Driving this morning with the top down I saw a hawk soaring. This started a train of thought that it might be fun to start a thread about tricks we've learned which might be worth sharing. Here goes...
1. The Piper pop-up
I was flying my Archer one day with a CFI friend sitting in the right seat. I had started my takeoff roll and was up to about 40 kt when a turkey came trotting out of the woods and started coming onto the runway. My friend said "My airplane, watch this...".
He popped in 2 notches of flaps, and darned if that airplane didn't pop about 5 feet in the air, and we missed that old hen turkey. I'll never forget that trick
2. Watch the birds
A high hours bush pilot taught me to watch the birds. That hawk I saw soaring is a good example, Watch his ground speed as he circles. When it gets lowest, that's the direction the wind is coming from.
Where that hawk is soaring there's probably an updraft, so expect one if you fly over there. Is it struggling to maintain altitude? Look for a downdraft.
Are the birds getting slammed around up over the tree line? Then it's likely you will too. Are they getting slammed around near the runway? Maybe there's wind shear...
Anyway, let's hear what tricks you've learned and want to share
1. The Piper pop-up
I was flying my Archer one day with a CFI friend sitting in the right seat. I had started my takeoff roll and was up to about 40 kt when a turkey came trotting out of the woods and started coming onto the runway. My friend said "My airplane, watch this...".
He popped in 2 notches of flaps, and darned if that airplane didn't pop about 5 feet in the air, and we missed that old hen turkey. I'll never forget that trick
2. Watch the birds
A high hours bush pilot taught me to watch the birds. That hawk I saw soaring is a good example, Watch his ground speed as he circles. When it gets lowest, that's the direction the wind is coming from.
Where that hawk is soaring there's probably an updraft, so expect one if you fly over there. Is it struggling to maintain altitude? Look for a downdraft.
Are the birds getting slammed around up over the tree line? Then it's likely you will too. Are they getting slammed around near the runway? Maybe there's wind shear...
Anyway, let's hear what tricks you've learned and want to share