Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
This flight had two purposes: one was to take a friend flying, and the other was to collect some data for later analysis.
Said friend is a retired seminary professor -- he's taught at really big name seminaries, here and abroad -- and he is absolutely brilliant. And I've met and worked with any number of really smart people in my time. But, having ridden with him in his car, I wasn't anticipating a high level of mechanical sophistication, and above all didn't want him queasy. So...
Turns out his considerable gifts do not include the mechanical realm. The solution was to show him the altitude and heading knobs on the autopilot controller, which windows to look at on the PFD on his side, and have him turn the knobs. That got him in the loop and, in a very real sense, he was in control of the airplane and more comfortable. I also showed him how to take screen shots (hold down the MENU button for a few seconds), and those are now on their way to Bill at eHangar.org for his panel planner.
After a while, I did some 30? banks, some in level flight, some attempting to hold the same AOA as in level flight. I can see that there will be a lot of algebra ahead as I explore various hypotheses... And once we were in smooth air, I let the plane stabilize at various power settings, because it's easier IFR if you can set the power in advance and know what airspeed to expect. (When I tried that the other day in only slightly unsettled air, the up and down drafts gave a speed range of 19 knots at one power setting...)
A short, peaceful data collection flight, and a good time was had by all. Let's call that success!
Said friend is a retired seminary professor -- he's taught at really big name seminaries, here and abroad -- and he is absolutely brilliant. And I've met and worked with any number of really smart people in my time. But, having ridden with him in his car, I wasn't anticipating a high level of mechanical sophistication, and above all didn't want him queasy. So...
Turns out his considerable gifts do not include the mechanical realm. The solution was to show him the altitude and heading knobs on the autopilot controller, which windows to look at on the PFD on his side, and have him turn the knobs. That got him in the loop and, in a very real sense, he was in control of the airplane and more comfortable. I also showed him how to take screen shots (hold down the MENU button for a few seconds), and those are now on their way to Bill at eHangar.org for his panel planner.
After a while, I did some 30? banks, some in level flight, some attempting to hold the same AOA as in level flight. I can see that there will be a lot of algebra ahead as I explore various hypotheses... And once we were in smooth air, I let the plane stabilize at various power settings, because it's easier IFR if you can set the power in advance and know what airspeed to expect. (When I tried that the other day in only slightly unsettled air, the up and down drafts gave a speed range of 19 knots at one power setting...)
A short, peaceful data collection flight, and a good time was had by all. Let's call that success!