Always Learning

Eager to try something different, I asked my flight instructor to use the Mountain & Backcountry Flying Focused Flight Review, one of eight scenario-based flight reviews offered by the AOPA Air Safety Institute (focusedflightreview.org). He enthusiastically embraced the change of pace.

The hour of ground training included topics specific to backcountry flying including density altitude, mountain weather, and pilot technique and decision making.

Unlike the practical test you take to earn your pilot certificate, a flight review allows you to ask questions and your instructor to teach. It’s a terrific opportunity to brush up on knowledge you may have forgotten since you earned your certificate (or since your last flight review) and add to your repertoire of flying techniques.

Ground complete, we took off in my Cessna 140 for the flight training portion of the review.

We practiced turning stalls to simulate poorly executed approaches and go-arounds at backcountry strips. Maintaining proper flight control coordination throughout the stall is critical to avoid a wing unexpectedly dropping, potentially delaying stall recovery while close to the ground.

With some imagination in the flatlands of Illinois, I performed an emergency canyon turn—a maneuver intended to reverse course in the smallest radius possible to escape the tight confines of a box canyon. This one surprised me. I was able to slow to 65 knots, bank 45 degrees, and pull the control wheel almost all the way aft without stalling—even without flaps. The turn was much tighter than I expected.

A chandelle followed. This maximum-performance climbing turn can be used to demonstrate skills required to avoid rising mountainous terrain while at the same time reversing course. I learned this maneuver in a Piper Arrow while training for my commercial certificate, and at that time its application seemed academic. Flying the chandelle in this scenario helped me understand why these skills might be useful in an emergency.

Upon rolling wings level at the top of the chandelle, my engine “quit.” A simulated engine failure always occurs during the flight review—it’s just a matter of when and where. After trimming for best glide speed, I spotted a private airport about 3 miles away and flew toward it. Each step of this emergency procedure can be found in “Technique: Off-Airport Landing,” p. 30.

We were 2,500 feet above the ground and already lined up with the runway, so I entered a forward slip. This allowed me to bleed off excess altitude as I approached the airport for a straight-in landing.

It all worked out great, and at 500 feet my instructor told me to go around. I turned off the carburetor heat and as I applied power the engine quit—for real. We were both startled; the training scenario became real. My instinctive reaction had been drilled into me by many instructors: When equipment on the airplane stops working as expected, undo the last change you made. This works for engine controls, fuel selectors, avionics, and more—and it worked for us. Application of carb heat immediately brought the engine back to life, and I was able to ease in full throttle and make a climbing turn around the airport, just to be safe.

Although the glide had lasted less than three minutes, my failure to periodically open the throttle for a few seconds to keep the engine warm (known as clearing the engine) had enabled carb ice to build up, even with carb heat on.

My ASI Focused Flight Review was a success. I was able to hone skills for backcountry flying, learn a few tricks from a flight instructor who has different mountain flying experience than I, and gain confidence in emergency techniques I hope I never have to use.