knirob

It's just like driving your car (albeit from the other side of the "cockpit"). You don't look across the centre of the bonnet whilst driving, you look straight ahead over your side of it to assess where your car is going to go. Flying an aeroplane is no different unless you are seated in the centre of the cockpit.

I don't have access to Rob's article so forgive me if he has already covered this. We instructors need to teach good rudder usage countering adverse yaw in coordinated turns. In 31 years of teaching flying, however, I have found that students and flight review (every two years in US) pilots do have problems with keeping the longitudinal axis aligned with a target in cruise, on the localizer, and on the final to landing visually in a no wind or with the wind right down the runway landing.First, why does this longitudinal alignment problem not come up as often in a side slip to a crosswind landing? Is this a clue to what is being done wrong in calm air. Too many pilots try to make coordinated turns on final. This causes the snaking Poteroo mentioned.

 

Engaging a target, enemy on the ground, numbers, distant true course feature, centerline on takeoff, etc., requires that we align the longitudinal axis of our aircraft with the target using rudder only. The use of coordinated aileron is what is confusing the issue and causing snaking. Just like in the side slip to counter drift with a wing banked into the wind, we hold the nose (between our legs in side by side aircraft) on the centerline with rudder. It is like patting your head while rubbing your tummy. Or like using a backhoe effectively or hovering a helicopter.

 

This rudder control, except in an upset by gust or whatever, needs be dynamic and proactive. If we just push a rudder and then release, static and reactive, the wing opposite the rudder pushed will speed up in the yaw and rise a bit. That is not a problem, in smooth air, if we move the rudders to make the nose go just left of target, just right of target, repeatedly all the way off in takeoff or all the way down final and rollout in landing. It is this dynamic, proactive rudder or anti-torque pedal movement while locking the wing or tip path plane level with aileron or cyclic, this uncoordinated control usage, that makes us a pro on takeoff, keeping the wing level in cruise or on the localizer, and on landing.

I don't have access to Rob's article so forgive me if he has already covered this. We instructors need to teach good rudder usage countering adverse yaw in coordinated turns. In 31 years of teaching flying, however, I have found that students and flight review (every two years in US) pilots do have problems with keeping the longitudinal axis aligned with a target in cruise, on the localizer, and on the final to landing visually in a no wind or with the wind right down the runway landing.First, why does this longitudinal alignment problem not come up as often in a side slip to a crosswind landing? Is this a clue to what is being done wrong in calm air. Too many pilots try to make coordinated turns on final. This causes the snaking Poteroo mentioned.

 

Engaging a target, enemy on the ground, numbers, distant true course feature, centerline on takeoff, etc., requires that we align the longitudinal axis of our aircraft with the target using rudder only. The use of coordinated aileron is what is confusing the issue and causing snaking. Just like in the side slip to counter drift with a wing banked into the wind, we hold the nose (between our legs in side by side aircraft) on the centerline with rudder. It is like patting your head while rubbing your tummy. Or like using a backhoe effectively or hovering a helicopter.

 

This rudder control, except in an upset by gust or whatever, needs be dynamic and proactive. If we just push a rudder and then release, static and reactive, the wing opposite the rudder pushed will speed up in the yaw and rise a bit. That is not a problem, in smooth air, if we move the rudders to make the nose go just left of target, just right of target, repeatedly all the way off in takeoff or all the way down final and rollout in landing. It is this dynamic, proactive rudder or anti-torque pedal movement while locking the wing or tip path plane level with aileron or cyclic, this uncoordinated control usage, that makes us a pro on takeoff, keeping the wing level in cruise or on the localizer, and on landing.

If you want a copy of my piece on the evils of inadequate yaw training, contact me on [email protected] and I will forward one to you. Rob Knight.