Wednesday 3rd May 2006 “Heads Down"

Back at Leeds, this time in another Hr200, G-GW. It’s time to get serious now, no more trial lessons like the last one where I can sit back and enjoy the ride. Flying with the same instructor as on the 18^th of April, same departure time and runway. We got airborne and began some observations on the primary and secondary effects of the flight controls.

Each control movement has a primary and secondary effect on the aircraft you’re flying in, for example:

Roll causes Yaw

Moving the flight control column to the right has a banking effect on the aircraft, but due to the airflow striking the outward aft fuselage, the aircraft will yaw into the turn unless the balance is centred using rudder.

Yaw causes Roll

Applying pressure to the right foot pedal will yaw the aircraft to the right, resulting in the left wing rising as it is presented into a fast moving airflow and will therefore generate more lift than the downward (right) wing. The right wing will be presented into a slower moving airflow and will therefore generate less lift, resulting in a banking effect to the right.

After practicing the effects and how to balance the unwanted secondary-effect, my instructor pointed out to me a low-flying RAF Tucano, an advanced trainer aircraft for training fighter pilots.

I was still learning the basics of visual flight, known as Visual Flight Rule (VFR), I’ve always struggled with the picture perfect technique where you fly the aircraft off pictures rather than flying the aircraft off the instruments. This is known as flying the aeroplane outside the cockpit and is mandatory for PPL pilots.

I was still rather relaxed, knowing that this was only my second exercise and I wasn’t to take my mistakes too seriously, I’ll begin to rectify them and become more and more confident. I was still under the influence of turbulence and the effects G-force have on oneself, nosier. After feeling quite unwell, the lesson had come to an end, we landed on the opposite runway that we took-off on and headed down Lima and Golf for Multiflight West. When we’d parked on the stand, my instructor taught me the shutdown checks.

Shutdown Checks

Parking Brake – On
RPM – 1,800 for 20 seconds then reset to 1,200
Radios – Off
Magnetos – Check for dead cut
Mixture – Fully lean
Throttle – Closed
Strobe – On
Lights/Electrics – Off
Battery switch and Alternator – Off
Flying Controls – secure and chocks in

Invoice Total - £90.80

TAX - £13.54

Log Entry – 02