It has been stated that weather is not treated well in the flight training environment. Oh, there is a chapter in every training book that touches upon the weather and attempts to explain the basics so we can answer the questions on the knowledge test well enough to pass the exam. I have been flying, off and on, for nearly 30 years and I have had many flight reviews and aircraft checkouts, and not once have I had questions asked of me about my understanding of weather and how it relates to my type of flying. I don't have the magic answer on how best to continue to offer meaningful training on weather to pilots or even how to keep it in the ongoing training as we progress in our flying lives.
I would like to see more articles that deal with individual weather products by the National Weather Service forecast offices and its Aviation Weather Center. This would help to keep the products in front of the pilot instead of something being read by a distant voice on the phone. The Internet offers so much, and there are many outlets to obtain the various weather products to review prior to calling the Flight Service briefer. Reviewing such products before the call would make the briefing more meaningful. Winter will soon be gone and the convective season will be upon us. Articles on the thunderstorm season and the convective forecast products would be of great use as the season approaches.
Roger Williams
Medford, Oregon
A new student tackles patterns
I really enjoyed Ralph Butcher's article "Insights: Quadrilateralism" in the February issue. I received an introductory flight lesson for my sixtieth birthday. I have wanted to learn to fly as long as I can remember, and I am finally going to do something about it.
In the interim, I have been playing with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 with the Saitek X52 Flight Control System and Saitek Pro Rudder Pedals. The simulated airplane I have been "flying" is the Piper Archer II, since that is what I will be flying for real at the flight school.
The maneuver that I have been working on the most with the simulator is the traffic pattern. Right now I am having the most trouble keeping the bubble centered while making my 90-degree turns in the pattern. I'm getting better since connecting the rudder pedals, though. I know learning this skill is important to keep an airplane from the spin, and I don't think I would enjoy doing that!
Dan Howie
Matthews, North Carolina
What are those wrinkles?
The low lighting angle of the sun as shown on the February cover of AOPA Flight Training certainly reveals more than Cessna would likely highlight in its Skyhawk ads. I was trained to look for stress wrinkles on the top of the wing. The wing on this Skyhawk is stressed all right, but probably not from high wing loading. It is easy to visualize disrupted airflow over the wing in a shot like this. Don't get me wrong--I like Cessnas--but my preflight of this aircraft would take a little longer. I would be looking for clues not on the checklist before boarding.
Bruce W. Larsen
Billings, Montana
The strength and durability of Cessna's strut-braced wings are legendary and the envy of other manufacturers. However, it's not uncommon for Cessna singles to exhibit some slight wrinkling, often called oil canning, of the upper wing skins while in flight. There's nothing unsafe about it because the top skins of the wing do not carry an appreciable load in flight. And you probably will not be able to see these wrinkles during preflight, even if you stand on a ladder and closely inspect the upper wing surface; if they appear, it's usually only when the wing is producing lift. If wrinkles are visible during the preflight, it might be a sign that there has been outer wing damage (wing tip, leading edge skin, etc.) at some time in the past. Consult an airframe and powerplant mechanic and review the airframe logs to ensure that any damage was properly repaired and that the aircraft is airworthy.--Ed.
