Highperf/Complex Delayed

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Feb 24, 2005
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Montgomery County PA
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Display name:
Adam Zucker
It has been quite a while since I was in the Lance working on my HP/Complex. Weather and scheduals got the best of both I and the CFI. We actually did go up both Sat and Sunday flew KLOM to KLNS both days just so he could get some charts for a trip to LA and TX. We were supposed to finish up yesteday but it would have been like taking a lesson in a martini shaker. boy was it bumpy so we canned the lesson. Hopefully we will knock it out next weekend.

This leads me to my quesiton. All I have left to do are some stalls and a few approaches. Logic tells me ( and My logic has certainly told me some incorrect stuff in the past) That doing stalls in turbulent air is not wise. I imagine it that here you are low airspeed, high angle of attack with the plane standing on its tail in the cold air and Whoosh along comes a gust and lifts a wing, over you go and into a potential spin. So is my logic right or is it fooling me.
 
Adam, what about doing your stalls into the wind? Is the plane your training in spin certified? If so, why not do a few now with your CFI?
Good luck with next weekend. you can always come take my mooney out when you need more complex time :)
 
Adam,
i guess it could happen, but itd have to be one heck of a gust. especially at the relatively high stall speeds of the lance, the change in AOA of an upward gust would be pretty minimal. my saratoga book lists power off stall speed of 57 kts (5700 fpm) a typical upward gust you would likely encounter would be about 500 fpm. Tan^-1(500/5700) is about 5 degrees. Now if you managed to get one wing in 500 fpm gust and the other not it could stall that wing and drop it, but i dont think it would be anything a little rudder would pick up. It would only put you just over a stall, not deep stall. Any higher speed or weaker updraft would cause a smaller angle of attack increase. plus, especially if it is thermal updrafts, you will soon be out of the updraft and into the downdraft, causing a decrease in AOA. All in all, it would be interesting and keep you on your toes, but I wouldn't worry too much about it wrapping you into an uncommanded spin.
 
Stalls into the wind....I luv it....:rofl:


Michael said:
Adam, what about doing your stalls into the wind? Is the plane your training in spin certified? If so, why not do a few now with your CFI?
Good luck with next weekend. you can always come take my mooney out when you need more complex time :)
 
AdamZ said:
It has been quite a while since I was in the Lance working on my HP/Complex. Weather and scheduals got the best of both I and the CFI. We actually did go up both Sat and Sunday flew KLOM to KLNS both days just so he could get some charts for a trip to LA and TX. We were supposed to finish up yesteday but it would have been like taking a lesson in a martini shaker. boy was it bumpy so we canned the lesson. Hopefully we will knock it out next weekend.

This leads me to my quesiton. All I have left to do are some stalls and a few approaches. Logic tells me ( and My logic has certainly told me some incorrect stuff in the past) That doing stalls in turbulent air is not wise. I imagine it that here you are low airspeed, high angle of attack with the plane standing on its tail in the cold air and Whoosh along comes a gust and lifts a wing, over you go and into a potential spin. So is my logic right or is it fooling me.

Assuming you're not talking TRW like turbulence, there's nothing to worry about there IMO. Turbulence is by nature transient and it takes quite a while for an airplane with the weight and polar moment of a Lance to develop a spin and you will have plenty of time to prevent it with or without turbulence.
 
Thanks guys good to know that information. It was pretty gusty here this weekend. Threw us into some steep but not unmanagable banks on departue and then again on down wind to base. And my head has a few bumps for sure. One time we got slammed so hard when we came down my seat dropped a few inches. I felt like a kid sitting there with my eyes right at the glare shield. LOL
 
AdamZ said:
Thanks guys good to know that information. It was pretty gusty here this weekend. Threw us into some steep but not unmanagable banks on departue and then again on down wind to base. And my head has a few bumps for sure. One time we got slammed so hard when we came down my seat dropped a few inches. I felt like a kid sitting there with my eyes right at the glare shield. LOL

What day were you flying, Adam? I was up with another local pilot Saturday. Turb wasn't too terrible in a Skyhawk (maybe going slow has advantages? :) ), but winds were a bear. Made a crosswind landing at Perk Valley that took a bit of work on my part. Landing wasn't perfect, and I missed the centerline, but I'll take it I suppose. Winds were pretty much at my limits. Sure was pretty up and about, though!!
 
I was up both Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon. Saturday was really bouncy and Sunday on the way to KLNS we were getting rocked pretty well especially out toward RDG ( but it starts to get hilly there too) Sunday comming home it has calmed down a bit. Actually I'd think that the 172 would get rocked more than the Lance. Just wasn't a pleasant day to do Manuvers.

On final at KLOM I did hear someone on the Radio ask " Is that you in the Lance Adam" Thought is was someone on the ground. Wasn't you perhpas?
 
AdamZ said:
I was up both Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon. Saturday was really bouncy and Sunday on the way to KLNS we were getting rocked pretty well especially out toward RDG ( but it starts to get hilly there too) Sunday comming home it has calmed down a bit. Actually I'd think that the 172 would get rocked more than the Lance. Just wasn't a pleasant day to do Manuvers.

On final at KLOM I did hear someone on the Radio ask " Is that you in the Lance Adam" Thought is was someone on the ground. Wasn't you perhpas?

Naw, weren't me. I was busy yakking with my passenger and forgetting to let him fly the plane :( Apologies to him!!

I've noticed that while the Skyhawk will move around a lot in turb, and be affected perhaps by some that bigger heavier planes wouldn't notice, it sometimes doesn't feel as violent. A little more "floaty." I particularly noticed it compared to the Tiger. Bumps in the Tiger seem sharper, but get over with quicker, kind of like hitting a speed bump with a bit of speed going. In the Skyhawk, it doesn't seem quite so "sharp." Probably a result of the difference in speed and wing loading, or a product of my imagination. In any case, Perk Valley to Kutztown Saturday morning wasn't exactly smooth, but we weren't feeling anything violent or terribly unpleasant. Still, I was glad Sean wasn't along. He wouldn't have liked it at all. Of course, we were down by 11, which may have helped.
 
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