Steve’s the name; flying is the game!
And I’ve been given an opportunity to impart to you some
of my hard-earned aerial wisdom. The YOU in this instance are
the beginners and improvers to our wonderful hobby but if you
are a first time beginner you will most certainly need the
help of both a club and its instructor system.
Steve Vine
First a bit of back ground on yours truly and how I got here!
I was taught to fly slope soarers by a friend and club mate,
Barry Jackson. He said, "I’d never make it as long
as…..?" So I rose to the challenge to prove him
wrong. (Hmmm, clever chap that Barry!) A lot of the gems that
I shall give to you have come from Barry, some I’ve been
drawn from other instructors and the rest I’ve learned
the hard way!
The Hard way ?
After being a solo glider guider for about a year, I
progressed to power flying as well. I enjoyed a progression
through club competition, A & B certificates and finally
made it to examiner level. I’m now looking to see where
I can go forward to next! You see I believe that continually
trying for new goals pushes you to try harder and so improves
your abilities! That’s my first gem for you and
you’ll soon learn that the "brown stuff"
(adrenaline) actually helps! (That was one of my earlier
lessons from Barry, who walked away from me one day at the
time for a landing saying, "It was about time
anyway!" And it worked!!)
Right
then, the content of this article is going to be about the
‘Take Off & Landing".
Take off as it should look.
Before anything else is considered, the first part of a
take-off is to determine where and how the landing will be
made. This was lesson number one from Barry and I’ve
never forgot it, indeed it has saved me from the
‘mire’ more than once when friends around me and
already flying, have said in a panic "How d’ya land
‘ere then?). This is especially true for a new site,
whether it be slope or power site. So when you arrive, no
rushing off to get one under yer belt; instead sit and watch
the other flyers for a moment and see how their approaches
are made, you can base your arrivals accordingly; this
applies even to your own site. (If you are being taught by an
instructor, he will either be doing the landing for you or
making you understand what you need to know for your
landing.) But there is nothing wrong with your observing
anyway – so get used to it!
OK, so now we’re ready for the take off… nope!
First you’ve got to check yer plane out aint ya? And
then get frequency control, OK? (Sorry that was me zaminers
‘at!) OK so now you’ve checked out the approach and
checked out your model, now’s the time to check out the
wind direction and circuit style.
Unlike when I was taught to fly power planes, it is now
considered dangerous to fly an aircraft around yourself, some
reasons being that you will have to fly over of your buddies
in the pit area or the parking area, so don’t do it.
Instead, fly the way that you would have to if you were
demonstrating at a show, i.e. circuits in front. It’s
just as easy and teaches you right from the start to turn in
both directions, also teaching you to take off and land from
both directions. As an incentive to landing from either
direction, you may be able to arrange your site and pits so
that the sun is always behind you; never having to look
directly at the Sun instead of the plane is definitely a good
aid to accurate flying.
So, having correctly evaluated the wind direction and
strength, you should now be able to picture the shape of the
circuit. This should be a rectangle with round corners (or a
racetrack) and parallel to the take-off direction. By the
way, now is a good time to estimate if you can safely
complete the flight, I mean you know what the British weather
is like - a hurried landing and all that…
For this takeoff we are doing a right hand circuit, presuming
that the wind is coming from the left (If your situation is
with the wind from the right then substitute opposite aileron
or rudder controls.) Right, here we are then, at the flight line,
observed all the local safety rules, engine at tick-over and
you are politely informing you buddies of your intentions (or
your instructor is!). To which they, just as politely agree
or just politely nod (!). Next you look for yourself that
upwind of the take off is clear and then say clearly and
loudly "ON THE PATCH" or "TAXIING"
depending on weather you are going to carry it or other-wise.
Remember though that taxiing can only take place away or
parallel to the flight line. After a last check that the
airspace is clear above and behind call clearly
"TAKE-OFF" and follow the part that you last read
in the building instructions…Point into wind and advance
the throttle!
Make a steady climb to a safe altitude, (75ft aprox.
Conditions dependent) then execute the first crosswind turn
using gentle right aileron and a little up elevator to keep
the nose of your aircraft at the correct attitude. A couple
of notes here: 1) Different aircraft require varying amounts
of control input to make a satisfactory turn. 2) don’t
hold in the control input as this has an accumulative effect.
3) the main point is BE GENTLE! - Over controlling can
seriously misshape your circuit, and at the least looks very
shabby! It should be noted that it is advisable to make the
clime-out to this point at a steady rate for this is the time
when most engines try to prove "Sod’s Law".
This law say’s that if an engine can stop when you most
need it, it WILL! And if you are hanging on the prop when it
happens you will know that I’m right! Your next turn is
a right turn to down wind. Using the same procedure as with
the first turn but with the added input of lowering the
throttle a little to achieve a satisfactory speed, you should
now be cruising down wind. Your next two turns are back
across wind followed by a turn into wind and over the runway
or just beyond at about four to five houses high and carried
out using the same inputs as with the other turns. Your
second across wind turn should be judged according to the
wind speed in order not to fly too far down wind and
disorientate yourself, i.e. if it’s windy turn a little
earlier. That’s basically your take-off and into your
first circuit. Further circuits should be carried out using
the same pattern over the ground and maintaining a reasonably
level flight path. You will find that this is best achieved
with good throttle control with just a little assistance from
the elevator control.
Here are some thoughts that you should be considering whilst
flying:
- The capabilities of other aircraft and pilots around you
so that you can assess where they are in relation to your own model.
- The sound of the other aircraft so that you can estimate
where they are.
- Without actually taking your eyes off your aircraft you
should try and develop a good peripheral vision to also aid in estimating
where the other aircraft are, or will be when you reach a certain point.
- And lastly, clearly calling any part of your circuit that
other fliers will need to know about, i.e. "LANDING" whilst also
listening for their calls.
- Oh! Lastly – lastly, and most of all don’t panic…
enjoy the adrenaline!
Happy flyin’ Steve. J
