Uh Oh, Lost the entire panel!

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

Final Approach
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Jaybird180
No, this did not happen to me nor to anyone that I know.

As I was re-reading an article this morning in Flight Traning magazine I thought about the author's suggestion of critical information that is provided by the instruments.

The basic premise of the article is that the author suggests that no instrument are required for SAFE VFR flight. He says that if he had to choose to have ONE instrument, it would be the compass, followed by his wristwatch, and obviously a chart. Then he could go anywhere by maintaining altitude below 3,000 AGL; enough to not be concerned with an altimeter.

How many of us would practice flying in this condition from startup to shutdown? (Is that even legal - placarding all the instruments?)

I confess to being overdependent upon the ASI in the pattern. I would like to remove this limitation from my flying and specifically worked on this during my checkride prep in the C172. Alas, after flying so many different types since being certificated, I admit that the "problem" never left, that I'd only learned sight and kinestetic clues to put me "in the ballpark" for this specific type when my CFI covered the ASI. In essence, I'd learned to fly the C172 with a simulated failed panel. My confidence in this capability isn''t tranfering very well in the C182 I'm flying (the ASI being marked in MPH instead of Knots isn't helping the situation either).

Anyone care to confess to a similar limitation?

Anyone have any suggestions to help me overcome my particular limitation?
 
I carry my iPad in the airplane with me when I instruct. It normally spends more time covering the PFD than anything else.
 
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I have flown a De Havilland Beaver from California to Alaska and back with only a wet compass and a wristwatch. Didn't cover up the panel, but that's all that's required to navigate.

Not only can you fly a 172 without seeing most of the instruments, with a little practice, you will be able to hold airspeed with +- 2 knots.
 
Maybe I should add that I fly from small fields in the midst of obstructions and hold myself to persoanl standards for landing.

My personal standard is ON airspeed, and stall horn in the flare. The C182 POH states 70-80mph final approach, my goal is 70 (+-0). My transition CFI is happy with 80 on final, I'm not. Yet, I ...

I think I need more stall practice and that should help tremendously. NEXT!
 
j1b3h0 said:
I have flown a De Havilland Beaver from California to Alaska and back with only a wet compass and a wristwatch. Didn't cover up the panel, but that's all that's required to navigate.

Not only can you fly a 172 without seeing most of the instruments, with a little practice, you will be able to hold airspeed with +- 2 knots.
Click to expand...

And if you are good you can take off, navigate to your destination and land with a compass, chart, and even not need the yoke.

I'n not that good, but I do practice not using isntrumets. Infact after entering the pattern I'm 99%+ "eyes out"
 
Do you check airspeed by feel only or do you refer to the ASI?
 
Pitch + power = performance

Once you know the pitch and power settings for an airspeed then you can fly that and look outside..... There are only a few to figure out and then the rest are just variations on a theme.
 
Jaybird180 said:
Do you check airspeed by feel only or do you refer to the ASI?
Click to expand...
By feel only on a slow final. You can get this by practicing slow flight the way it is described in the PTS, or in my own words, 'on top of the stall'.

get some altitude and get into you landing config, and slow up to Vmc, and ease into an out of the stall/buffet/stall controlling heading,pitch,and roll as you descend until you can hold it steady down final 'on top of the stall', strictly by feel.

Down in that range, the ASI is very unreliable, anyway.
 
I wonder if this has caught some very experienced pilots out in times of excess workload? I'm skeptical that I should always conduct pattern ops this way. Perhaps a tool in my toolbox, but always...?
 
Oh and the compass watch and chart nav is a good skill too, one ferry flight of an airplane sans electrics was a good reinforcment of that.

Also happy to report it was a non event.
 
Skylane81E said:
Oh and the compass watch and chart nav is a good skill too, one ferry flight of an airplane sans electrics was a good reinforcment of that.
Click to expand...

Yup. Lost the alternator over Nebraska coming bad from OSH a few years ago.
Had a mechanic check it, it was an internal fault with no danger to the aircraft from operation. Flew the rest of the way back with the master off.
Watch and chart all the way. Fuel at 3.5hrs, check times to checkpoints, etc.

It was a nice reminder of primary instruction.

The conversation about airspeed indicators and lack of need for them is nice when you fly the same plane (or type) regularly. I could do a short field landing in my bird with no instruments.
But when flying different type aircraft, with different feels, or high performance aircraft, there's a reason the instrument is there. Or when dealing with having to add in gust factors, or when in rough air with airspeed excursions, or (on and on)......

Like most things, they aren't there necessarily for normal ops, they are there for when things are non-standard and you need the information (and usually need it badly and immediately).
 
My instructor had me do a few night landings with no instruments whatsoever. Completely cut all the lights out to simulate an electrical failure. I couldn't see a thing on the panel. I thought it was pretty fun, if I ever encounter that emergency i'll do just fine.
 
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