CFI-A Lesson 8 (Part 2)

Today I continued with Lesson 8. Last time, we didn't have time to do an Aborted Take-off or Emergency Decent.

I started today's lesson just like last time; I presented a brief on the Emergency Approach and Landing. I incorporated feedback from the critique of my first presentation, and I thought the presentation went well. My instructor suggested that I move the order of the items around to help the student understand the importance of each step. For example, I described the intial steps first - flying the airplane to the landing field at best glide speed, then went into the approach and landing. At that point, I reverted back to the beginning and discussed troubleshooting items that should be done while enroute to the landing spot. My instructor told me that that would lead the student to believe that troubleshooting is not important. I pointed out that in some cases, that is true; for example, when close to the ground. He pointed out that with practice, the student should be able to do all the troubleshooting in a matter of seconds, so it should be taught as a necessary and critical part of the procedure.

We asked for a delay and the option on take-off and were granted permission. As my 'student' accelerated down the runway, I pulled the mixture control to simulate losing an engine. The student should then pull the power to idle, maintain control of the plane, and stop as quickly as necessary. Since we didn't properly brief this ahead of time, I didn't know that I was also supposed to advance the mixture once the student pulled the throttle to idle. As a result, we had to stop the plane and restart the engine prior to departure.

Once in the air, we headed northwest to the practice area, climbing to 4,500 feet. I discussed Steep Spirals and asked my student to help identify when the plane was over the point. I made sure that the point was an intersection and its location could be roughly estimated from my point of view. I pulled the power to idle and rolled to the left. As I continued the turn, my speed control left a little to be desired, but we rolled out after three turns at 1,500 feet, as desired.

While climbing back up, I demonstrated an engine failure at 2,500 feet, adjusted my pitch for 73 knots, and headed for my intended landing field. While glidiing towards it, I went through the troubleshooting steps, then set the plane up for an emergency landing. I missed a few of the final steps of the checklist. I'll need to get those items firmly emplanted into my brain soon.

At 500 feet, I added power and started climbing. Next up was the Emergency Descent. I demonstrated first, but was unable to get the speed up to the desired 103 knots. My instructor demonstrated and showed me the key mistake that most students make. You must turn into a steep turn and let the nose drop (that's the un-intuitive part) to start building speed before adding the flaps, otherwise the extra drag will not let the plane accelerate much past 80 knots.

On the way back to the airport, my instructor demonstrated an engine failure at 1,500 feet. He quickly set the speed and picked a landing site, then within seconds, completed the entire troubleshooting checklist. Amazing. I'm now totally convinced that doing the checklist troubleshooting items can be done quickly and thoroughly, even from low altitudes.

I did one touch and go, then a full stop landing and called it a day. My landings are still not as accurate and controlled as I'd like. I'm not sure what the root of the problem is. It might be related to being in the right seat and flying with my right hand, but I'd have thought I was past that by now. Maybe it's just something that needs more practice.