Transition from low wing to high wing?

[jsstevens]

I trained in high wings and have 10 or so hours in low wings, spread over several years. What I notice most is I look the wrong way before turning. I look towards the direction of turn (to clear before dropping that wing to start the turn) but in a low wing you want to look away from the turn before raising that wing and blocking the view.

I never noticed (flying various Cherokees and a little time in a Sundowner) the ground effect float.

John

 

[Somedudeintn]

Fuel management is something else that one needs to consider going from a C to P

 

[MAKG1]

The "parking brake" is a nice feature in a go-around or touch'n'go. Cessna flaps are S L O W.

 

[Skip Miller]

Fuel management is something else that one needs to consider going from a C to P

Also, carb ice management. If you are switching from a Piper (Lycoming engine) to an older Cessna powered by the 6 cylinder O-300, you need to have Carb Heat hammered into your memory. Pipers are very forgiving when it comes to carb or induction icing, and the Continental powered Cessnas have earned the reputation of being ice makers.

Newer Cessnas use Lycomings so no substantive difference there.

-Skip

 

[Blindrage]

A few people have commented on what plane you learn to fly in having an impact on what you fly and how you fly. While I agree that you may gravitate towards that configuration of plane at first when you get your PPL, I do not believe it will have the slightest effect in the long run.

95% of what I am being trained on by my CFI has nothing to do with the plane. The exact feel of sloppy controls during a stall will vary by plane, but noticing that they are sloppy before an actual stall and correcting the situation is the goal. The amount and exact response when in ground effect will differ for each plane, but understanding ground effect and landing control is the goal. The speed in the pattern for downwind, base, and final will differ for each plane, but learning that I need to control to an appropriate speed is the goal. And all that is really just mechanics and not the ultimate goal at all.

The ultimate goal is to get me to think and act like a pilot. To get me to understand task saturation, but have the built in responses to minimize those while focusing on the most important tasks. I could learn how to fly a plane using a simulator at home, and there is even a video of someone that has done just that doing a decent landing while the CFI keeps hands off during his very first lesson. Even I, a just past solo student, know enough that I would not want to be his passenger even if he could grease every landing. He has a basic mastery of the tasks involved in flying, but by the fourth or fifth lesson a student pilot should understand that most of flying is not about some individual task. Instead the training is trying to beat into your head to have your bases covered before you even do the preflight on the plane, then to constantly try to be ahead of the mundane tasks of flying, and finally to respond in a controlled and thoughtful manner when things suddenly turn exciting in unexpected ways.

So learn in what you can. At most you will need a few hours extra to feel just as comfortable in the next type of plane you fly.

 

[FreqFlyrJr]

Ask a Grumman pilot how they like getting in & out of their cockpits in the rain.

An umbrella for the car and an umbrella for the plane. The rain does make a difference though, especially when considering seals that are wearing and leaking water and other maintenance issues.

 

[bflynn]

I will hold that taildragger experience is generally an overall good thing for all pilots.

Agree. So is IFR but I don't know that we should call out a new pilot for not having done it yet.

No real differences beyond visibility. I've never felt any difference in ground effect between a Warrior and Cessna. The biggest difference was really that the Cessna initially felt less stable and I still cannot manage a power on stall straight ahead in it.

 

[MAKG1]

Agree. So is IFR but I don't know that we should call out a new pilot for not having done it yet.

No real differences beyond visibility. I've never felt any difference in ground effect between a Warrior and Cessna. The biggest difference was really that the Cessna initially felt less stable and I still cannot manage a power on stall straight ahead in it.

If you're on speed, there really isn't any difference.

If you're fast, the Piper will float more in ground effect. Especially at full flap; Cessnas are very draggy like that.

There are lots of little differences. More flaps on short/soft takeoffs in the Piper. Boost pump, carb heat, fuel selector, throttle/mixture action, rudder trim, etc. But it's a very easy transition.