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Aviator90 Episode 8

Man: [0:31] Hey there again, and welcome to another episode of Aviator90 from Angle
of Attack. This time we'll be talking a bit about power management, safe air speeds, and
other basic aspects of flight. Now, usually when initially practicing to become a pilot you
just buzz around the pad or... But you guys are learning to become aviators, not pilots.
[0:52] Let's now run through a few scenarios with the airplane and test things out. First
off, let's just fly straight and level at full power. This is generally your cruise situation.
So, in a small aircraft like a 152 or 172, you're going to simply be at full power most of
the way, as long as we don't go pass the red line on the tachometer.
[1:17] As you can see, we get pretty good airspeed out of the aircraft when we aren't
climbing -- Just a nice steady pace. I'm now going to smoothly pull the power back to
where the engine is idle. You'll notice, without touching the controls, just the throttle; the
aircraft has a tendency to pitch down and lose altitude.
[1:34] Now if I was to add back pressure, you can see that the airspeed is really starting
to bleed off. Once we reach the bottom part of the white arc on the airspeed indicator, this
is a good indication we are about to go into a stall. So, let's not go into a stall now. That
will come later.
[1:52] I'm going to now add full power again, smoothly but quickly. This time let's climb
a bit. You'll remember this same situation from when we took off last episode. This is
your typical climb situation. You'll be at full throttle, and simply adjusting your pitch can
maintain an airspeed. We can even maintain something like 67 knots for example, so let's
shoot for that. That's our VY on this Cessna 152, from Carenado by the way.
[2:24] So, pick that 67 knots, which you'll put it just above the tick in between 60 and 70.
So, just kind of guessing where you're at, find that sweet spot on the yoke, the pitch that
you need, and then start to trim out that pressure. Usually the best way or almost always
the best way, to climb is to just get it set up with the trim. That way you don't have to
fight it the whole time.
[2:52] I know that some guys kind of set their trim when they're in crews, and then they
don't worry about it the rest of the time. So, just set your airspeed and trim off the
pressure. I'm sure that this will mainly just be something you'll learn over time, but do
your best to get the aircraft set up so it's running smoothly right at that 67 knots.
[3:20] All right, now, let's do the opposite. Let's pull out the power again and maintain a
steady descent at a specific airspeed. In fact, let's keep 75 knots throughout the entire
process just so you can feel how much of a difference that power makes. This will feel a
bit like a rollercoaster, perfectly normal for the situation. So as you can now see, we've
gone from one extreme to the other. It's like one big rainbow maneuver.

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[3:49] This particular scenario is much like your approach to land. It's better to keep
stable airspeeds throughout an approach so it is predictable and stable the whole way
down. So now let's ease up to 1, 500 rpm, still maintaining 75 knots. We know have a
very realistic and stable descent for a landing profile, notably without flaps; not bad at all.
[4:15] There's a saying out there that may help you remember some of these aspects.
They are, "Hitch equals airspeed. Power equals altitude." Although that is generally great
in theory, I want you to keep something in mind during these early moments in the air.
When a pilot is more experienced he doesn't think in his head, "All right, so, ahhhh. Pitch
is airspeed. Power is altitude. What should I do now?" Rather he just has a sense of what
to do.
[4:44] It may be too early to mention this now, but it's up to you to build a sense of the
mix between power and airspeed and when you need to adjust them. All of your flight
profiles are dependent upon knowing what you can and can't do. It's up to you to become
intimately familiar with your aircraft to know how it can be handled in different
situations. There's no one correct way to fly as long as it is flown correctly.
[5:12] Now I suppose the argument here would be what is correct, what is the definition?
You can only determine that with your own experience, so hand in there. Now with that
said, always be smooth. I don't mean like a cool guy. Don't jerk around the controls and
whip your head around. Be smooth with the throttle, the pitch, the roll, and remember
eventually they'll come in handy when you have passengers.
[5:39] All right, that'll do it for this episode. And if you are feeling a little overwhelmed
for now and just want to watch, you know, that's perfectly fine. We'll be back next
episode, talking about turns. Until then, throttle on!
Transcription by CastingWords