May 17, 2013, issue of 'AOPA ePilot: Flight Training Edition' weekly newsletter
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Concept: Constant-radius turn |
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Training TipsConcept: Constant-radius turn
As many diagrams illustrate, S-turns across a road (or some other reference line like a long, straight set of railroad tracks) require the pilot to steepen and shallow the bank angle in response to changing groundspeed to maintain that distance. Begin the maneuver above and perpendicular to your reference line, headed downwind, where the steepest bank angle must be used. Varying the bank angle (and the turn rate) as the turn to the upwind heading progresses, strive to reach the wings-level point, after 180 degrees of turn, directly above your reference line. Then immediately commence a turn in the opposite direction.
As with the other ground-reference maneuvers, this one is flown at an altitude between 600 feet and 1,000 feet above ground level—why?
These are several of the reasons outlined in Chapter 6 of the Airplane Flying Handbook: Aircraft speed and type are considerations. Relative to the ground, your speed should not be “so apparent that events happen too rapidly.” Objects on the ground should appear “in their proportion and size.” Wind drift should be easy to discern, “but not tax the student too much in making corrections.”
As that multitude of factors shows, it is important for you to practice until you can divide attention “between airplane control and the ground track while maintaining coordinated flight” as mandated in the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards.
Another test standard—crucial at the fairly low altitudes used for ground-reference maneuvers—is staying alert for forced-landing sites.
Be a good neighbor by flying your maneuvers away from “communities, livestock, or groups of people.”
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AVIATION EVENTS & WEATHER
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A student pilot learns to master three ground-reference maneuvers in preparation for the private pilot flight test. The rectangular course allows your examiner to assess your skill in flying a course equidistant from all sides of a rectangular ground area. This requires you to establish headings that counter the drift effect of wind (including when rolling out of turns). The other two required ground-reference maneuvers, 
IFR Fix: ‘Tasks and iterations’
