Pre-Solo Training Program

Pre-Solo Training Program Flight Briefing: Lesson 9 Takeoff and Landing Practice In cooperation with Mid Island Air Service, Inc. Brookhaven, NY (Michael Bellenir, CFI)

Lesson 9 Objectives • This briefing will discuss safety related considerations for takeoffs and landings, including common errors made by pilots, recognizing the development of hazardous situations before they become dangerous, and wake turbulence avoidance. • Upon completion of this briefing, you will practice making normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings.

Takeoff • Normal takeoff in the SportStar requires fuel pump turned on, and 15 degrees of flaps. • Remember to control direction on the takeoff roll with right rudder pressure. • Lift the nose wheel off the ground with gentle back pressure, early in the takeoff roll. • Climb out at 60 KIAS. • Track the runway center line with rudder on climb out. • When a safe climb is established, turn off fuel pump, slowly retract flaps, and accelerate to 70 KIAS.

Pattern • Maintain pattern altitude on downwind. • Fly the pattern at a constant appropriate speed • 60 KIAS (~4,000 RPM); or as necessary for other traffic/conditions • When inside the white arc, extend 15 degrees of flaps • Determine when it is appropriate to descend for landing Typically, this happens abeam the touchdown point. • Reduce power to idle and glide at 60 KIAS • Turn base at the proper time for conditions. • Typically, extend 30 degrees of flaps turning base. • Judge your height and glideslope alignment turning final. • Extend 50 degrees of flaps only when the runway is assured.

Final Approach and Flare • Stabilized Approach! • Maintain a glide at constant best-glide airspeed • Gently initiate round-out at proper time (learned with experience) • Hold the nosewheel off; let the plane settle on the mains

Common Errors Balloon • Aircraft gains altitude during flare • Caused by: • Excessive speed • Rounding out too quickly • To correct: • Relax back pressure slightly • Let aircraft settle back down • Touchdown on main landing gear; keep nose up! • DO NOT ever try to force aircraft onto the ground! • If balloon is excessive or repeats, go around and try again.

Ballooning Relax, let airplane settle down, Keep nose up; Or: Go around, try again.

Common Errors Bounce • Aircraft makes contact with ground then rebounds back into air • Caused by: • Excessive airspeed • Improper flare • High descent rate • To correct: • Let aircraft settle back down • Keep nose up! • If you’ve lost a lot of speed, it may be necessary to apply some power to avoid a hard landing. • DO NOT ever try to force aircraft onto the ground! • If bounce is very high, go around, try again.

The Bounce Relax, keep nose up, add some power if necessary to avoid high sink rate; Or: Go around, try again.

Common Errors Porpoising • Multiple bounces during which the nose of the airplane makes contact with the ground prior to the main landing gear on subsequent bounces • Cause: • Improper aircraft control/Improper correction for balloon or bounce • Pushing airplane down, not keeping nose up • To correct: • Go Around! Never try to salvage a porpoised landing. • Never let an airplane porpoise. Severe damage to landing gear and propeller is likely.

Porpoising Go Around Immediately to avoid damage to the aircraft and possible injury to those on board!

Common Errors Overshooting the base-to-final turn • Especially common with a crosswind that increases your groundspeed on base leg • Biggest mistake is forcing a steep turn to final • Stall speed increases with angle of bank • There is an overwhelming temptation to add opposite aileron and even more rudder to flatten the turn • Should the wing stall, this is the classic entry to a spin! • Don’t ever try to salvage such a landing. Just go around!

Other Common Errors • Wheel-barrowing: • Nose wheel maintains contact with the ground before main landing gear. • Smoothly raise nose, then go around • Side load touchdown, touchdown with drift • Aircraft contacts ground with drift component/sideways momentum • More likely to bounce • Straighten out with rudder, keep wings level, be ready to go-around, can rapidly escalate to loss of control situation in some cases. • Hard landing • Aircraft contacts ground with excessive vertical momentum • More likely to bounce • Keep nose up, keep straight, be ready to go-around. Can damage aircraft landing gear in some cases.

Solution to These Errors: • Prevention! • Don’t fly in conditions that facilitate the development of hazardous situations, such as gusty winds, strong crosswind, wind shear, or in wake turbulence. • Learn to fly the airplane in a manner that prevents any of these potentially dangerous conditions from developing into a hazardous situation. • With experience, you will learn to recognize the beginning/set up of these errors before they become dangerous. • If something doesn’t seem right on approach, flare, or touchdown, GO AROUND!

Wake Turbulence Avoidance • The wake of another aircraft can be particularly hazardous to a Light Sport Aircraft. • You must learn where wakes form so you can avoid them. • Flying through a strong wake from a large aircraft can cause you to lose control, or even cause structural damage to an aircraft.

Wake Turbulence • All airplanes generate a wake. This wake consists of two counter-rotating vortices that are generated by wings as a result of lift production • Pressure differential between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing cause “span-wise” flow, as the higher pressure air underneath the wing is drawn toward the lower pressure above the wing, near the trailing edges and wingtips.

Wake Turbulence Generation Low Pressure Above Wing High Pressure BelowWing

Wake Turbulence Vortex The pressure differential causes the formation of a rotating vortex that can be destructive to other aircraft or compromise aircraft control if encountered.

Wake Turbulence Strength • Wake turbulence is strongest when the pressure differential between the upper and lower wing is greatest. The pressure differential and span-wise flow is greatest when the airplane is: • Heavy - More weight requires more lift; more pressure differential. • Clean - Landing gear, flaps, and other lift/drag devices interfere with span-wise flow; having them retracted allows more span-wise flow. • Slow - Flying at slower speeds requires more angle of attack, resulting in a higher pressure differential. • Be especially careful when following an aircraft that is heavy, clean, and slow! (Airliner shortly after takeoff)

Wake Turbulence • Every airplane makes wake turbulence, even Light Sport Aircraft. • In a well done steep turn, you might fly through your own wake (generally not hazardous). • Wakes rise slightly at first, immediately behind the airplane, then start to sink and move outwards. When they contact the surface they move outwards and dissipate. • It may take up to 5 minutes for a strong wake to fully dissipate near the ground. A strong wake might descend as much as 1,000 feet before dissipating in the air. • Don’t fly immediately underneath the flight path of other aircraft, especially larger ones.

Wake Turbulence Movement Vortex movement in no wind. Keep in mind wind will alter the movement of vortices.

Wake Turbulence • Airplanes make wakes from rotation on takeoff until touchdown on landing.

Avoiding Wake Turbulence When approaching to land behind a large aircraft, stay above the approach path of the larger aircraft, observe the touchdown point of the large aircraft, and plan to land beyond its touchdown point.

Avoiding Wake Turbulence When taking off behind a large aircraft, observe the rotation point of the larger aircraft. Plan to rotate and climb before that point. Once airborne, climb above the climb path of the larger aircraft, or turn clear of its flight path.

Avoiding Wake Turbulence • Remember a light crosswind will hold one of the vortices over the runway for a longer period of time. • A light, quartering tailwind will keep the wake turbulence over the runway the longest. • Wakes spread outward, potentially affecting parallel, or nearby runways. • When necessary to land or depart after an especially large aircraft, the best course of action may be to delay your arrival or departure to allow time for the wake turbulence to dissipate.

Gusty Wind Correction • If there is a gust factor present (steady winds with occasionally higher winds), it is appropriate to correct by slightly increasing approach speed. • Figure out the gust factor. • Steady wind subtracted from maximum wind (peak gust). • Add ½ of the gust factor to your approach speed. • If the gust factor is significant (more than 10 knots), consider canceling the flight. If a significant gust factor is encountered unexpectedly, consider an alternate landing site where the gust factor is reduced.

Crosswind Correction • Crosswinds will increase the chances of side-loading the gear on landing. • Maximum demonstrated crosswind component for the SportStar MAX is 10 knots for inexperienced pilots, 15 knots for experienced ones. • How do you know which you are? If you’re not comfortable in a 15 knot crosswind, consider yourself inexperienced! • If a crosswind component is greater than 10 knots: • use a different runway more aligned with the wind • consider an alternate landing site with less crosswind • Or, cancel the flight. • Use proper crosswind technique, even after landing.

Windshear • Windshear describes a condition when the wind changes direction or speed (or both) in either a short amount of time, or over a short distance. • Windshear can be extremely hazardous to light aircraft. In a shear, an aircraft might very suddenly and unexpectedly gain or lose significant amounts of airspeed. • Windshear is often present with hazardous weather like thunderstorms, but could occur anywhere in the atmosphere. • If windshear is forecast or reported, you should consider alternatives.

Remember • Strong winds, crosswinds, windshear, gusts, and wake turbulence are all potentially serious hazards to light aircraft. • To stay out of trouble, stay out of potentially dangerous conditions. • Superior pilots use their superior judgment to avoid needing their superior skills.

Review Questions • You are landing a SportStar. Winds are straight down the runway at 10 knots gusting to 20 knots. What approach speed should you use? • You are landing behind an airliner. How should you approach? • Flying a SportStar, winds are directly across the runway at 12 knots. What should you do? • Describe a normal takeoff in a SportStar. • What should you do if you begin to porpoise on landing? Write down your answers before continuing to next slide

Review Answers • You are landing a SportStar. Winds are straight down the runway at 10 knots gusting to 20 knots. What approach speed should you use? • 60 knots plus 5 knots (half the gust factor) equals 65 knots • You are landing behind an airliner. How should you approach? • Stay above airliner’s approach path; land beyond its touchdown point. • Flying a SportStar, winds are directly across the runway at 12 knots. What should you do? • Use a different runway, or cancel the flight. • Describe a normal takeoff in a SportStar. • Fuel pump on, 15 deg flaps, full power, track centerline with right rudder pressure, raise nose with back pressure, climb at 60 knots, fuel pump off and retract flaps when climb established, continue climb at 70 kts. • What should you do if you begin to porpoise on landing? Go around! Review any missed questions before continuing to today’s flight.

On Today’s Flight • Practice Takeoffs and Landings • Avoid common errors as much as possible. If/when you make some of the common errors, they will be pointed out to you so you will learn to recognize them and correct appropriately. • Go around whenever things don’t look right. • Be mindful of other traffic and the wakes of other aircraft. Thanks to Mid Island Air Service, Inc. Brookhaven, NY (Michael Bellenir, CFI)

Pre-Solo Training Program