Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

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By Rob P
#1852192
A small tip for when the instructor springs a "You know where x is? " trick.

The temptation is to scan the ground underneath and for a few miles either side. It's what I used to do when Capt Ions said "Just take us back to the field"

Then someone pointed out that where we trained the Malvern Hills were nearly always in sight. Spot them, mentally work out your position relative to them, then work out the approx heading to the airfield. Once headed that way it all becomes familiar as you are orientated.

OK, you may not have The Malverns, but start by lifting your eyes to the horizon and spotting a big town or a lake or whatever.

Rob P
lobstaboy, T6Harvard, tr7v8 and 2 others liked this
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852272
For me, definitely not a QDM! Maybe nm but haven't checked yet :)

@Rob P , a very useful tip, thank you. I actually thought I could do with an orientation flight, doing nothing except looking at the area.
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By Duncan M
#1852330
Why not ask instructor where the training area is for next lesson and draw a line on your map. Follow the route when you leave airfield and then you will have a good idea of the course for the return leg to airfield. then as you check features on map you can relate to the ground. as you have seen, lakes show up really well as nav features.

Also, ask instructor to show you how the ADF in the aircraft works (I assume the c152 you use has one) and how to tune it into the NDB at T'Hill.
Will get you used to another instrument on aircraft ..............and maybe what your instructor is using as a check anyway!
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By tcc1000
#1852510
To do it like nearly every qualified pilot... yoke-mount your phone (I use the SmallRig stuff from Amazon/ebay) which you can say you are doing to record your track log and it doesn't work as well in you pocket/bag. Then when they ask to navigate back to the airfield just fire up SkyDemon / EasyVFR and get it to show you the way!
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852531
Radical idea here... how about just learning the local area and knowing roughly where you are at all times?

I do understand this is hard at the beginning. But the brain does free up gradually as the actual flying becomes easy.
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By Duncan M
#1852535
Agree, a mental/knee board note of which direction you fly from the airport and a note of time taken and any significant land marks passed will give you a rough heading and time to return to airport.
If you are totally lost after manoeuvres in training area, just ask instructor for a position on your map and practice plotting a route back.
If everyone could aviate navigate and communicate with no problems then the ppl course would be totally unnecessary :lol:
Remember your instructor wants you to learn, he already knows how to fly!!
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By tr7v8
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852543
Well yet another lesson under my belt. Different FI today, 4 (I think, I lost count & it didn't record on Flightradar24!) more take offs & landings in the logbook. Despite being very warm today the circuit was very smooth. There was virtually zero wind & the 172 wanted to float & float....
Back on 02 so I lost some of my markers which was a pain. Not sure how it went today still struggling with speed control on climb out & final. Ended up using full (30 Deg) flap on final to reduce the float. That seemed to make it a bit easier.
Getting frustrated now as before I have always progressed at a reasonable pace. Circuits seemed to have been going on for ever!
So now 22 lessons & 22 hours 20mins in.
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852556
You're doing well @tr7v8 !

I have previously had a good look at my chart to try and pick good landmarks and fix their relative position in my hesd :mrgreen: but what struck me was how different the topography looks on different days. The dark, cloudy days of early November compared to high bright sunshine of April after the lockdown making contours flatter. I am not yet used to judging distances either.

Tbh, I do know which way the training area is from the airfield :o because I checked ages ago but having climbed, descended, turned, stalled etc my immediate response when being asked if I knew where the airfield was 'No'. Had I been grilled properly I would have had a decent guess, sufficient to turn in the general direction so as to sight a few landmarks, although the power station's demise has been a hindrance in the short term!

I feel like I am still at full capacity trying to fly S&L while doing FREDA checks, getting ATIS for QNH, synching DI and setting QFE
:lol: :lol:

Anyway, I have the airborne mnemonics to rehearse tomorrow, along with the actions :D and the chair flying TO and circuits ready for Monday. Happy days.
Last edited by T6Harvard on Sat Jun 12, 2021 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852557
tr7v8 wrote:There was virtually zero wind & the 172 wanted to float & float....

Think this through... at a given airspeed, with throttle closed and flaps at the same setting each time, the aeroplane will fly through the same amount of air as it slows down, before stalling on to the runway.

In nil wind, in this amount of air you will cover more ground than if there's a decent wind blowing along the runway. This is what creates the illusion of floating. If it floats, you're simply flying too fast for it to land. If you notice this, then you're doing the right thing - holding off for as long as it takes. So many people stuff the nose down to get it on to the ground, sometimes with awful consequences.

Ended up using full (30 Deg) flap on final to reduce the float. That seemed to make it a bit easier.

Sure. With more flap, there's more drag, so the airspeed decreases more quickly.

So you only have to maintain that skygod coordination, where you're holding off beautifully before touchdown... for a shorter time. That's why it's easier.

I suspect you've got a bit too much speed on over the hedge. Nil wind makes this a lot more obvious.
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By Duncan M
#1852578
TopCat, I’m sure you don’t mean ........ “the aeroplane will fly through the same amount of air as it slows down, before stalling on to the runway.”

The aircraft should settle onto the runway, with the pilot using the remaining lift available to keep the nosewheel off the ground then gently lower as speed/lift reduces
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1852649
Duncan M wrote:TopCat, I’m sure you don’t mean ........ “the aeroplane will fly through the same amount of air as it slows down, before stalling on to the runway.”

Well I do mean that, but let's take things a stage at a time.

The aircraft should settle onto the runway

Why do you think this happens?

, with the pilot using the remaining lift available to keep the nosewheel off the ground then gently lower as speed/lift reduces

Once the mains are on the ground, which of the aircraft's aerodynamic surfaces do you think keeps the nosewheel off the ground?
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