Thank you,
Barb
Greetings Barb:
If you're worried that you'll taxi onto or across an active runway without permission, then don't worry, be happy by doing the following: Don't cross or taxi onto any runway unless you confirm that you have permission to do so.
That's right - even if you've been given a clearance to cross or taxi onto the runway by the controller, reconfirm your permission to cross or taxi onto that runway before taxiing beyond the runway hold lines. Of course, if you're stopped at the runway hold line and ATC gives you permission to cross or taxi onto the runway, a simple readback of the clearance will do. Will this create frequency congestion? It may. But it's a small price to pay to prevent an FAA violation.
Airport authorities have been known to move runway hold lines. No, they don't move them while you're taxiing (the authorities are tricky, but not that tricky). When airports begin serving larger and larger airplanes, the hold lines are moved farther and farther from the runway. This is because a plane that has just landed is not considered clear of the runway until everything crosses the double-dashed-line side of the runway hold lines. It's a long way from cockpit to tail in a Boeing 767, so they have to move the hold lines a lot, sometimes right out near the taxiway borders.
After landing, a larger airplane (and its big tail feathers) must literally taxi out onto the taxiway, across the double-dashed side of the runway hold lines, to officially clear the runway. You can imagine how easy it is for you to be cleared to hold short of a runway via a taxiway, only to discover that you've just crossed the double-solid-line side of the runway hold markings upon entering the taxiway. That's when you'll wish you'd carried a little paint remover in your flight case.
Think On Your Feet
Dear Rod:
I can't seem to get the airplane down on the numbers. I'm in training and haven't soloed yet. My flare and touchdown seem fine initially, but then I begin swerving all over the place. I can't seem to fly a straight line. What's up with me? I need help. Any suggestions? Advice?
Gracias,
Alberto
Greetings Alberto:
It's time for you to get on your feet. When students have difficulty keeping an airplane under control during the flare, it's almost always an issue of their inability to properly coordinate the use of rudder and aileron. During the flare, you want to keep the wings level by using the yoke (ailerons). Twisting the yoke to level those wings results in adverse yaw from the lowered aileron pulling the airplane's nose in the opposite direction. The situation is made worse because adverse yaw becomes more pronounced as the airplane flies slower. Applying aileron without using compensating rudder, especially during the flare, will cause the airplane's nose to wobble all over the place.
When a skilled pilot is on final, the airplane nose shouldn't yaw an inch unless the pilot wants it to. That's a fact! The skilled pilot keeps the wings level with aileron but always applies rudder to keep the nose pointed in the desired direction. Coordinating rudder and aileron takes practice, and practice is what you need. If instructors commence landing practice before their students gain sufficient skill at coordinating rudder and aileron application, the result is usually just what you're now experiencing. I can assure you, given more coordination practice, your landing difficulties will disappear.
I suggest that you spend time practicing basic coordination rolls (often incorrectly called Dutch rolls). Start with the airplane's nose pointed on some outside reference point and roll into a turn. Apply sufficient rudder to keep the nose from yawing in a direction opposite to the roll. Stop the roll at about 20 to 30 degrees of bank and begin a roll in the opposite direction, while again keeping the nose from yawing opposite the direction of roll. Practice this at slow-flight speeds, too. If you coordinate the rudder and aileron correctly, the nose will remain relatively centered on the reference point when rolling in and out of the turn, and you'll then be ready to get on your feet and land with precision.
Rainbow Log Entries
Dear Rod,
I have a pilot friend who insists there's a regulatory requirement to make logbook entries with black ink. Is this true? I can find no reference to ink color anywhere.
Regards,
Perry
Greetings Perry:
You can use black, blue, green, red, rainbow, or any color ink or any combination of colors if you desire. It doesn't matter. You can even use octopus ink - it doesn't matter, either (except to the octopus). There is no regulation that says a particular ink is necessary as long as you don't use disappearing ink. And keep in mind that you're not required to log all your time, either. You only need to log time so as to meet recent experience requirements, time for a higher rating, and/or any time required by your insurance company.
Change Your Attitude
Dear Rod:
I'm having a hard time learning to fly by reference to my instruments. I'm a student pilot and my instructor says I'll eventually get it. He says to keep my eyes circling around the panel and not stare at any one instrument. So I keep looking around the panel and the airplane keeps going in all different directions. Do you have any advice that might help here?
Call Me Mr. Vertigo
Greetings Mr. Vertigo:
Yes, in the northern hemisphere, let your eyes circle clockwise around the panel; in the southern hemisphere, they should circle the panel counterclockwise. No, that's not really the answer, either. Consider the following. My friend Skip Forester, CFI and past president of Elite Simulators, made a perfect observation about instrument scan years ago. Skip, who has literally observed hundreds and hundreds of pilots flying simulators, once commented that he could always tell when an airline captain was at the controls. Skip says a captain always does two things: He focuses on the attitude indicator and he doesn't let anyone distract him. This is the answer to your dilemma.
At this early stage of your development, I suggest you spend more time focusing on the attitude indicator when maintaining or changing attitudes. As you gain more experience, you'll learn to correlate what you see on the attitude indicator with the other panel instruments.
While I can't describe the complete instrument scan process here, I can tell you that not making the attitude indicator the major focus of your scan is sure to make instrument flying difficult for you.
Soon you'll be flying instruments so well that your CFI will keep checking to see if you polished the fog off your Foggles.
Flying The Chicken Wing
Dear Rod:
I recently took a phase check with a new instructor in a Cessna 172. He chewed me out for not lifting a wing and looking before making a turn. That's every turn, mind you. Am I expected to lift a wing every time before making every turn? This just doesn't make sense to me. Is he right or wrong here?
Sincerely,
David
Greetings David:
He's absolutely right! I call this maneuver the chicken wing, and it's your best protection against becoming a dead duck. In a high-wing plane, you can't tell if there's an airplane slightly above your wing unless you lift it and look.
Sure, if you're in the middle of Kansas cruising at 10,500 feet, you can probably get away without lifting a wing before you turn. It's not likely that you'll hit anyone in this condition. Try this in busy terminal airspace and you'll unnecessarily expose yourself to a greater risk of colliding with another airplane.
If I were you, I think I'd spend more time with this instructor. He sounds like a wise person. Go back and ask him to chew you out some more, and put some teeth in it. This will help to embed the concept in your mind.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot for 32 years and a CFI for 28, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and owns a Beech A36 Bonanza. Visit his Web site ( www.rodmachado.com ).
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