Fly Away Destination: Lajitas Golf Resort

Pitch + Power = Performance

ByHank Gibson October 10, 2016October 17, 2016

My first chief flight instructor had an addage he would impart to his flight instructors when we began working at that flight school. “Pitch + Power = Performance” he would tell us. Then he’d glare at us and follow up with, “nobody teaches that right, so make sure your students know it.”

Now, having been a CFI for seven years, I would tend to agree with him. I have moved on from doing mostly primary training to transition training. Transition training is taking someone who is already a pilot and teaching them how to fly a different type of airplane. In jets, you get a type rating. In piston engine airplanes, there is no FAA requirement to go through any type of extra training as long as you are rated in category and class (eg. single engine piston). But, insurance companies know that Mr. Fresh Private Pilot can’t just hop from a Cessna 172 into a Cirrus SR22 or a Bonanza, so they require transition training before insuring those pilots.

What did my chief instructor mean when he imparted his wisdom? He was speaking about a particular phase of flight, the final approach phase, regardless of whether it’s a VFR approach or an IFR approach. The pitch of the airplane and the power setting of the airplane have to be utilized together to achieve the proper speed and descent rate (performance).

VFR

On the final approach leg of a VFR pattern, most piston engine aircraft are configured with landing gear down and flaps down in the landing position. This puts the airplane on the back side of the power curve in the region of reverse command. In the region of positive command, in cruise, for example, the more power you add, the faster you are going to go and, if you pitch up, you will go up and you pitch down, you will go down. But, they work together (if you point the nose down, you will accelerate unless you reduce the power); remember, Pitch + Power = Performance.

In the region of reverse command, the pitch controls the airspeed and the power controls your rate of descent, but, again, they work together. Let’s say the airplane is 5 knots above it’s approach speed on final. Initially, the pilot will need to pitch up slightly to bleed off that airspeed. The airplane will want to climb, so as he is pitching up, he’ll need to make a slight power reduction to stay on glide slope.

Alternatively, let’s say the airplane is high, but is on speed. The pilot will make a power reduction to descend to the glide path, but he’ll also need to pitch down to maintain the proper airspeed.

What you don’t want to do is this: if the airplane is high on final, don’t push the nose down to try and get down. This does cause the airplane to lose altitude quickly, but the airspeed increases quickly. With a higher airspeed, the airplane has a lot more energy to dissipate when it gets to the runway, meaning you’ll float longer which can lead to forcing the airplane down or using up too much runway and not being able to get the airplane stopped in time.

IFR

On an instrument approach, you are on the front side of the power curve. When trying to stay on glide slope, the power is controlling the speed of the airplane and the pitch is keeping the airplane on glide slope. This can be a little bit confusing for VFR pilots transitioning to instrument approaches as they are not used to being on the front side of the power curve.

Keeping in mind that Pitch + Power = Performance, let’s put the airplane above the glide slope on an ILS approach. In order to get down to the glide slope, the pitch needs to be lowered as much as needed (it’s always better to pick a pitch attitude to fly and see if it is working to bring the glide slope back to center. If it doesn’t work, pick a new one. Don’t just push the nose down until the glide slope moves) and the power needs to be reduced to maintain airspeed (again, pick a specific power setting). Once the glide slope centers, then the pitch will be raised slightly and the power will need to be increased to hold glide slope and speed respectively.

A Takeoff Briefing

ByHank Gibson January 22, 2015January 27, 2015

Takeoff briefings are one of those things that most pilots are taught when they first learn how to fly, but once they get into flying themselves around, quickly fall by the wayside.  There is a reason student pilots are instructed to perform a takeoff briefing before departure.  It gets them thinking about what the plan is after they get off the ground and what to do if something goes wrong.

Takeoff briefings are a good habit to get into.  Airline crews do a takeoff briefing before every departure, even though they have performed a takeoff in that particular airplane thousands of times.  It enhances safety and provides repetition, keeping that knowledge at the forefront of the crew’s minds.

In general aviation, a takeoff briefing should cover what the takeoff procedure is, what the abort plan is, and what the plan after takeoff is.

Takeoff Procedure

Most pilots fly the same airplane all the time, so the familiarity with what goes into a takeoff is there.  But, habits should be formed to brief the takeoff procedure as part of the takeoff briefing.  It doesn’t need to be extensive, just covering the basics of how the airplane is getting off the ground.  Something like this:

• Throttle setting (if turbo charged, will full throttle cause an overboost?)
• Rotate speed
• Expected takeoff roll

That’s it.  Nothing fancy for the takeoff procedure.

Abort Plan

What is the plan if something goes wrong?  It doesn’t have to be an engine failure, maybe the engine coughs when full power is added or maybe the engine doesn’t produce peak RPM.  Maybe the takeoff roll is longer than anticipated and something doesn’t seem right.  Maybe on climb out a door pops open.  Maybe the engine fails at 1,000 feet.  It’s good to keep the plan in the foreground for what to do if an abnormal or emergency situation takes place.

• Brief the aborted takeoff procedure
  • Pick an abort point on the runway based on the expected ground roll
  • What is the procedure if the airplane isn’t off the ground by then?
  • What is the procedure if the engine quits on the runway?
• Brief the engine failure procedure at low altitude
  • If the engine fails over the runway, will you try to land on the runway?
  • What altitude would you elect to turn back as opposed to landing straight ahead?
  • If the plane is too low to turn back, would you land straight ahead or aim left or right?
  • What airspeed will you aim to hold if the engine fails?
• In a Cirrus, what is your minimum parachute deployment altitude?

After Takeoff Plan

After the airplane is off the ground, what’s the plan then?  Are you staying in the pattern or departing the area?  Do you need to adjust your power at a certain altitude?  What altitude are you climbing to?  What heading are you going to fly?  Is your flight plan in your GPS?  This is an excellent time to set up altitude and heading bugs if your airplane is so equipped.

Get in the habit of doing a takeoff briefing before you call the tower or announce your departure.  It get’s your mind focused on the task at hand and then what is going to be happening next.

Is The Approach Active? Flying Garmin Instrument Approaches Seminar

ByHank Gibson June 19, 2018June 30, 2018

Hank Gibson from Texas Top Aviation will be presenting a seminar on flying Garmin instrument approaches with the different Garmin GPS units.  Whether you have a Garmin 530/430 unit, a Garmin GTN 750/650 unit, or a Garmin G1000, all will be discussed.  You’ll walk away with some tips and tricks, plus a better understanding of your Garmin unit.

WINGs credit will be given for attending.  The seminar is hosted by Redbird Skyport at the San Marcos Airport (KHYI) in Redbird’s large conference room.  The seminar will begin at 10am on Saturday, June 30th, 2018.

It’s always quicker to fly than drive and Redbird has plenty of ramp space to accommodate seminar attendees.

Registration is required.  Please visit the registration page on FAASafety.gov.  Space is limited to 20 individuals, so please make sure you register if you want to attend.

Redbird Migration at HYI

ByHank Gibson October 17, 2016

Redbird Skyport at the San Marcos Regional Airport will be hosting it’s 6th Annual Redbird Migration Flight Training Conference.  The event is focused on flight training and flight training providers.  Past speakers have included the president of Hartnell Propellers, the CEO of Big Red, and various Redbird Executives.

The list of speakers for this year’s Migration has yet to be released, but it promises to be a good lineup.  Attendees every year always compliment Redbird on the event and the speakers they bring in.

If you are a CFI or flight school owner interested in attending, check out Redbird’s event page to request an invitation.

New Houston Airspace Procedures

ByHank Gibson May 29, 2014

If you are based in Houston, or heading into or out of the Houston airspace under IFR, have you updated your charts?  If not, you may hear a clearance stating: “N67889, cleared to Amarillo via the BORRN 1 Departure, CRGER Transition, Direct.  Climb via the departure, expect 8000 in 10 minutes.  Departure frequency 123.8, Squawk 3365.”  You manage to get the clearance written down, but have completely messed up the spelling of both BORRN and CRGER, so you have no idea where the intersections are.  After stumbling through a readback, you ask ground to spell the fixes for you.

Then, more bad news.  You haven’t updated your GPS cards yet, so the departure isn’t in your 430.  It’s an RNAV only departure, so you can’t fly it based on the NAV Radio.  You were planning on updating your iPad when you got to Amarillo, so you don’t have the departure on there, either.

This has probably already happened to a few people today already.

Houston airspace got a major overhaul today.  There are 20 new DPs and 29 new STARs guiding IFR traffic into and out of Houston airspace (including one named the DOOBI 1 Arrival, named after the Dooby Brothers band).

The FAA’s goal in all these changes, according to AOPA, is to “bring fuel efficiencies, time efficiencies, and reduce carbon emissions” (from Benet J. Wilson’s May 15th article on AOPA.com).  The FAA issued a NOTAM today valid until June 6th describing what routes for pilots to file.  The NOTAM also contains contingency plans for pilots flying without updated charts (like our example above).

Pilots should expect these wide scale procedure additions and changes to start showing up in other Class B airspace across the country.  As always, make sure those charts are updated, GPS databases are current, and you do some studying of your route before you file your flight plan.

Flying the Piper Malibu

ByHank Gibson November 21, 2014

Looking for an airplane with more seats, more useful load, and good speed?  Look no further than the PA-46-310P Piper Malibu.  It feels like a corporate airplane, but this turbo charged piston single is good owner/pilot airplane for taking the family on vacation or using on business trips.

The original Piper Malibu, which was manufactured between 1984-1988, is a great next step airplane for Cirrus owners, Saratoga or Lance owners, and Mooney owners looking to move up to a pressurized, 6 seat piston.  The pressurization has got to be one of the best parts of the Piper Malibu.  The ability to climb up to the low flight levels (the service ceiling is FL250, but the airplane performs great between 16,000 and FL190) to catch better winds and get a better true airspeed (the airplane gains about 2.5 KTAS for every thousand feet) without having to wear oxygen makes the ride much more enjoyable.

Equipped with six seats and a 4,100 pound gross weight, the Piper Malibu allows for a lot more carrying ability than a Cirrus or even a Saratoga.  Now, like most piston airplanes, you can’t take 6 average adults, bags, and full fuel, but here’s the great part:  the Continental TSIO 320 only burns 16.5 GPH in cruise at 75% power.  The plane will still fly 200 KTAS at 16.5 GPH.  With 120 gallon capacity, even taking half tanks still allows for a 2.5 hour range with an hour reserve.  At 200 KTAS, that’s 450 miles.  And, you gain an extra 360 pounds useful load at half tanks.  That’s not too shabby.

The Piper Malibu was designed to be comfortable, fast, and be able to carry some baggage.  There are two baggage compartments, one in the nose behind the firewall and one in the rear behind the rear seats.  The nose baggage is wide enough to fit golf clubs in, while the back baggage is large enough to fit rolling suitcases in (the front baggage has no problem with roller bags either).  Lots of weight in bags?  Again, no big deal.  Just plan on taking less fuel and still flying for 2.5 hours.

From a pilot’s standpoint, the Piper Malibu is a pretty straightforward airplane to fly, though it does require some specialty training.  A lot of PA-46s on the market right now have upgraded glass panels and digital engine monitors, making piloting the airplane that much more streamlined.  Most Piper Malibus are equipped with the KFC 150 autopilot.  Some have a yaw damper installed, others don’t.  Some have the vertical speed and altitude capture installed, others don’t.  It just depends on that specific airplane.  They aren’t like a Cirrus where they are all made the same.

Looking to upgrade to something with more seats, a higher service ceiling, but not a significant increase in fuel costs?  Look into the Piper Malibu.  You can get one in good shape from about $300,000.