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Copyright � 2002 AOPA. | Training Tips
| GRAPPLING WITH GROUND-REFERENCE MANEUVERS
After you have learned basic aircraft control, training shifts to maneuvers that teach control of your aircraft relative to a fixed point on the ground by correcting for the effect of wind (download Chapter 14, Navigation, of the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge). These are ground reference maneuvers, in Area of Operation VI of the Practical Test Standards for the Private Pilot-Airplane flight test ( click here to download): rectangular course, S-turns, and turns around a point. Each will be discussed here. The same principle applies to each: you fly a predetermined course over the ground using wind correction angles or bank (in turning maneuvers or turning phases of maneuvers) to compensate for wind's influence on your track. See the February 1992 Flight Training.
 Suppose you want to circumnavigate a mile-long rectangular field that is off your left wing tip. (Diagram this.) The wind is blowing directly from your left. (Draw an arrow representing the wind vector.) To maintain position relative to the field as you fly along its length, crab into the wind--in this case, to the left. How much depends on how much wind. This takes experimentation, but a rule of thumb may help. Nearing the field's boundary, you begin a left turn to fly along the edge that is perpendicular to your present course. Degrees turned will equal 90 degrees minus crab angle. Use a shallowing bank (lowering rate of turn) as groundspeed slows to minimum. Roll out and fly upwind along this boundary. No crab angle is needed on this leg because it is directly into the wind (rarely are winds so cooperative in real life!). Nearing the next corner, begin another left turn. Groundspeed (and therefore, bank angle) increases as you turn away from the headwind. Roll out before completing 90 degrees of turn, so that you are again crabbed into the wind, this time to the right. Reaching the next boundary and the final turn, to a downwind heading, will ultimately require a steeper bank angle (higher rate) than previous turns because you will turn more than 90 degrees (90 degrees plus the previous crab angle) and groundspeed will increase to its maximum on reaching the downwind course.
The maneuver is demonstrated at traffic-pattern altitude. It resembles a traffic pattern, but you do not descend or change configuration. See comparisons in the August 2001 AOPA Flight Training. Remember to watch for opposing traffic, and have an emergency landing site available. Enjoy your practice!
| Your Partner in Training
| Displaced threshold...empennage...MEL...pirep...what does it all mean? Aviation is an industry of acronyms and technical language. Especially helpful to newcomers to aviation is AOPA's Student Glossary for General Aviation. Log on to AOPA Online and if you need more information, call our experienced pilots—available toll-free at 800/872-2672 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern to answer your questions.
As an AOPA Flight Training Trial Member, you have access to all of the features within AOPA Online. For login information click here.
| Flight Training News
| AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION TRACKING SPECIAL PIREPS
Are you still confused by the concept of pilot reports (pireps), and wonder when you should file one–or what you should report when you do? To improve the quality and quantity of pireps, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation has created SkySpotter, an interactive online training program. ASF is asking its more than 3,700 registered SkySpotters to keep a record of their pilot reports and subsequently post that information to a dedicated ASF feedback Web page. Respondents will be eligible for free SkySpotter T-shirts to be awarded at random. ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg said the information is crucial to tracking effectiveness of the growing program. "Pilots must make it clear during a pirep that it's a SkySpotter report. Then the pilot and ASF can check the National Weather Service's Aviation Weather Center Web site to make sure the report got through." An AWC Web page shows the daily total of SkySpotter reports. For more, see AOPA�Online.
DIAMOND STAR NEARS FAA APPROVAL
Diamond Aircraft's four-place DA40-180 Diamond Star–big brother of the two-place DA20 Katana trainer–has been certified in Austria for years. When production was moved to Canada the approval process had to begin anew, however. The first Canadian-built IFR-capable Diamond Star has received Canadian certification, clearing the way for FAA approval under a reciprocal agreement. Diamond factory officials said U.S. approval is expected "very shortly." The Canadian-built Diamond Star differs from the Austrian model by offering more leg room and the added option of Garmin avionics. AOPA Pilot flew the Diamond Star for its March issue.
CIRRUS ANNOUNCES PRICE INCREASE
This week Cirrus Design announced a price increase for both its SR20 and SR22 single-engine airplanes. The IFR-equipped aircraft will be offered for $207,800 and $289,400, respectively, after March 31. The avionics packages for both the SR20 and SR22 include at least one Garmin GNS 430 gps/nav/com, an S-Tec Meggitt autopilot, and an Avidyne FlightMax Pro multifunction display as standard equipment. Optional equipment includes Goodrich Stormscope weather and Goodrich Skywatch traffic information. For more, see the Web site.
| Inside AOPA
| AOPA MEETS WITH NEW TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CHIEF
AOPA President Phil Boyer and Senior Vice President of Government and Technical Affairs Andy Cebula met last week with John Magaw, undersecretary of Transportation Security and head of the new Transportation Security Administration. Boyer used the meeting to explain the scope of general aviation. Magaw also appeared impressed with the scope of AOPA's actions following the September 11 attacks in educating pilots through the association's Web site, ePilot newsletter, and AOPA Pilot magazine, as well as in advocating for general aviation access. "Give us the threat you want addressed and let us develop realistic, real-time, practical solutions," Cebula suggested to Magaw. Boyer and Cebula also explained AOPA's recent petition for a direct final rule that requires pilots to carry a photo ID. "Comparing the unproductive time we have spent trying to reach the decision makers at the National Security Council and Homeland Security, it was a refreshing change to have this opportunity to establish a relationship with this new organization that will make important decisions about aviation policy," said Boyer. For more, see AOPA Online.
SOUTH DAKOTA TO DELAY STATE PILOT ID CARDS
After meeting with AOPA representatives Monday, South Dakota transportation officials have agreed to delay implementing a new law that could have permitted the state to require and to issue pilot photo IDs. The governor recently signed that law into effect. In the meeting with members of the South Dakota Aeronautics Commission and officials from the South Dakota Department of Transportation, AOPA outlined its recent petition to the FAA for a rule that would require pilots to carry photo identification, such as a valid driver's license or passport, along with their FAA-issued certificate. AOPA Central Region Representative Bill Hamilton stressed that such a program could be implemented immediately at far less cost than photo identification issued by the state. See AOPA Online for more on South Dakota's proposal and AOPA's petition.
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| Training Products
| COMBINED COMMERCIAL AND INSTRUMENT?
Ambitious pilots can streamline their training efforts by preparing for both the instrument rating and the commercial certificate simultaneously. A new book makes doing so easier. Bob Gardner's The Complete Advanced Pilot is available for $24.95 from Aviation Supplies and Academics online or by calling 800/ASA-2-FLY.
| Final Exam
| Question: How do I know when there is too strong a crosswind for my aircraft to land safely?
Answer: You may want to begin by determining the crosswind component. The crosswind component is the wind component measured in knots at 90 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the runway. You may figure the value using a crosswind component chart. By plotting wind velocity and the angle between wind and runway, one is able to determine the crosswind component. Next, you must determine whether or not this value exceeds the demonstrated crosswind component of the aircraft you are flying. You can do this by comparing it to your aircraft's maximum demonstrated crosswind component. Most manufacturers will furnish that value in the pilot's operating handbook or flight manual. Finally, don't forget to figure in your capabilities and experience as a pilot. The aircraft may be able to handle a stronger crosswind that you can. For more information on crosswinds and operations in windy weather, see AOPA's latest subject report, Windy Flight Operations .
Got a technical question for AOPA specialists? E-mail to [email protected] or call 800/872-2672.
| What's New At AOPA Online
| Check out the latest installment in Never Again Online, which relates one VFR pilot's encounter with instrument conditions. Never Again Online features a previously unpublished Never Again lesson each month.
| Picture Perfect
| Did you know you can create a personal e-card using the images from the AOPA Online Gallery? Send one to a friend today. See AOPA�Online.
| ePilot Calendar
| Check your weekend weather on AOPA Online.
WEEKEND FLYING DESTINATIONS
Gilbert, Arizona. Open house/fly-in takes place March 23 at Pegasus Airpark (5AZ3). Grand opening of new residential airpark with experimental/antique aircraft display. Contact Ron Serafinowicz, 480/892-5682; 480/926-1619; or see the Web site.
For more airport details, see AOPA's Airport Directory Online . For more events, see Aviation Calendar of Events
ASF FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER CLINICS
(All clinics start at 7:30 a.m.)
The next AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics are scheduled in Orlando, Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 16 and 17. Clinics are scheduled in Norfolk, Virginia; Baltimore; and San Mateo, California, March 23 and 24. For the Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic schedule, see AOPA Online.
ASF PINCH-HITTER GROUND-SCHOOL COURSES
(Pinch-Hitter courses start at 9:30 a.m.)
The next Pinch-Hitter� Ground School will take place in Philadelphia on March 10. For more Pinch-Hitter courses, see AOPA Online.
ASF SAFETY SEMINARS
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Seminars are scheduled in Columbia, South Carolina, and Miami on March 11; Charlotte, North Carolina, and Fort Meyers, Florida, March 12; St. Petersburg, Florida, and Greensboro, North Carolina, March 13; and Melbourne, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina, March 14. Topic is spatial disorientation. For more information, visit the Web site.
For comments on calendar items or to make submissions, contact [email protected].
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