Airmanship Principles: Taxi and Takeoff

Transcription

1 Transcript Airmanship Principles: Taxi and Takeoff Featuring: Bob Martens and Wally Moran Copyright PilotWorkshops.com, LLC. This material is available to members of the PilotWorkshops.com web site, which is the only place it can be legally obtained. If you received this material from any other online or commercial source, please let us know by sending an to

2 Bob: Wally, I think we're ready to finally start engines. What would you recommend in this area? Wally: Well Bob, I think you can recognize a good airman simply by listening to them start the aircraft engine. There are some traits, if you just watch and listen. You know, when I hear an engine roar on startup I've already developed an impression about that pilot's airmanship. The high RPM right after start is bad for a couple of reasons. First of all, that engine is cold. Those parts are not properly lubricated, and you put a lot of wear on the engine when you first start it. Keeping the RPM lower saves that wear and tear. And further, when that engine roars, you're blowing dirt and sand and making noise on the ramp. Another issue, Bob, is the pilot who cranks and cranks and cranks without getting his engine started. If the engine doesn't start after a few revolutions it either doesn't have enough fuel or it has too much -- one or the other. So make a decision. Decide which procedure to use and complete the procedure. Either give it more prime or clear the engine and then try it again. Continuous cranking is only going to do one thing; wear out the starter and ultimately wind up with a dead battery. Bob: One pet peeve of mine, Wally, while we're starting the engine, is the subject of clearing. You know most of us will do a brief clear, and some say it louder than others. But the intent is really just to clear the area, and are we really doing that? Is there somebody around our airplane that may be affected by us rotating that propeller? And I think we have to approach it as a very positive action and make sure that we're genuinely clearing the area before we start that propeller in motion. Wally: That's for sure. That thing is a dangerous weapon out there and it can create a lot of havoc on the ramp. So we sure want to be absolutely positive that nothing's in the way. Bob: Okay, we got the engine started. We're getting ready to taxi. How can we wow our fellow aviators when in the taxi mode? It seems like such a subtle area. What would you offer us? Wally: First of all, a good airman is going to have their taxi chart out and available. Even though you might be familiar with the airport, having that taxi chart available will solve a lot of problems for you when you get some sort of a clearance that you haven't expected. Bob, did you know that the airlines require both pilots to have their taxi chart out before the airplane is moved? Bob: It's a great idea. Wally: You bet. That way, if you have your taxi chart out and you've listened to the ATIS, you know what runway they're taking off on. You can pretty much anticipate the Copyright PilotWorkshops.com 1

3 taxi clearance you're going to get. Therefore, you're going to sound more professional when you talk to that ground controller. And you'll immediately know if you have any questions about the route, and you can clear that up with him before you start to move the airplane. It's hard to look at the taxi diagram and taxi the airplane at the same time. Then as we begin to taxi, you need to think about how much power you need to make the airplane move. I often see people add a bunch of power even before releasing the brakes just sort of as a habit; just step on the gas and see what we need. Most of the time, the airplane will roll away from the blocks at idle power or very near idle power. So there's really no need to use any more power than necessary. You're just blowing things around and you're making noise. Then of course, we need to check the brakes shortly after we start to move. Bob: Boy, we can sure tell when the pilot's doing that, can't we, Wally? Wally: Ha-ha, we sure can. There's no need to jerk the passengers around, and hit your head on the dashboard. Just a smooth touch on the brakes will be adequate to let you know that they're working. My plan is to move the passengers if possible without them ever realizing they've left the blocks. I try to move the airplane as smoothly as I can in all phases of flight. And one of the things you can do to smooth out your taxiing is to work on your stopping technique. If we approach a stop with a lot of brakes on, as we often do with our car, you'll get a fore and aft jerk as the airplane comes to a stop. If you can be slowly releasing brake pressure as the airplane comes to a stop, you won't even feel that airplane stop. So now next time you take a ride on an airliner, you can judge the airmanship of that captain and see how well he or she stops the airplane. You'll notice a difference if you pay attention. And you can do the same thing with your Cessna. Bob: One of the areas that I think this just enhances is a concept I become more and more a believer in every day. And that is becoming one with our airplane. You know, the fighter pilot mentality is always to go out there and strap the airplane to your body and take it out for a ride. And quite frankly, that's not a bad way to approach it. I mean, it's not you against the machine. It's you and the machine you know, acting as one, and the harmony and smoothness is once again elevating our game to where we really want to be as pilots. Wally: That's right. I agree with that, Bob. Another airmanship issue on taxi is using too much power. Many pilots have the power up, and they're actually riding the brakes. So all they're doing is wasting fuel and wasting their brakes. Further, that heats up the brakes so that they may not be available should they be needed for a high speed aborted takeoff or some other serious taxi problem. So never use any more power than is necessary. Copyright PilotWorkshops.com 2

4 Bob: There're some additional subtleties here that I think will help our pilots, that I know you and I have talked about before. Let's talk a little bit about the discipline of taxiing on centerline, and always having the proper crosswind controls in as we go out from our taxi spot to the end of the runway. Wally: You bet. It costs the airport a lot of money to paint those yellow lines on the ramps and on the taxiways, and they put them there to help us, Bob. If we stay on the yellow line we should be assured of maximum wingtip clearance. And obviously that's an important factor as we're taxiing in tight areas. Crosswind controls -- it's a discipline thing. If we do it every day it will become a habit that is easy to do for us. If we only do it on a day when it's really windy we're probably going to make a mistake, and instead of helping the situation we're going to aggravate the situation. I often see that with pilots. Bob: Okay, Wally. We're ready to launch. As we enter this critical phase of our flight, now, let's look at some of the fine points and some of the attention to detail that we want the airmen looking for as they get ready to go. Wally: Well, before you push that microphone button to tell Mr. Tower Guy you're ready to go, just pause and think about what you're going to say for a moment. Double check that you have the proper frequency on the radio. How many times have we heard people call for takeoff on ground control frequency? Think about what you're going to say, decide which way you want to go, and how you want to leave the pattern, so that when you call the tower you can get all that in there. If you forget to tell him those things on the first call, he has to call you back and ask you what you're going to do after takeoff. Then you have to tell him. And all that does is contribute to frequency congestion, and let everybody else that's listening to the radio realize that you're not the best airman that you could have been. Bob: What is a good airman looking for now as they take the active? You're cleared, onto the runway. Wally: There are two things you should be thinking of, at least. Take a look at that windsock. That's the best indicator of the wind you're going to have on your takeoff, and it's usually very close to the end of the runway. And of course, I always check for traffic on final. Controllers can make mistakes just like pilots can. Now, once you're cleared for takeoff, be sure you're ready to go. Sitting out on the runway is not a good place to be rearranging our charts or winding our clock or scratching our nose. Be ready to go before you call that guy so when he does clear you for takeoff, you can get out there and go. We don't want to be sitting on that runway any longer than we have to. Copyright PilotWorkshops.com 3

5 Bob: And you talk about talking on the radio. How about listening on the radio? You know, if you've been cleared for takeoff, and somebody else has been cleared to land these things happen. There was a horrific accident out in Los Angeles several years ago. You know, the poor pilot was struck as he was sitting on the runway, and it wasn't his fault. But he did have the opportunity and he did listen to the Tower -- and so situational awareness, what's going on around me -- certainly does affect you and we can't be myopic as we're taking the runway for takeoff. Wally: That's for sure. I don't like to be in position and holding any longer than I have to with my back to the traffic. Therefore, if you're ready to go when you tell the guy in the tower, you'll be able to roll out and complete that takeoff quickly and reduce the opportunities for those kinds of runway incursions. Bob: Okay, how about the mechanics now? You're ready to go, ready to make everything come together. How do you do that smoothly, efficiently and professionally? Wally: Well first of all, we're going to use that centerline on the runway. That's not just three feet to the left or three feet to the right. If we go out there and get that nose wheel right on the centerline and do our best to keep it there all the time, that will soon become a habit. If you watch the corporate pilots and the airline pilots as they land and taxi, you're going to find those nose wheels are right on the centerline. And it seems to me if it's good enough for them, that's where we want to be also. We also want to be sure that we have our heels on the floor not up on the brakes. If we're dragging those brakes on takeoff we're not helping our performance at all, and we're heating up the brakes unnecessarily. During the takeoff role there's really no need to hold the yoke forward to keep pressure on that nose wheel. If you can just let it ride neutral you're going to smooth out some of the bumps on the runway and we're going to reduce stress on the nose gear. And of course we're going to do what our Pilot Operating Handbook tells us. If it suggests something else we'll follow that. Now as we begin to smoothly raise the nose for liftoff when those left turning tendencies start to pull us over to the left, that's the P factor. Remember that, Bob? Bob: Oh absolutely. Wally: If you're a good airman, you'll recognize this is going to happen, and you'll add just a little bit of right rudder as the nose comes up so that you can stay exactly on the centerline. And having thought this through before takeoff, it won't be a surprise to us when it happens. So now if the laws of physics are still working we're going to be airborne. What speed should we climb at I wonder? We see many pilots take off and accelerate to a high Copyright PilotWorkshops.com 4

6 speed and climb out very fast, and they'll tell us they do that because it's much safer. They don't want to stall. Well, I disagree on the safety issue, and I think there're more important issues to consider. If we climb at Vx, the best angle of climb for our airplane, we still have a significant margin over stall and we'll clear obstacles much quicker. If we climb at Vy, the best rate of climb, we're well above stalling speed and protected for gusts and we're going to get more altitude and have more options much sooner. Furthermore, if we climb at best rate of climb we're going to make a lot less noise and we're going to be at a higher altitude. In the event we have an engine problem, it provides us more options to solve that problem. Bob: Wally, you mentioned noise abatement. Is this a real issue, or is this just something that people are adding on to the additional duties that pilots have to think about? Wally: It's a serious issue. We all have to learn to get along with our airport neighbors if we want to have access to these airports. And if there is a noise abatement procedure, it'll be published at your airport. It's also published in the Airport/Facility Directory. And hopefully, our good airman today has reviewed the Airport/Facility Directory, and is aware of any procedures and tries to follow them to the best of his ability. Pilots who ignore the noise abatement procedures, in my view, are certainly demonstrating poor airmanship. Bob: How about as we climb out -- what are some of the ways that we can demonstrate that we're a pretty classy pilot as opposed to some yahoo out, you know, running around the air patch? Wally: Well, one of the things we can be looking at very closely is to make sure our wings are level. We need to check to see if our wings are level during the climb out and if we are using the proper amount of rudder to compensate for the left turning tendencies during the climb. If we're compensating for those tendencies by holding our right wing down instead of holding in right rudder, we're slipping. And if we're slipping during the climb out, we're not climbing as efficiently as we could. We're climbing slower. So check those wings; make sure they're level. Make sure you have the proper amount of rudder in, and you'll get better performance out of the airplane. Naturally, as we're climbing we're going to make nice gentle turns. We're going to clear in front of the airplane from time to time. But as we ease the nose down to look for traffic we want to do that nice and gently. We don't want to put our passengers on the ceiling as we do that. We want to do it so that they don't even recognize that we're doing it. Bob: I'm really glad you emphasized the clearing, Wally, because we're so very vulnerable with the nose of the airplane stuck up in the air, for a midair collision. It's Copyright PilotWorkshops.com 5

7 probably not something we're consciously thinking about, but we d better integrate it into our flying because we're going to be pretty busy at that point. Wally: Again, it needs to become a habit. And we still live in a see-and-be-seen environment. And if we aren't checking over that nose from time to time, we're not doing our job as airmen. Copyright PilotWorkshops.com 6