Most common emergency situations have obvious indications.  Loss of power: no sound, plane descends.  Fire: smoke.  Electrical failure: nothing works.  Troubleshooting and resolving is straight forward.  Loss of power: check fuel, fire and air.  Fire: eliminate the fuel source and create an incombustible mixture.  Electrical failure:  is this really an emergency?  The airplane is still flying isn’t it?  More of an inconvenience if you ask me.  Recently, I experienced a rough running engine shortly after takeoff.

The rough running engine scenario is one of those that can’t be simulated.  Not quite a complete loss of power but an urgent situation nevertheless.  The causes are many.  Fouled spark plugs, incorrect fuel/air mixture, vapor lock, carburetor icing, fuel contamination or a structural failure of the engine (e.g. cracked cylinder head.)  Fortunately most of these come up often enough during day-to-day operations that most students get the opportunity to experience them and can be taught how to deal with them.  Fouled plugs can be cleared, a check of the mixture position after descending from 10,000 ft is an easy fix, a bouncing fuel flow needle (indicating vapor lock) can be fixed with an extra push from the aux fuel pump, and carb icing can most often be managed even after forming.  But how would you know if a fuel injector became clogged?  Cutting off or restricting fuel flow to only one cylinder would effectively render that cylinder dead.  The issue here, if you’re unaware of how your gauges work, is that the indications are not what common sense would dictate.  One would initially assume that if fuel flow was reduced into one cylinder the gauge would show a reduced fuel flow as well.  The opposite is true.

The fuel flow gauge is actually a pressure gauge at the flow divider.  A second pressure reading isn’t of much use to a pilot in the cockpit but knowing the rate of fuel consumption is very useful.  When everything is working normally, the flow in the system is proportional to the pressure therefore the gauge face can be marked in gph instead of psi.  When an injector becomes blocked the fuel flow backs up and the pressure at the flow divider increases.  You can figure out what happens next.  Fuel flow indication is higher than normal.  One’s initial reaction would be to lean the mixture but this could only make a bad situation worse.

Thankfully when this happened to me training kicked in.  I had researched this with a fellow instructor after he experienced a similar incident so I immediately recognized what was going on and turned the airplane for landing.  There isn’t much a pilot can do to fix this in flight.  Fortunately we had just departed.  As I reduced power for landing things actually returned to normal however on taxi back to parking it felt as though the engine was trying to break itself off its mounts.  Check out this short video clip of the engine sound during taxi.

Please leave comments.  Share stories or add anything I may have missed.

Now I wait.  Wait for what seems like an eternity for the phone to ring.  I know it will, I’ve seen two friends hired recently.  Both reported positive experiences.  I wonder what mine will be?  Time will tell and I’ll write about it here.  In the meantime, I continue to teach.  My opportunity to do what I never imagined just a few short years ago; to give someone the gift of flight.  This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  Part of me will miss it, but I can’t help hoping the next step comes soon.

The A&P series of reference books consists of three separate texts; General, Airframe, and Powerplant.  The General Handbook covers all the basics; a great reference itself.   The Airframe Handbook and Powerplant Handbook provide more depth of knowledge than may be necessary for a checkride but as a reference it’s very useful especially for the CFI.

A more concise book is “Aircraft Systems for Pilots,” by Dale De Remer.  This is a great study book published by Jeppesen.  Another, even more simplified book is “A Pilot’s Guide to Aircraft and Their Systems,” by Dale Crane.

For a more thorough and focused study of electrical systems, Jeppesen also published a book, “Electrical Systems for A&P’s.”  This books includes everything from basic electrical principles to advanced electrical systems and even touches on radio principles.  Another useful reference for the CFI.

Lastly, a book recommended by a FAA Inspector is “Aircraft Inspection and Maintenance Records,” by Jeppesen.  This book covers everything related to air worthiness documentation requirements and is practical for owners, operators, pilots and mechanics.

The latest edition of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge FAA-H-8083-25A has been greatly enhanced by the use of detailed, full color graphics. I think it does a better job of presenting and explaining some of the more technical aspects of aerodynamics than the previous edition. I haven’t found another resource that does better at presenting the required knowledge subject matter for the written or oral. Some branded books are available but for someone who is interested in no-nonsense, straightforward presentation of the material this is the only book needed.

Of course no pilot should train without a thorough read of the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-8083-3A. All the maneuvers required by the PTS for Private and Commercial applicants, as well as information for anyone in transition to jets or turboprops, are explained in detail. Some new FAA publications that I’ve also found useful are Risk Management Handbook FAA-H-8083-2 and Advanced Avionics Handbook FAA-H-8083-6. Any of these can be previewed in PDF on the FAA website (www.faa.gov).

A few books really got my attention and I use them for reference consistently.  They are: Instructional Methods For Flight Instructors by Gordon C. Henrie, Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche and Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot by Richie Lengel.

Gordon C. Henrie takes from his experience as a fighter pilot, instructor and pilot examiner to present some invaluable tips and techniques for teaching and learning maneuvers. I’ve used his techniques with students to force them to look outside the cockpit for references. I’ve noticed a great improvement in the quality of student’s flying and I’ve learned a great deal myself.

Stick and Rudder should be in every pilot’s library. This book was written many years ago so some people believe it’s outdated. I believe the concepts are very much valid and if approached with an open mind all pilots can take something useful from it. The debate over pitch and power, and which does what, continues with a short read from Simon Wheaton-Smith, “Pitch for Power” (http://www.illustratingshadows.com/PitchPower.pdf).

Richie Lengel’s, “Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot,” is the most comprehensive resource I’ve seen. His delivery is concise and at times comical and without a doubt you will get some lingering question answered. As the title implies everything is explained from airspace to aerodynamics to instrument flying and regulations. Every page contains common sense, everyday use tips and tricks for flying safely.

]]> http://jorgeyepiz.com/2010/03/24/reference-books-flying-and-aerodynamics/feed/ 0 jorgeyepiz phak method stick explain http://jorgeyepiz.com/2010/03/10/the-science-of-landing-an-airplane/ http://jorgeyepiz.com/2010/03/10/the-science-of-landing-an-airplane/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:23:22 +0000 Jorge Yepiz http://jorgeyepiz.com/?p=30 ]]> As a student pilot, one of the most daunting phases of flight for me was the landing. I accepted “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.” No two landings were ever the same. I heard over and over again, fix your sight picture, pitch for speed, power for altitude; but what did all that mean? It was trial and error. After many hundred landings I finally got it, or did I? I could land on a predetermined spot on centerline every time now. Isn’t that all there is to it? The real test came when I became a flight instructor. Would I be able to teach this to someone new to flying?

I see the same anxiety and frustration in my students now that I once had. It’s easy to fall into the “touch and go” trap, reinforcing bad habits instead of learning good ones. Thinking that quantity somehow is better than quality. There has to be a better way.

A while back a fellow instructor referred me to a website. Eager to find something to improve my teaching method, I looked it up. Finally, I saw in front of me what I had pictured in my head but just couldn’t find the words to explain it.  Landing can be taught as a precision maneuver that is executed with purpose and accuracy every time.  The website is by David Jacobson and he calls his technique The Jacobson Flare.  I found his insight and explanations extremely useful.  Some aspects may be too complicated for the beginner but I’ve found it can be adapted easily to suit any level.  The web address is www.jacobsonflare.com

I hope you find this information helpful and appreciate any feedback.  Since this is my first real blog post let me know what you think!