Insights

What to do; when to do it

Flimflam refers to those who deceive, trick, or swindle others. That's what I call pilots who do not fly efficiently. They have habits that are counterproductive to proper flight management and airplane performance; they are deceiving, tricking, and swindling the airplane.

It starts with departures. The first goal is to quickly reach a safe altitude--one that provides a suitable forced landing option. That mandates a rapid acceleration to the best rate of climb speed, V_Y, which is maintained to the safe altitude. Rapid acceleration to V_Y will occur at liftoff if you move the yoke forward slightly in order to maintain the liftoff pitch attitude for a few seconds. This counteracts the airplane's natural pitch-up tendency, which retards acceleration.

A departure obstacle mandates the best angle of climb airspeed, V_X. When above the obstacle, decrease pitch attitude, accelerate to V_Y, and continue the normal climb profile. Do not retract flaps or landing gear until you have cleared the obstacle and decreased pitch attitude.

Upon reaching the safe altitude, a decision is required. Are you headed in the direction of your intended route or in the opposite direction? If the heading is correct, decrease pitch attitude and establish a cruise climb--a climb that produces good forward speed for engine cooling, better over-the-nose visibility, and a reasonable climb rate--usually 500 fpm in an unpressurized airplane. If heading is incorrect, do not accelerate until you have turned toward your desired heading. You do that by continuing the V_Y climb above the safe altitude or by leveling off at reduced airspeed.

At cruise altitude, use maximum cruise power for speed; use best-economy cruise power for fuel economy or best range. During training flights in the local practice area, reduce to slow cruise power when you reach that location unless another power setting is required for the first maneuver after you have cleared the area for traffic.

Descents are mismanaged more than any other flight segment. For efficient operation, use a cruise descent--a high-speed descent that uses cruise power and a 500-fpm descent rate. Do not use a higher descent rate in unpressurized airplanes when you carry passengers who are not accustomed to flying. Reduce power if necessary to stay out of the airspeed indicator's yellow arc (below V_NO), maintain maneuvering speed (V_A) when flying in moderate to severe turbulence, or fly even slower in turbulent air if a more comfortable ride is desired.

To quickly determine the top of descent point, start with a groundspeed in miles per minute (mpm) using a whole number--2 mpm for 120 knots will work for many training aircraft. At 2 mpm and 500 fpm, you'll travel four miles for every 1,000 feet of descent; at 3 mpm (180 kt) and 500 fpm, you'll travel six miles for every 1,000 feet of descent.

Now consider traffic pattern entry. You definitely want to be at pattern altitude as you approach the airport, because it's easier to see other aircraft when you have a sky background. A late descent into the airport traffic area makes traffic observation nearly impossible, because the Earth's surface seems to swallow other aircraft. If terrain permits, plan to terminate the cruise descent when you are four or five miles from the airport so that you can decelerate to slow cruise airspeed while approaching the traffic pattern's downwind leg.

For example, assume that cruise altitude is 7,500 feet, traffic pattern altitude is 1,200 feet, and the estimated cruise-descent groundspeed is 140 kt. That's approximately a 6,000-foot descent and a 2-mpm groundspeed, which would require 24 miles. However, you're about 15 percent faster than 120 kt, so make the descent distance 28 miles and add four miles for the deceleration segment at pattern altitude. Your top-of-descent point is about 32 miles from the airport.

When student pilots depart the practice area and head for home, they should use maximum cruise power and a cruise descent. Their lack of experience has no bearing on their ability to mentally compute a top-of- descent point and fly efficiently.

You usually determine the top-of-descent point during cross-country flight planning. What I've described is for flights where that planning activity does not occur. Using the mental guesstimates I described and common sense instead of a flight calculator, you will keep your eyes pointed outside the cockpit--a mandatory flight safety requirement--and you'll quickly discover how well it works, not to mention the time and money that you'll save.

Don't be a flimflam pilot. Manage the airplane so that it gives you its best performance.

Ralph Butcher, a retired United Airlines captain, is the chief flight instructor at a California flight school. He has been flying since 1959 and has 25,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Visit his Web site.