Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 01.21.06

A deer runs onto the runway -- you need to go around.  Add power, raise the nose, start flap retraction…and push forward on the controls.  Does this sound right to you?  In many airplanes (maybe the one you fly), it is.

Trim...

Trim tabs greatly reduce the work of flying. Imagine what it would be like to fly without the ability to “trim off” the forces of flight. When you trim the airplane, especially in pitch (using elevator trim), you’re manipulating the controls so that the airplane remains at a constant air flow over the airframe. You read this in the cockpit as indicated airspeed.

So long as power and drag (flaps, retractable landing gear) remain constant, a trimmed airplane will tend to remain at a constant airspeed. Upset the balance with a power or drag change, or encounter turbulence, and the airplane will nose up or down as appropriate in an attempt to return to the trimmed airspeed.

If from this trimmed state you reduce power or add drag and slow the airspeed, you’ll need to trim the airplane more nose-up to overcome control forces. In some airplanes flap and/or landing gear position changes may change the center of lift and/or gravity, also requiring a trim change.

...and Trimmed Stalls

The result in many airplanes: trim off pressures on final approach, and the trim setting may be more nose-up than the safe takeoff position. If you need to go around, the airplane will attempt to maintain speed—except that the airplane will likely pitch up excessively before settling on its trimmed speed, getting dangerously slow. Adding power also usually pitches the nose up further, making a departure stall even more likely. To counter the threat you may need to apply forward pressure on the stick or yoke to keep the nose at a safe climb attitude until you retrim.

Aero-tip of the day: Find an instructor experienced in your airplane type and get a few thousand feet up on a clear day. Enter a simulated “short final” approach at altitude, in a full-flap landing configuration, and trim the elevator for a hands-off descent. Then try a go-around to see how much forward pressure your airplane needs to avoid a “trimmed stall.”

FMI: Aero-Tips