These days aspiring professional pilots can find themselves in charge of a jet far quicker than pilots decades ago who paid their dues for years in piston or turboprop equipment. The jump from, say, a multiengine trainer to a swept-wing regional jet can be a shock if you’re not at least somewhat familiar with what’s coming.
Students at the big aviation universities get a big leg up on those working their way through the ranks. The universities teach classes on jet aerodynamics, systems, and crew operations. They likely have a simulator, flight-training device, or even a real jet in which to gain experience (see “Jet Set,” page 36). For those on the self-study plan, good old networking, a study of Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators, and keeping your nose in aviation magazines and websites geared toward aviation professionals will provide a good start.
Pilots hired off the street and plopped in the right seat of a regional jet have to learn crew operations, cockpit flows, turbine engine operation, the airline’s operations manual, and jump the chasm to a jet in a few months of daily training. And then there’s the swept-wing jet handling qualities and a whole new world of performance that’s foreign to pilots of piston and most turboprop aircraft.
Climbing, cruising, and descending at near-redline airspeeds was all new to me, having come from piston and turboprop airplanes. Before jets, I knew about climbing at certain airspeeds, and, upon reaching cruise altitude, allowing the airplane to accelerate to cruise speed. Except for a turboprop or high-powered piston twin at low altitude, airplanes I had flown never got close to the airspeed redline. In the jet, its excess power can easily propel the airplane through redline in most phases of flight.
To descend, instead of slightly reducing power or leaving the engine(s) at cruise power to take advantage of gravity to gain a little speed, the jet descends most efficiently at idle power. The low drag of the swept-wing jet allows it to descend at a high speed at a rate of about 2,000 to 3,000 feet per minute, depending on airspeed. But even at idle power, it’s still possible to exceed the airspeed redline in a jet. Speed brakes are installed to give the pilot a tool to control descent speeds.
Initially, it can be difficult to remember to slow down to 250 knots or less below 10,000 feet, since many of us never got close to that speed in piston airplanes. Another speed limit that isn't a factor in the piston world is the airspeed limit of 200 KIAS below Class B airspace and within four miles of the primary airport in Class C and D airspace. On departure, some jets can’t stay below 200 KIAS without drastically reducing power or leaving out some flaps.
In small airplanes, there’s typically only one or two numbers to remember regarding flaps; VFE is the max speed at which you can lower the flaps to a specific setting. In a jet, there are maximum and minimum speeds for each flap setting. In modern jets, these speeds are automatically bugged on your airspeed tape and are dependent on aircraft weight. You can’t simply raise the flaps after takeoff without accelerating to the next appropriate flap maneuvering speed.
Swept-wing jets also bring unique handling characteristics to the table. This is most noticed during crosswind landings. Step on a rudder pedal in a swept-wing jet and there is a pronounced roll in the same direction—much more so than would occur in a straight-wing airplane. Yawing a jet causes the forward-moving wing to become dramatically straighter, while the retreating wing becomes much more swept, the reason for the rolling motion. Jets have a big, powerful rudder to allow adequate control after failure of one of those powerful engines. Stab that big rudder with too much foot in a crosswind landing, and you can set up an overcontrolling roll that could scrape a wing tip or engine nacelle. YouTube has lots of great videos of pilots overdoing the rudder when landing jets in strong crosswinds.
Besides the geometry behind swept-wing jet handling, there is the geometry involved in location of the engines and power changes. Adding thrust to tail-mounted engines causes the airplane to pitch down. Pulling off the power does the opposite. It takes some getting used to for those of us who fly small propeller-driven airplanes that pitch up with power and pitch down when you reduce power.
While the jet transition can be a lot of new characteristics to swallow at once, rest assured that thousands of pilots have made the jump with little fuss. It just takes lots of study and time before it becomes just as comfortable as a primary trainer. The added performance is definitely worth the effort.
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