Real Flying vs Flight Simulation
It's been awhile since I've posted here, mainly because I have transitioned from simulated flight to "the real thing".
My main goal is to acquire the Sport Pilot certificate, but decided to start lessons in a Cessna 152 which while not an LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) is fairly lightweight, only a couple hundred pounds heavier than the LSA maximum.
I found an instructor from the local EAA chapter (
www.eaa66.org) and began lessons in January (2005). I now have 12.4 hours logged (dual) and I'll have to transition to an LSA to continue my training because I am not allowed to solo in the 152 toward my Sport Pilot Certificate.
At the moment, no flight school or FBO in the area has LSA's on their flight line, so my real-time training will be put on hold until I can find an aircraft.
I guess if I'm going to "fly" I'll have to crank up the old simulator again. The only problem is that the computer I was using has been dumped (sold) so I'll have to re-install the s/w onto an older machine. Probably will have to go back to FS 2002 since the machine is slower than the other one was.
I'd like to briefly comment on the differences between simulated flight and the real thing. One BIG difference is visual feedback. In the 152 I'm constantly looking outside of the cockpit and using visual references to control the attitude of the plane. The first few lessons were devoted to "Ground Reference Maneuvers" which require almost total visual reference and very little looking at the instruments in the cockpit. The only inside flying is a quick/brief millisecond peek at the altimeter every so often to make sure I'm maintaining correct altitude. Everything else is done by observing the world outside the cockpit.
Once GRM's were satisfactory to my CFI we began pattern work. Not as easy as I expected. In the simulator I was becoming quite good at landing the aircraft, but in the real world things are quite different. Getting the correct sight pattern for final approach and judging when to begin the flare took some time to achieve and I'm still not there. My last lesson, which was several months ago, was with a stiff cross wind. The X component was perhaps 8 knots (max crosswind component for the 152 is around 14 knots.) It was very cool to drop the windward wing and hold the longitudinal axis of the plane along the runway centerline with the rudder and let the windward main gear touch first, followed by the leeward main and finally the nose gear. Then jam the throttle in, carb heat off and flaps up as we complete the "touch and go". So far I have done around 25 landings, but I have a long way to go!
I'll post back once I'm in the simulated air again.
Sport Pilot License - Ercoupe 415C
Well, the FAA just announced that effective September 1, 2004 there will be a new class of general aviation license available called the Sport Pilot. It is limited to VFR daytime flying and only in planes that are certified for the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) classification. Another big difference in this Class of License is that only a valid driver's license is required for medical certification (unless you have failed to pass the old exam, in which case the FAA is still working on a clarification of what will be required.)
Aircraft restrictions include 1320 lb max take off weight, 2 seats max, and max stall speed of 45 knots (51.75 mph). That unfortunately eliminates most of the common trainers made by Cessna, Piper and Beechcraft so there should be a host of new designs coming to the marketplace to fill the need for the pilots who will be using this new license. You can read more than you might be interested in by visiting the following sites:
www.sportpilot.org and
www.eaa.org
There are, of course, a number of "historic" (read antique) planes that fit the category including the classic Piper Cub (J-3) and a bunch of Aeronca's and TaylorCraft. These are tail-draggers unfortunately and they are quite difficult to fly. On the other hand, Engineering Research Corp built about 5,000 neat little planes in the early '40's with the name Ercoupe (aka Aircoupe) and these little aircraft are quite interesting for the Sport Pilot application.
The only two models that qualify are the Ercoupe 415C and the 415CD so I went to
www.avsim.com and downloaded a 415C. This post is to describe the results.
The panel is painted a gaudy fire-engine red and the instruments are a little hard to read, but the plane flies nicely. There are no flaps, so controlling air speed on the landing approach requires special care using throttle and elevator to keep the beast flying at the right air speed during the final approach.
One other neat feature is that this tricycle gear plane has castered main gear so that you can crab in a crosswind and let the plane touch down with its longitudinal axis mis-aligned with the runway and the wheels will swivel to keep you straight down the runway after touching down. Tres cool!
The neat thing is there are several Ercoupes still flying in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area, so I'll see if I can find a CFI who will train me. At 8,000 - 12,000 (US$) it would be tempting to own one, but that's another tale (or post.)
-Dr. Bob
Crosswind Landings
I'm pretty good at the default weather conditions landing, take offs, pattern work, etc. So I decided to crank in another level of realism by adding 10 knots of crosswind. At my home field (Fort Myers' Page Field) the runway I'm using is R/W 5 (51 degrees magnetic), so I added 10 knots of wind from 321 degrees, exactly 90 degrees left of the R/W heading.
It is amazing how much difference this makes. Whereas in the past I always put the a/c "on the numbers" perfectly lined up with the runway, I'm now struggling to keep the track at 51 (lined up with the runway) as I point the nose of the plane into the wind around 10-15 degrees.
There are two ways to land in a crosswind. The first has the plane "crab" into the wind, wings level maintaining a proper track to the numbers, then at the last moment "kick" the rudder to get the plane's axis lined up with the runway.
The second way is to drop the windward wing and apply some reverse (right in this case) rudder to hold the plane's nose lined up with the runway. This is called "slipping" or the maneuver is called a "side slip".
So far I can't do either very well even missing the runway entirely. But I just started to learn this phase of flying, so I'll keep everyone posted as to my progress.
More on Microsoft's Force Feedback Joystick
I discovered that there is a small optical sensor in the handle on the side away from the user near the bottom of the flange. When the user's hand is covering the hole, the force feedback is activated. When ones hand is not over the hole the stick becomes "limp." I'm going to try putting some sort of block over the hole so that the feedback is always present.
Force Feedback and FS 2002
Unusual effects being observed using MS's FF joystick with the RealAir C-172. Upon initial launch of the program, there is little or no feedback on the stick. If I pause the program and go to the joystick calibration area and set the force back to max, then "unpause" the flight all is well and continues to be well until I exit FS.
This problem does not occur with the other a/c that come as stock planes with the FS, only with the RealAir a/c. I have printed out the aircraft.cfg files (force feedback section) for the RealAir 172 and the stock one and compared them, but all seems the same.
I'll have to do a little more exploring...
Slips with the RealAir C-172
I just started to work on forward and side slips using
RealAir's excellent model of the Cessna C-172. The literature from RealAir indicates that you can slip up to 37 degrees. Cool!
Why slip? Well, it turns out that it is a very useful technique in real life (RL) flying and very few simulation aircraft have that capability. It is mostly used for crosswind landings and for above normal descent rates (no power emergency landings.)
