Sat Sep 21, 2013 1:01 pm
#1205978
No I didn't, not quite, but having read the recent discussions with some scepticism I now know at least one way that it could perhaps happen.
After a first circuit in which I could only just see the runway from circuit height, I decided to do a bad weather circuit the second time around. So, flaps down after take-off, watch the speed, watch the height, turn crosswind, watch which way I'm pointing, spot I'm at low level circuit height, reduce power, level off, check still pointing the right way, check speed ... whoops! - ten knots too slow for comfort, although still several knots above stalling speed.
I think what happened was that I do the combination of climbing and turning and levelling off with flaps down sufficiently infrequently[#] that I simply had no feel for it, and got the trim wrong, and taking my eyes off the ASI for several seconds was not, as it turned out, clever.
[#] Other than, perhaps, during IMC training, when I'd have (I hope) a better scan going than in the visual circuit.
After a first circuit in which I could only just see the runway from circuit height, I decided to do a bad weather circuit the second time around. So, flaps down after take-off, watch the speed, watch the height, turn crosswind, watch which way I'm pointing, spot I'm at low level circuit height, reduce power, level off, check still pointing the right way, check speed ... whoops! - ten knots too slow for comfort, although still several knots above stalling speed.
I think what happened was that I do the combination of climbing and turning and levelling off with flaps down sufficiently infrequently[#] that I simply had no feel for it, and got the trim wrong, and taking my eyes off the ASI for several seconds was not, as it turned out, clever.
[#] Other than, perhaps, during IMC training, when I'd have (I hope) a better scan going than in the visual circuit.