Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
Learned a few things on a very recent trip from Savannah, GA to SE Michigan and back.
When I flew with my friend in Michigan yesterday, I became aware of how sloppy my flying has become. Several reasons: one is that I used to be really, really good hand flying under the hood, and my recollections far surpass present reality. Second, the planes I've flown, RV and others, have had good handling characteristics, lots of power, and most of them have had high drag when you wanted it. I've gotten out of the habit of flying nice traffic patterns because I've had airplanes that didn't require it. Bad form.
I've also been working on a procedure for engaging the autopilot right after takeoff and integrating it into everything else that needs to be done. So the procedure is: set everything up on the flight director, take off, retract flaps at 80 knots, pitch to 7 degrees, autopilot on, and then fuel pump off. Don't engage airspeed hold right over the runway because the autopilot may dive to get speed.
This procedure worked great twice yesterday, but didn't work on the third takeoff -- the autopilot wouldn't engage! Fortunately, fiddling with the autopilot disconnect button and the TOGA button got the autopilot happy again. I wonder how well I would have handled things on the first takeoff, racing to get out ahead of the thunderstorms (ten minutes after I took off, it poured), if the autopilot had decided not to cooperate...
So what are my new year's (it's gotta be new year's somewhere) resolutions?
* Fly precise traffic patterns and get really good at them again. No more screwing around with the pattern just because I can get away with it;
* Do an autopilot takeoff (almost) every time for practice and so that it becomes routine;
* Hand fly the -9A a lot more. Get really good and really precise at it;
* Always put the checklist down in the same place in the cockpit. Twice on this trip I hid it from myself;
* I know all the frequencies at my home airport so I never write them down. Not writing them down is a bad habit for when I go to an unfamiliar airport, like this afternoon, so start writing down frequencies and such.
* Develop and maintain really good habit patterns. When I was a newbie, good habits made flying easier. Now that aging is a fact of life, good habit patterns will help reduce mistakes and blunders;
I?m aware of the maxim that there?s always something more to learn, but sometimes I?m displeased with how much is left, or how much needs to be refreshed.
When I flew with my friend in Michigan yesterday, I became aware of how sloppy my flying has become. Several reasons: one is that I used to be really, really good hand flying under the hood, and my recollections far surpass present reality. Second, the planes I've flown, RV and others, have had good handling characteristics, lots of power, and most of them have had high drag when you wanted it. I've gotten out of the habit of flying nice traffic patterns because I've had airplanes that didn't require it. Bad form.
I've also been working on a procedure for engaging the autopilot right after takeoff and integrating it into everything else that needs to be done. So the procedure is: set everything up on the flight director, take off, retract flaps at 80 knots, pitch to 7 degrees, autopilot on, and then fuel pump off. Don't engage airspeed hold right over the runway because the autopilot may dive to get speed.
This procedure worked great twice yesterday, but didn't work on the third takeoff -- the autopilot wouldn't engage! Fortunately, fiddling with the autopilot disconnect button and the TOGA button got the autopilot happy again. I wonder how well I would have handled things on the first takeoff, racing to get out ahead of the thunderstorms (ten minutes after I took off, it poured), if the autopilot had decided not to cooperate...
So what are my new year's (it's gotta be new year's somewhere) resolutions?
* Fly precise traffic patterns and get really good at them again. No more screwing around with the pattern just because I can get away with it;
* Do an autopilot takeoff (almost) every time for practice and so that it becomes routine;
* Hand fly the -9A a lot more. Get really good and really precise at it;
* Always put the checklist down in the same place in the cockpit. Twice on this trip I hid it from myself;
* I know all the frequencies at my home airport so I never write them down. Not writing them down is a bad habit for when I go to an unfamiliar airport, like this afternoon, so start writing down frequencies and such.
* Develop and maintain really good habit patterns. When I was a newbie, good habits made flying easier. Now that aging is a fact of life, good habit patterns will help reduce mistakes and blunders;
I?m aware of the maxim that there?s always something more to learn, but sometimes I?m displeased with how much is left, or how much needs to be refreshed.