Flight Forum

Checking Flight Controls

February 5, 2002

In "What It Looks Like: When You Box the Controls" (December 2001 AOPA Flight Training), Mark Twombly very properly stresses the relationship between the control inputs and the control surfaces, enjoining the pilot to take this simple check seriously. Mr. Twombly correctly states, "The objective of the control check is to make sure that each control surface moves freely through its full range of travel."

While the column is excellent, I wanted to add a couple of tangible reasons for performing this check.

Cables occasionally break, bind, freeze, or otherwise misbehave. They can even be cross-connected by dyslexic mechanics. Birds inexplicably decide to seek shelter inside a tailcone or other inconvenient place. Discovering these gremlins before takeoff is generally preferred.

Even when your airplane is hangared and maintenance is not the issue, range of motion can still be compromised by those flying accessories that sometimes occupy the right seat, otherwise known as passengers. There is nothing so thrilling as pulling back at the end of a short-field takeoff run only to have the right-side yoke strike the knee of the basketball player traveling with you.

Andy Weiss
Kingston, Massachusetts

Question Redux

I found "25 Questions" (December 2001 AOPA Flight Training) to be very helpful, and I hope it will not be long until you expand it and do it again. As far as subject matter goes, I say "Weather, weather, weather." I could always stand more of the basics, because fronts and pressure systems have never clicked.

Karl Leibensperger
Via the Internet

Defining "Inbound"

In "Aviation Speak" (December 2001 AOPA Flight Training) you speak of the term procedure turn inbound. ATC often asks pilots to report "Procedure turn inbound." Could you tell me exactly at what point in an instrument approach does the aircraft become "procedure turn inbound"? Assuming the pilot is flying a standard procedure turn, some pilots think the report should be made when starting the 180-degree turn. Others think it should be made when intercepting the final approach course.

Bill Long
Via the Internet

According to the Aeronautical Information Manual's Pilot/ Controller Glossary, the aircraft is inbound when the course reversal has been completed and the aircraft is established inbound on the intermediate approach segment or the final approach course. A position report of "procedure turn inbound" is often used by air traffic control for separation purposes

Ed.

S-Turn Requirements

I believe that you should try to do a better job of editing your flight training magazine. There are far too many gross errors in each issue, the latest one being in an article by Ken Medley on S-turns ("S-Turns: Perfecting a Required Skill," December 2001 AOPA Flight Training).

The FAA practical test standards do not require an initial bank of 45 degrees; that only applies for turns around a point. It is all right for us as instructors to find your mistakes but it is often quite confusing for the students and if they don't see the proper answer in the next issue they may go on believing the mistake. Please take the time to properly edit your magazine.

Michael Hartman
Via the Internet

It is correct that a 45-degree initial bank is required only for turns around a point. Medley's article does not state that a 45-degree bank is required for S-turns, however; he simply recommends an initial 45-degree bank for that maneuver.