Feelin’ it

A good pilot will sense a deviation from the desired performance of the airplane and make the required adjustment without relying on cockpit instrumentation.

“The ability to sense a flight condition, such as straight-and-level flight or a dive, without relying on cockpit instrumentation is often called ‘feeling the airplane,’” explains the Airplane Flying Handbook.” It starts as soon as your butt hits the seat.

When you start the airplane, listen to the sound from the engine and propeller and pay attention to the vibrations you feel from the controls and your seat. Just as you might feel your car’s engine doesn’t sound quite right, with experience listening to the sounds of the airplane’s engine and its vibrations you’ll become more acutely aware of what sounds normal and what you might need to get checked out.

When taking off, listen to the sound of increased throttle and the changes in airflow across the airframe. You can feel a noticeable “sinking” in your seat when you initiate your climb. Apply back-pressure gently on the control yoke or stick to establish your pitch attitude for your desired rate of climb. Avoid grabbing the yoke with both hands and “choking the stick.” This causes abrupt movements and makes it difficult to develop an accurate feel for the precise amount of back-pressure necessary to maintain your climb.

Right rudder should also be applied to counteract the aircraft’s tendency to yaw to the left. Pressure on the rudder pedals should be applied with the balls of the feet, with the heels resting comfortably on the floor. As with the yoke or stick, apply force in a controlled and smooth manner.

“If your instructor lets you fly with your feet on the floor, fire him,” said Tim Campbell, flight instructor and owner of Eagle East Aviation in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Set the pitch attitude using the sight picture out the windscreen, and verify using the instruments. This keeps your focus and vision exactly where it should be: outside the cockpit. Those views are the main reasons we fly anyway, aren’t they?

“I cover up the majority and sometimes all of the flight instruments including the tachometer with  Post-it notes,” Campbell said. “This keeps the student’s eyes out of the window and lets them feel adverse yaw, left turning tendencies, and high angle of attack to name a few.”

As you reach your desired altitude and level out, use the horizon as a guide as well as your seat to maintain the proper pitch attitude for straight and level flight. Take care to notice any “sinking” or “lifting” feeling. You’ll feel a lifting feeling if you’re entering a descent. Another way to look at it is, do you feel heavier or lighter? Do you feel stuck in your seat or do you feel like you’re floating?

Changes in airspeed also can give you a clue that you’re entering a climb or descent—but don’t fixate on the airspeed indicator. Listen to the sound of the air as it passes by the cockpit and airframe. As the level of sound increases, it is likely that the airplane’s airspeed is increasing and the pitch attitude is decreasing. As the noise decreases, the airplane’s pitch attitude is likely increasing and its airspeed decreasing.”

Also remember that your airspeed greatly affects the feel of the control yoke and rudder pedals. As airspeed decreases, the amount of pressure that must be exerted on the control surfaces and the lag in response time between their movement and the response of the airplane increases.

Instrument checks should only be made to determine if an adjustment in airspeed and pitch attitude is required. If necessary, the adjustment should be made in reference to the natural horizon and then the airplane’s performance rechecked by reference to the flight instruments. They should not be referenced while the adjustment is made. This would be flying by the instruments and you’re not an IFR pilot (yet).

As you initiate and maintain a banked turn, a downward pull into the seat can feel much like pulling up from a descent. As you become accustomed to how your butt feels in the seat during a bank you’ll be able to estimate with increasing accuracy how much back-pressure is necessary. Follow Campbell’s advice: “As you are passing through 30 degrees of bank, increase the back-pressure and lead your rollout by half your bank angle while releasing the back-pressure.”

As with climbs, descents should be established using outside visual references. Instrument checks should only be made to confirm the airplane’s performance. Corrections, if necessary, should be made by reference to the natural horizon and then rechecked by quick glances at the appropriate instruments. When performing a descent, feel how your body reacts and how changes in airspeed and pitch attitude move your butt in the seat. Engine noise during a descent can also be used to develop a pilot’s feel of the airplane.

In the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of the term “fly by the seat of your pants” is to do something difficult without the necessary skill or experience. This definition originated in the early days of aviation, when pilots had few fancy instruments to help them fly the airplane. They had to fly by feel.

Inability to sense changes in airspeed and pitch attitude through sound and feel is common, especially among student pilots. But this skill can be developed over time if the student makes a conscious effort of trying to sense what the airplane is doing without the use of the flight instruments. Remember Campbell’s advice: “There is no such thing as a perfect flight, but always strive for perfection.” Then you’ll really be flying by the seat of your pants.