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Copyright © 2004 AOPA. | Training Tips
| WHY THE FLAP?
Inbound from a training flight, you prepare for your last landing of the afternoon. You'd like it to be a nice one because not only is it a pleasant way to finish up, but you want to confirm that your hard work in learning to land is paying off. As the airport draws near, however, your instructor has yet another new technique to show you. This will be your introduction to the no-flap landing.
 The no-flap landing is something that could be requested on your private pilot flight test to probe how you would handle a flap-system malfunction ( download and see Area of Operation X, Task B of the Practical Test Standards). It is an option all pilots of flap-equipped airplanes could consider under other circumstances, too. The aircraft's minimum controllable airspeed without flaps extended is higher than with flaps. Absent the induced drag of flaps, power/pitch changes will be your primary resource for adjusting airspeed and glidepath. Another tool to help correct your glidepath is the forward slip, discussed in the June 7, 2002, "Training Tips."
Once you're comfortable with them, include no-flap landings in future practice sessions. It's a level of proficiency that not all pilots maintain. "Students, as well as veteran pilots who have fallen into the rut of always using the same landing technique (typically partial flaps), are often reluctant to adopt the comparatively nose-high attitude required to slow down a flap-equipped airplane without using flaps. So they fly the approach much too fast, land long, and use up too much runway," cautions the "Accident Analysis" column in the December 2001 issue of AOPA Flight Training.
At an extremely busy airport, air traffic control might ask you to keep up your speed on final approach-another possible time for a no-flap landing, as Robert I. Snow discusses in the August 2001 AOPA Flight Training feature "Keep Up Your Speed." And in "Continuing Ed" in the June 2001 AOPA Flight Training, columnist Mark Twombly offers other reasons. "What if something imperfect pops up in the midst of a perfectly normal approach? What if an animal wanders onto the runway just as you cross the numbers? What if the flaps refuse to extend?"
Give yourself every advantage today, so handling the unexpected will be a matter of routine tomorrow.
| Your Partner in Training
| Forms, forms, and more forms! From AOPA services to selected FAA, Customs, FCC, and NTSB forms, you can find nearly everything you need on AOPA Online. If we don't have what you need, our Aviation Services staff will be able to direct you. Call weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern toll-free at 800/872-2672 or contact via e-mail.
Do you have a question? Call our experienced pilots-available weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern toll-free at 800/872-2672. AOPA Flight Training Members have access to all of the features within AOPA Online. Login information is available online.
| Flight Training News
| SANDERSON HONORED FOR EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENTS
If you use Jeppesen Sanderson instructional materials as you learn to fly, take a moment this week to thank Paul E. Sanderson for his role in the development of flight-training programs. The National Coalition for Aviation Education (NCAE) has already done that, naming Sanderson as the recipient of the 2004 Dr. Mervin K. Strickler Jr. Award for outstanding achievements in the field of aerospace education. Sanderson first began holding private pilot ground school classes in 1956 while developing an innovative multimedia approach that used filmstrips and phonograph records to keep students interested. His courses in flight schools, colleges, and high schools "played an integral role in general aviation's longest sustained run of student pilot starts," according to a Jeppesen news release. NCAE represents governments, industry, and aviation special-interest groups that promote aviation.
DANIEL WEBSTER TAPS NEW CHIEF INSTRUCTOR
Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire, has chosen one of its own to be director of flight education/chief instructor. Chris Castell is a graduate of the class of 1988 who stayed on as a flight instructor and most recently had been assistant director of flight operations/flight services. He also was a pilot for Precision Airlines, Business Express, and TWA.
FAA PULLS BACK SPORT PILOT RULE
The Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft initiative has been delayed once again. The proposed rule was withdrawn from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 24 so that the FAA can answer questions about the proposal's economic costs and benefits. The 90-day OMB review is the final step in the approval process for the new level of pilot certificate and accompanying aircraft category. AOPA has been advocating on behalf of the initiative because sport pilots would be permitted to fly low-performance aircraft and use a driver's license in lieu of a medical certificate. Industry observers say the temporary delay is a minor setback and still expect the final rule to be approved soon.
| Inside AOPA
| MEIGS FIELD ONE YEAR LATER: A LOOK AT THE LEGACY
In the early morning hours nearly one year ago, heavy equipment rumbled through the fence around Meigs Field and carved trenches in the runway under orders from Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Although it was a horrific scene, many positive things have come out of the unsuccessful effort to save the waterfront airport. The long effort, for instance, helped lead to the creation of the AOPA Airport Support Network in 1997 and a new federal law, the "Meigs Legacy" provision, which imposes hefty fines on anybody who closes an airport without proper notice to the FAA. "We look back with both horror and pride," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Horror at the loss of an airport, but pride in the extraordinary efforts that AOPA and our members put in to trying to save Meigs. And pride in the continuing-and successful-efforts to preserve other general aviation airports." See AOPA Online.
| Training Products
| GET A HEADSET ADAPTER FOR COMM1 TRAINING PROGRAMS
The folks who created Comm1 Radio Simulator and related communications programs have further refined this popular line of training software by introducing the AudioPilot aviation headset adapter. The AudioPilot lets you plug in your own aviation headset to use with the Comm1 programs or any PC-based flight simulation program. Your headset filters out ambient room noises while you are in the virtual cockpit. Headset jacks plug into the AudioPilot unit, which in turn is hooked into your PC's sound card, so there's no software to install. The AudioPilot sells for $34.95. Order it online from Comm1.
| | Final Exam | Question: I've been practicing steep turns with my instructor, and the last time we were flying he mentioned something called a "chandelle." Can you tell me what kind of a maneuver that is?
Answer: The chandelle is a 180-degree climbing turn flown at maximum continuous power that concludes with the airplane about 5 knots above its stall speed. It's an advanced performance maneuver that has to be mastered for the commercial and flight instructor certificates. The parameters for the chandelle are described in the Commercial Pilot Practical Test Standards, which you can find on AOPA Online. Flight instructors say that learning to fly a chandelle improves rudder coordination and teaches the pilot to think ahead and look ahead. An added benefit is that it forces you to take your eyes off the instrument panel, so you learn to feel if the airplane is coordinated without fixating on the turn coordinator. You don't have to be a commercial pilot or CFI to learn how to fly chandelles. Ask your CFI to demonstrate one, and try it yourself with him or her in the right seat.
Got a technical question for AOPA specialists? E-mail to [email protected] or call 800/872-2672. Don't forget the online archive of "Final Exam" questions and answers, searchable by keyword or topic.
| Picture Perfect
| The AOPA Online Gallery allows you to download your favorite images to use for wallpaper, send a personalized e-card, and order high-quality prints to be shipped directly to your doorstep. Search the hundreds of fabulous images in our archives and select your favorites today! For more details, see AOPA Online.
| What's New At AOPA Online
| Ready to take your knowledge test? Download our updated list of testing centers.
| Weekend Weather
| See the current weather on AOPA Online, provided by Meteorlogix.
| ePilot Calendar
| WEEKEND FLYING DESTINATIONS
Burnet, Texas. The Bluebonnet Airshow takes place April 10 at Burnet Municipal Kate Craddock Field (BMQ). Presented by the Highland Lakes Squadron, Commemorative Air Force, featuring the A-10 Demo Team and Thunderbolt Heritage Flight. Contact Howard Martin, 512/756-2226, or visit the Web site.
Lakeland, Florida. The Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In takes place April 13 through 19 at Lakeland Linder Regional (LAL). A week-long celebration of flight with thousands of aircraft of every size and shape, plus hundreds of educational activities, daily airshow, and lots more! Visit the Web site for more information. And don't miss AOPA Day on April 16. AOPA members receive a $5 discount on admission and the chance to win prizes.
To submit an event to the calendar, or search all events, visit AOPA Online. For airport details, see AOPA's Airport Directory Online .
ASF FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR REFRESHER CLINICS
The next AOPA Air Safety Foundation Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics are scheduled in San Diego; Tampa, Florida; and Boston; April 17 and 18. Clinics are also scheduled in Cincinnati, Ohio; Salt Lake City; and Reston, Virginia; April 24 and 25. For a complete schedule, see AOPA Online. Can't make it in person? Sign up for the CFI Renewal Online.
ASF PINCH-HITTER GROUND-SCHOOL COURSES
The next Pinch-Hitter® Ground School will take place in Tampa, Florida, April 18. For more Pinch-Hitter courses, see AOPA Online.
ASF SAFETY SEMINARS
AOPA Air Safety Foundation Safety Seminars are scheduled in Lakeland, Florida, April 15 through 18. For complete details on topics and schedules, see AOPA Online.
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