February 21, 2011 - Emergency Procudures in the Circuit
What better way to spend part of my family day holiday than in the air?! After a delicious brunch with family at the Muddy Duck, Vinx dropped me at the airport for two hours of fun with Lari. This time, he wanted to put last lesson's learning into action. After a few "normal" circuits (and hey, I still remembered how to fly... sort of!), Lari began throwing emergencies at me to deal with in real time.
First, the engine cut out just after turning base for 08. I immediately put the plane into best glide (60 kts) and made it more or less safely to 06, kind of mid field. It's a wierd feeling, still having flap access, but having to be so very careful with every move, because there is no room for error, you cannot "correct" anything, since you don't have power. "Attitude is everthing" took on new meaning.
Lari's really good with this stuff; he's perfected the art; has all kinds of codes and shit he uses with the tower. Once I am pretty sure he even unplugged my headset so I wouldn't hear what was coming next, because suddenly, I was making a decision to land on 33, even though we had planned for 08. The cross wind there was pretty heavy, and having flown too many circuits with the wind coming from the left, I automatically turned aileron to the left and applied right rudder. But I needed to do the opposite! Argh! Just when you begin to become semi-automatic with procedures, you discover the wind matters, lol! (Well, I always knew in theory that it mattered, but to experience it in the middle of a simulated engine failure....)
Staying close enough to the land in the circuit is critical, too, knowing that you could have an emergency. No good landing in the water!
Perhaps one the of the most poignant moments was when Lari simulated an engine failure immmediately after take off. I had less than three seconds to push the nose down to get enough speed to be able to flare and land smoothly and safely. I DID manage to push the nose down, but not soon enough (too much thinking; I guess I need to develop the reptilian part of my brain, hehe), and my landing was rather abrupt as the stall horn blared in the background!
It was lots of fun today, but part of me realised, too, the importance of learning this material beyond an academic level. As Korkka always says, one day, knowing this could make the difference between whether you live or die.
First, the engine cut out just after turning base for 08. I immediately put the plane into best glide (60 kts) and made it more or less safely to 06, kind of mid field. It's a wierd feeling, still having flap access, but having to be so very careful with every move, because there is no room for error, you cannot "correct" anything, since you don't have power. "Attitude is everthing" took on new meaning.
Lari's really good with this stuff; he's perfected the art; has all kinds of codes and shit he uses with the tower. Once I am pretty sure he even unplugged my headset so I wouldn't hear what was coming next, because suddenly, I was making a decision to land on 33, even though we had planned for 08. The cross wind there was pretty heavy, and having flown too many circuits with the wind coming from the left, I automatically turned aileron to the left and applied right rudder. But I needed to do the opposite! Argh! Just when you begin to become semi-automatic with procedures, you discover the wind matters, lol! (Well, I always knew in theory that it mattered, but to experience it in the middle of a simulated engine failure....)
Staying close enough to the land in the circuit is critical, too, knowing that you could have an emergency. No good landing in the water!
Perhaps one the of the most poignant moments was when Lari simulated an engine failure immmediately after take off. I had less than three seconds to push the nose down to get enough speed to be able to flare and land smoothly and safely. I DID manage to push the nose down, but not soon enough (too much thinking; I guess I need to develop the reptilian part of my brain, hehe), and my landing was rather abrupt as the stall horn blared in the background!
It was lots of fun today, but part of me realised, too, the importance of learning this material beyond an academic level. As Korkka always says, one day, knowing this could make the difference between whether you live or die.