Landing Analysis

Leo is a new Private Pilot student starting his landing pattern work. I had the FBO fuel the plane with 10 gallons of 100LL while we went into the pilot's lounge to brief for the flight. We discussed the various ways to enter a traffic pattern and I told him that the 45° entry was still my preferred entry because it provides the best opportunity to see other planes in the pattern.

Due to the busy traffic at Tampa Executive, I decided to fly the 10 minutes east to Plant City where it is usually a lot quieter. Today we had a Piper Cub to do our circuits with and I really enjoyed watching him from the hold short line as we waited for our turn.

At this stage of training there is a lot to do:

Land-1: INTRODUCTION TO TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS 

NEW LESSON ITEMS: Traffic Pattern Entries; Collision Avoidance and Scanning procedures in the Traffic Pattern; Traffic Patterns to low approaches and full stop; takeoffs and landings; go-arounds. Introduction to proper radio procedures.

COMPLETION STANDARDS: The lesson will have been successfully completed when the student: is able to fly ground reference maneuvers with altitude +/- 150 feet, airspeed +/- 15 knots; has shown an increase in proficiency in flying the rectangular pattern, with altitude +/- 150 feet, airspeed +/- 15 knots, as well as uses proper scanning and collision avoidance procedures; the student will show an understanding of go-around procedures and how to recover from bouncing and ballooning during landings; the student will be able to make landings with occasional instructor assistance. 

I demonstrated a 45° entry and gave the airplane controls to him once we taxied clear of RWY10. I handled the radio so that he could concentrate on his basic airwork. I've found that 4 or 5 attempts are enough stress on the student for one session.

I always try to video the students first attempts. It serves as a baseline to show progress on future flights, but more importantly, the video serves as an analysis tool to provide feedback on the flight.

"I appreciate that you took the time and effort to produce and edit that video and insert your comments, the video is an invaluable tool for illustrating errors. It clearly shows how my perceptions of what was happening differed from reality. I was worried that my track was wildly inconsistent and the GPS track shows that I was extremely consistent with my path (although it was not the correct path), and the GPS also illustrates that my course wandered left more than I perceived, particularly when I started the focusing on my preparations for landing and focused on the altitude, speed, flaps, etc." ~ Leo

Video Notes: Learning to Land 

Annual Requirements

Annual Condition Inspection. A detailed inspection accomplished once a year on an LSA in accordance with instructions provided in the maintenance manual supplied with the aircraft. The purpose of the inspection is to look for any wear, corrosion, or damage that would cause an aircraft to not be in a condition for safe operation.

The guidebook on who can do what is the maintenance manual (MM) specific to that aircraft. This manual includes information on the condition inspections, repair of the airplane, and authorization for repairs and maintenance. Each task outlined in the MM defines who is authorized to perform that duty—whether it’s the sport pilot certificate (or higher) holder, an A&P, or an LSRMA. 

I decided early on that I was not mechanically inclined. Dad had taught me to turn a wrench on my 1963 Corvair convertible, but I was only average at doing the work. Other car projects came and went with the same results, acceptable but not professional. Sally needs a professional.

I picked Todd up at the Orlando Airport on Saturday night. He had his tools in his checked bag, just under 50#s. After a diner breakfast the next morning, we went out to the hangar to see Sally. I had the cowling and pants off already and was assigned the task of removing inspection plates. He walked around her taking notes, pointing out areas of concern, asking if I had noticed a problem with this or that. Sally has really been running well so I had no complaints to speak of (except the left break occasionally made a "galunka lunka sound). After a while, we headed out to pick up some grease and other lubricants, then stopped for a burger before returning to complete the work. He has some really cool tools. It was a long 8 hour day. But it wasn't over. After dinner, he sat at the kitchen counter and updated my maintenance logs. Certus has created a binder system that provides an owner with an organized view of what has been accomplished and when additional tasks should be completed.

I learned a lot.

I took him back to the Orlando Airport Monday morning.

Should I trim?

I remember when it was a crank on the overhead between the pilot and copilot. Then it as a lever on the side of the cockpit and then  a large wheel on the throttle quadrant. There are other types of trim controls in different locations that I no longer remember but each became second nature to use after a very short period of time. Why? It's just too much work to constantly apply stick (or yoke) pressure to have the airplane fly the path you want it to fly. Once trimmed, you can let her fly (with minor adjustments) and enjoy the ride.

Position the airplane where you want it with the stick, then trim off the pressure. You will need to trim whenever the speed changes.

1) Takeoff: Most checklists tell you to trim to the neutral or takeoff position. This places your trim surface in a position for neutral pressure around Vy. As you lift off, you'll initially need back pressure on the yoke. As you accelerate to Vy, back pressure decreases, and will eventually be neutral.
2) Climb: After liftoff, wait to re-trim the aircraft until you've adjusted your climb configuration. Retracting the flaps will cause your plane to pitch up or down, and you'll need to re-trim to keep the nose pitched for Vy.
3) Cruise: As soon as you level off at your cruise altitude, you start accelerating. Set your cruise power setting and wait for your airspeed to stabilize. While this is happening, start applying nose-down trim in small increments to prevent the aircraft from climbing. (eh, let the airplane accelerate to cruise speed then trim off the pressure.) This requires some fine tuning, but once you're trimmed, you can let go of the yoke, and your plane won't pitch up or down.
4) Maneuvers: You should trim in every maneuver. Whether it's holding altitude setting up for a stall, or relieving control pressures in a steep turn, using trim during maneuvers will make you a master of the airplane. (eh, not so much. If the maneuver is going to happen over a short period of time I recommend you get a feel for the maneuver without trimming off the control stick pressure.)
5) Descent: This one depends on your descent. If you plan to a do a powered descent, you'll need nose-down trim in order to prevent the aircraft from wanting to climb again. If you do a power-off descent, you'll need nose-up trim in order to prevent the aircraft from pitching down too aggressively.
6) Traffic Pattern: You should use trim in each leg of the traffic pattern. Remember to re-trim the aircraft each time you reconfigure or change airspeed!
7) Landing: One place most people don't think to use trim is during the round out and flare. If you have electric trim, it makes landing much easier. As you enter the flare, add some nose-up trim to relieve back pressure. This helps you fine-tune your landing, and grease the plane on to the runway. (eh no, don't do this. Hand fly the round out and flare to get a much better feel for the landing.)

From: Boldmethod

I had a chance to fly with a student in the landing pattern.

Land-2: TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS 

TIME: 1-2 hours Ground Instruction; 1-2 hours Flight Instruction; Optional Video Capture

• REVIEW LESSON ITEMS: Turns around a point; S-Turns along a reference line; Rectangular Patterns, proper radio procedures
• NEW LESSON ITEMS: Traffic Pattern Entries; Collision Avoidance and Scanning procedures in the Traffic Pattern; Traffic Patterns to low approaches; takeoffs and landings; go-arounds. 
• COMPLETION STANDARDS: The lesson will have been successfully completed when the student: is able to fly ground reference maneuvers with altitude +/- 150 feet, airspeed +/- 15 knots; has shown an increase in proficiency in flying the traffic pattern, with altitude +/- 150 feet, airspeed +/- 15 knots, and maintains appropriate headings and distance from the runway, as well as uses proper scanning and collision avoidance procedures; the student will show an understanding of go-around procedures and how to recover from bouncing and ballooning during landings; the student will be able to make landings with occasional instructor assistance. 

With the local weather getting hot by late morning, we decided to just stay in the pattern and bounce.

Video Notes: Landing Project