Knowing if you are ascending or descending without help of alt, VSI

[midlifeflyer]

Mainly I was just trying to confirm or not whether I was right that this is the one VFR flight characteristic that one has to just read the altimeter or VSI to know. I was unsure if I was missing something about it.

When I started flying the biggest surprise to me was that I couldn’t totally sense what the airplane was doing just visually. It is good to confirm this. Thanks all.

I think it's a matter of virwing the required VFR instruments (I assume you have something similar to the US FAR 91.205 which sets out bare minimum equipment required for VFR, IFR, and night flight) as things one cross-checks to confirm what we see out the window.

 

[LongRoadBob]

Get 500+ hours in the same airplane and you'll know, to some extent. But no, not something that's easy to do.

Yes, I also am not "there" as far as awareness of the bigger picture of the airplanes flight path, and a lot other things.

A smaller aside in my original post, when I am doing a 45 deg. banked turn, when the instructor says get the nose up, it's pull back on the yoke, but does that also "tighten" the turn and also increase airspeed? I'm going to ask him to show me what the airplane is really doing with that action. I need to get more understanding, which comes with instruction...and of course hours.

But it is good to get that one point out of the way so I don't feel I OUGHT to be able to tell at this stage.
Will just increase in my mind the importance of my scanning the altimeter and VSI.

Thanks all!

 

[MauleSkinner]

Yes, I also am not "there" as far as awareness of the bigger picture of the airplanes flight path, and a lot other things.

A smaller aside in my original post, when I am doing a 45 deg. banked turn, when the instructor says get the nose up, it's pull back on the yoke, but does that also "tighten" the turn and also increase airspeed? I'm going to ask him to show me what the airplane is really doing with that action. I need to get more understanding, which comes with instruction...and of course hours.

Thanks all!

It tightens the turn (you're increasing the horizontal component of lift as well as the vertical), but doesn't increase speed...that's generally due to the nose lowering, the reason your instructor is telling you to pull the nose up.

As a technique, if you reduce the bank about 5 degrees, you might find raising the nose a little easier, after which you can increase the bank to exactly the 45 degrees again.

 

[bobmrg]

Think of banking as a means of reducing lift (because some of the lift being produced is now horizontal). It is amazing how reducing bank by just a few degrees affects altitude loss.

Bob

 

[bluesideup]

Hi.
I am not sure what acft / instruments you have in there but here are couple of things will give you an indication,
Whisky compass, Wing tips with respect to Horizon, IAS / RPM is it increasing / decreasing with the same setting? Eventually, if you fly the same plane and gain more experience you will feel it in the seat of your pants.

T

So...If the altimeter and VSI were broken, or covered over, it seems to me like other than the attitude of the plane, it could be very hard to know if you are descending or ascending.