

Here is a question.

Two airplanes in the transport category.

Boeing 777

Douglas DC6

From a pilots viewpoint which would be the most complex to operate

[Colonel]

To clarify:  it's during the descending-U
[i]approach[/i] that you should be looking
at the runway, to gauge if you are high
or low.

It puzzles me that people wait until they
are on final, to correct their glidepath.

With almost everyone, we turn base and
the student does nothing.  I ask him, "Are
we high or low?"  He replies, "We're high!"
and I reply, "Maybe you should do something
about it NOW"

The earlier you make a correction, the longer
the time it has to take effect, and the bigger
difference it will make.

I don't know why 99.999% of the human race
seems to struggle with that concept.

[Colonel]

Where do we look while we're trying to make this a landing?

Close your eyes and hope for the best!  ;D

But seriously, folks ....

When the aircraft is in the landing attitude
six inches off the pavement, just make sure
the power is off and

FREEZE THE CONTROLS

Stop doing shit, ok?

[Chuck Ellsworth]

So you're still looking at the numbers as your wheels touch them? Swinging at strawmen.

Aside from your amateur attempt at sarcasm maybe you could tell us where you teach students to look during the landing process.....starting from 200 feet above the runway to wheel contact.

From my personal point of view I have made thousands of dollars re-teaching pilots where to look during the landing process.

Most of them were taught to look way into the distance or at the far end of the runway.

Whatever idiot came up with that idea sure has made me a lot of money.

And once more I charged a whole lot of money for corrective training....

If I could not make a thousand a day I generally didn't bother going to the airport.

And that is a fact...period.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

On that other forum there is someone asking where he can find a flight instructor to teach him on a Super Decathlon one of the easiest tail wheel airplanes to fly ever built.

He is in the greater Toronto area and so far there has only been one instructor suggested.

It boggles the mind to think of how many so called class one instructors there should be in that part of Canada.....

It boggles the mind to think anyone could be a class one instructor and not have the experience or skill to fly one of the most basic airplanes on earth because it has a tail wheel.

Pathetic simply pathetic.