Lesson 8 - 8th November 2019
Today the lesson was going to be a bit of a refresher of lesson 10a, Slow Flying and Incipient Stalls, and also some consolidation of climbing and descending turns. I hadn't flown for nearly 4 weeks due to my last lesson being cancelled and I needed to settle back in to it.
The wind was also a little stronger today than the last time I flew, so I didn't do the take off or landing, which was a good thing as it was a bit turbulent during both! I did the climb away from about 200 ft and also flew the circuit before landing, with guidance. This is all good preparation for section 12 and 13, Take Off, Circuits and Landing. However, I have section 11, Spin Awareness, to do first!
I was asked to get G-CKVG out of the hanger and do the pre flight check, including gurgling the engine. Martin then taxied it over to the club house for me to fuel it up. Once done, we ran through the start up checks, taxied to the cross runway to do our run ups, then back taxied to the end of runway 3 3 ready for take off. I made the radio calls which I was more comfortable with following the RT course last week. Practice will help!
Martin then did the take off and we were up in to the air and after a circuit of the airfield, departed to the north to do the lesson for the day.
Lesson 10b - Stalls
Before we went, we did a theory lesson on stalls, why they happen and what to do to recover from them.
Why they Happen
When the Angle of Attack is increased, the airflow over the top surface of the wing slows down to a point that it can no longer 'cling' to the upper surface of the wing, to produce lift, and breaks away from it. This means there is no longer any lift and the airflow over the wing is said to be 'stalled'. Without lift, the aircraft will no longer fly so wants to, effectively, fall downwards.
As the angle of attack is increased, the lift point of the wing starts to move forward from its normal position at the top of the curve in the wing shape (about the same place as the main spar). It keeps moving forward until it nears the leading edge and then moves to the trailing edge. Just before this happens is called the Critical Angle of Attack. The critical Angle of Attack in the C42 is about 14 degrees.
All aircraft also have a minimum stall speed and these are shown on the ASI (Air Speed Indicator). For the C42 they are:
Vs1 flaps up, power off, stall speed 41 knots
Vs2 flaps 15 degrees, power off, stall speed 36 knots
Vs0 flaps 40 degrees, power off, stall speed 32 knots
Entering a Stall
To deliberately enter a stall, set the throttle to idle, keeping the slip ball in the centre as it will need a bit of left rudder, and slowly pull the stick back, keeping it central, to keep the attitude of the aircraft the same. Pull the stick right back to the stop point if required. As the Critical Angle of Attack is reached, the aircraft starts to vibrate and this is the sign that it is about to stall.
Stall Recovery
There are 3 methods of stall recovery.
1. Just let go of the back pressure on the stick. This will lower the nose, increasing airspeed, and un-stall the wing and the aircraft will dive downwards,. It will then regain airspeed over the wing and start to fly and recover itself. The process will lose about 300ft in altitude.
2. Bring the stick forward about an inch. This has the effect of lowering the angle of attack to un-stall the wing and the aircraft will, again, sort itself out. The process will lose about 120ft to 150ft in altitude.
3. The Standard Stall Recovery or SSR. Stick forward by about an inch to un-stall the wing, apply full power (not half or 3/4, but full) and then a gentle climb back to the original altitude. This should only lose around 20ft to 30ft of altitude if correctly performed.
Side effects
One of the side effects of the stall can be a wing drop. This can be caused by 3 possible things:
1. On a stick only recovery, the rudder is to the left and not kept centred.
2. Airframe damage
3. Polluted skin, such as dirt or flies on a leading edge.
Practice
Once in the air, Martin demonstrated all 3 methods of stall recovery. The first is like a roller coaster and not very pleasant, but just went to show how stable the aircraft is if you leave it to its own devices. The second was a bit smoother, but lost altitude. The third was the smoothest of them all and lost very little altitude. I thought about 20ft.
I was then allowed to try the third option, the Standard Stall Recovery (SSR), as this is what you should do. My first attempts were not too good but on the third I was starting to get the hang of it. It will need to be gone over many times during consolidation flights before I am comfortable with it.
Airmanship this Lesson
The HASELL check.
H - Height - Sufficient for the exercise and minimum 1000ft AGL preferably 1500ft to 2000ft.
A - Airframe - Airframe suitable for the manoeuvre and flaps set appropriately (0 or 15 degrees).
S - Security - Harnesses tight, no loose objects.
E - Engine - Temps and Pressures, fuel levels and carb heat (if required).
L - Location - Not in Airspace, not over habitation, and allow for drift.
L - Lookout - Clearing turn , to see all around, above and below.
Purchases this post
Lesson £140.83 - 1 hour 5 minutes
Totals
Total Costs = £2893.38
Total Hours PA-28 = 1.05
Total Hours Icarus C42 = 8 hours 45 minutes
The wind was also a little stronger today than the last time I flew, so I didn't do the take off or landing, which was a good thing as it was a bit turbulent during both! I did the climb away from about 200 ft and also flew the circuit before landing, with guidance. This is all good preparation for section 12 and 13, Take Off, Circuits and Landing. However, I have section 11, Spin Awareness, to do first!
I was asked to get G-CKVG out of the hanger and do the pre flight check, including gurgling the engine. Martin then taxied it over to the club house for me to fuel it up. Once done, we ran through the start up checks, taxied to the cross runway to do our run ups, then back taxied to the end of runway 3 3 ready for take off. I made the radio calls which I was more comfortable with following the RT course last week. Practice will help!
Martin then did the take off and we were up in to the air and after a circuit of the airfield, departed to the north to do the lesson for the day.
Lesson 10b - Stalls
Before we went, we did a theory lesson on stalls, why they happen and what to do to recover from them.
Why they Happen
When the Angle of Attack is increased, the airflow over the top surface of the wing slows down to a point that it can no longer 'cling' to the upper surface of the wing, to produce lift, and breaks away from it. This means there is no longer any lift and the airflow over the wing is said to be 'stalled'. Without lift, the aircraft will no longer fly so wants to, effectively, fall downwards.
As the angle of attack is increased, the lift point of the wing starts to move forward from its normal position at the top of the curve in the wing shape (about the same place as the main spar). It keeps moving forward until it nears the leading edge and then moves to the trailing edge. Just before this happens is called the Critical Angle of Attack. The critical Angle of Attack in the C42 is about 14 degrees.
All aircraft also have a minimum stall speed and these are shown on the ASI (Air Speed Indicator). For the C42 they are:
Vs1 flaps up, power off, stall speed 41 knots
Vs2 flaps 15 degrees, power off, stall speed 36 knots
Vs0 flaps 40 degrees, power off, stall speed 32 knots
Entering a Stall
To deliberately enter a stall, set the throttle to idle, keeping the slip ball in the centre as it will need a bit of left rudder, and slowly pull the stick back, keeping it central, to keep the attitude of the aircraft the same. Pull the stick right back to the stop point if required. As the Critical Angle of Attack is reached, the aircraft starts to vibrate and this is the sign that it is about to stall.
Stall Recovery
There are 3 methods of stall recovery.
1. Just let go of the back pressure on the stick. This will lower the nose, increasing airspeed, and un-stall the wing and the aircraft will dive downwards,. It will then regain airspeed over the wing and start to fly and recover itself. The process will lose about 300ft in altitude.
2. Bring the stick forward about an inch. This has the effect of lowering the angle of attack to un-stall the wing and the aircraft will, again, sort itself out. The process will lose about 120ft to 150ft in altitude.
3. The Standard Stall Recovery or SSR. Stick forward by about an inch to un-stall the wing, apply full power (not half or 3/4, but full) and then a gentle climb back to the original altitude. This should only lose around 20ft to 30ft of altitude if correctly performed.
Side effects
One of the side effects of the stall can be a wing drop. This can be caused by 3 possible things:
1. On a stick only recovery, the rudder is to the left and not kept centred.
2. Airframe damage
3. Polluted skin, such as dirt or flies on a leading edge.
Practice
Once in the air, Martin demonstrated all 3 methods of stall recovery. The first is like a roller coaster and not very pleasant, but just went to show how stable the aircraft is if you leave it to its own devices. The second was a bit smoother, but lost altitude. The third was the smoothest of them all and lost very little altitude. I thought about 20ft.
I was then allowed to try the third option, the Standard Stall Recovery (SSR), as this is what you should do. My first attempts were not too good but on the third I was starting to get the hang of it. It will need to be gone over many times during consolidation flights before I am comfortable with it.
Airmanship this Lesson
The HASELL check.
H - Height - Sufficient for the exercise and minimum 1000ft AGL preferably 1500ft to 2000ft.
A - Airframe - Airframe suitable for the manoeuvre and flaps set appropriately (0 or 15 degrees).
S - Security - Harnesses tight, no loose objects.
E - Engine - Temps and Pressures, fuel levels and carb heat (if required).
L - Location - Not in Airspace, not over habitation, and allow for drift.
L - Lookout - Clearing turn , to see all around, above and below.
Purchases this post
Lesson £140.83 - 1 hour 5 minutes
Totals
Total Costs = £2893.38
Total Hours PA-28 = 1.05
Total Hours Icarus C42 = 8 hours 45 minutes
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