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Post by peter on Jul 4, 2022 3:36:39 GMT -5
You are right, it does on crosswind. Yes I did calibrate it. Need to be more vigilant when doing a crosswind landing. Ah, you're just discovering what you have been missing with auto rudder
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Post by charliealfatango on Jul 5, 2022 11:09:30 GMT -5
And also the plane turns into the wind, I forgot that little tidbit, so I was adjusting incorrectly and hence the pronounced effect. One more thing, the pedals also have brakes, so just to be careful. And they are differential brakes. I am so just used to having equal brakes.
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Post by Travis on Jul 5, 2022 18:45:47 GMT -5
As a former C172 taxi driver, I'll just suggest that you practice, practice, practice! ----- On a related subject, I've thought to add a method to penalize a flight that had "bad taxi usage" which would check elevator and rudder positioning while taxiing... but that always seemed to me to be too strict for FSCaptain. -----
Although I sometimes favor an optional penalty that would have Captains keep their altimeters properly set for takeoff and landing. Would that be too much to ask???Best,
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Post by peter on Jul 6, 2022 2:08:02 GMT -5
Yep, we didn't discuss the brakes yet. Many real airplanes, such as the C172, are actually steered using the differential brakes. For other airplanes, in particular larger older propeller planes with more than one engine, using the brakes for steering is discouraged since it can lead to damage. So, if you have a good model of an airplane, make sure to learn what to do with the brakes
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Post by charliealfatango on Jul 6, 2022 15:36:19 GMT -5
I am focusing on 172 for the time being. I tried the 208 caravan, too much for me. Once I am comfy with the 172 I will go to the 208. I also tried the citation, uncontrollable, either i was doing too little or too much.
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Post by Travis on Jul 6, 2022 20:34:29 GMT -5
Sounds like a solid plan!
Get comfortable with the Skyhawk and when you feel that you're ready for more power / range / payload, the Caravan is an excellent step up.
Have you ever had real world lessons or have you taken an "introductory flight" at a local airfield? If not, try and take one.
Mine changed the way I used my simulator.
Best,
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Post by charliealfatango on Jul 7, 2022 12:39:32 GMT -5
I did take an introductry flight a while back (like 2 decades ago). I have been hooked on FS since 1984. My dad worked for the airlines so I have been a passenger since age 7. But been around airports and aircrafts developed my love for them. I am saving for more lessons and get a private license. Nothing commercial. Just a once in a while weekend thing.
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Post by Travis on Jul 7, 2022 20:35:53 GMT -5
Sweet! You're lucky with your history. Get that PPL, find yourself a "hundred dollar burger joint" and enjoy!! Until then - practice, practice, practice with those pedals! Best,
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Post by alaskanflyboy on Jul 16, 2022 11:03:25 GMT -5
Good choice on the pedals. I have all Saitek stuff that's still working after 15 years (aside from the clock on the yoke flickering). I've been eyeing the Honeycomb stuff as a future upgrade, especially the throttle quadrant.
Definitely practice with the pedals. Many light aircraft have a limited turn radius with nose steering alone and need differential braking to force the nose to turn sharper. If you ever get into taildraggers, rudder usage gets even trickier. Some, like the DC-3 have a castering tail wheel, so all steering is done with differential braking until rudder authority picks up on the takeoff roll. And being castering, once it starts turning, it takes more differential braking to get it to try to go straight ahead again.
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Post by charliealfatango on Jul 18, 2022 12:34:09 GMT -5
Having a lot of fun with my Saitek pedals. I did have to practice practice practice. But now better control and much more easier lineup and stable approaches. It takes a bit to understand that a rudder is not the same as a steering wheel. At different speeds the level of control changes.
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Post by alaskanflyboy on Jul 27, 2022 20:38:27 GMT -5
Having a lot of fun with my Saitek pedals. I did have to practice practice practice. But now better control and much more easier lineup and stable approaches. It takes a bit to understand that a rudder is not the same as a steering wheel. At different speeds the level of control changes. In terms of ground handling on taxiways, it's close to a steering wheel (with the quirks I previously mentioned). In the air, it changes a lot. The faster you go, the more sensitive it is. In multi-engine aircraft, you'll see V MC mentioned. This is the minimum air speed at which you will have sufficient rudder authority to counter failure of the critical engine. Other things you can now play with are skid and slip. When you turn, the wing to the outside of the turn is moving faster through the air and drag increases on that wing. This naturally makes the plane want to yaw to the outside creating a skid. This is countered by kicking rudder to the inside of the turn to force the nose in line with the flight path. Because skidding increases drag, it can also be used to drop a lot of altitude in a short distance if you're high on approach. Try kicking rudder hard to once side and maintaining the runway centerline and you'll see how effective this can be in slowing down and dropping fast. Just be careful with your airspeed since you're cross-coordinated and, if you stall, you will likely enter a spin. As you've noticed, you can slip or crab to deal with crosswinds. I've always preferred the slip as it keeps you longitudinally aligned with the runway centerline. With the crab, you're at an angle to the runway centerline and must kick rudder just before flare to align with the runway. Again, slipping is a cross-coordinated maneuver that puts you at risk of entering a spin, but maintaining a proper approach speed gives you a good buffer over the stall speed. Keep playing with the rudder and you'll be learning a lot of uses to justify your purchase.
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Post by peter on Jul 28, 2022 3:15:37 GMT -5
Because skidding increases drag, it can also be used to drop a lot of altitude in a short distance if you're high on approach. Nice post and a great example of rudder use. Skidding is quite famous in Canadian aviation because the pilot of the Gimli glider used it to save the passengers of a B767 when it ran out of fuel over Manitoba. Cheers, Peter
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Post by charliealfatango on Jul 28, 2022 10:50:02 GMT -5
Having a lot of fun with my Saitek pedals. I did have to practice practice practice. But now better control and much more easier lineup and stable approaches. It takes a bit to understand that a rudder is not the same as a steering wheel. At different speeds the level of control changes. In terms of ground handling on taxiways, it's close to a steering wheel (with the quirks I previously mentioned). In the air, it changes a lot. The faster you go, the more sensitive it is. In multi-engine aircraft, you'll see V MC mentioned. This is the minimum air speed at which you will have sufficient rudder authority to counter failure of the critical engine. Other things you can now play with are skid and slip. When you turn, the wing to the outside of the turn is moving faster through the air and drag increases on that wing. This naturally makes the plane want to yaw to the outside creating a skid. This is countered by kicking rudder to the inside of the turn to force the nose in line with the flight path. Because skidding increases drag, it can also be used to drop a lot of altitude in a short distance if you're high on approach. Try kicking rudder hard to once side and maintaining the runway centerline and you'll see how effective this can be in slowing down and dropping fast. Just be careful with your airspeed since you're cross-coordinated and, if you stall, you will likely enter a spin. As you've noticed, you can slip or crab to deal with crosswinds. I've always preferred the slip as it keeps you longitudinally aligned with the runway centerline. With the crab, you're at an angle to the runway centerline and must kick rudder just before flare to align with the runway. Again, slipping is a cross-coordinated maneuver that puts you at risk of entering a spin, but maintaining a proper approach speed gives you a good buffer over the stall speed. Keep playing with the rudder and you'll be learning a lot of uses to justify your purchase. In the Skyhawk 172, If I am flying base leg level 1000 ft (a little high - like 200ft), about 65kts heading 30, wind is 10 knot from 360, and bank left 15 degrees for final to a heading of 330 to land on rwy 33, to create the skid do I push right rudder or left rudder? and do i maintain the bank?
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Post by alaskanflyboy on Jul 28, 2022 21:06:12 GMT -5
It's not so scientific as that. For a slip, if the crosswind is coming from your left, you'll simultaneously bank left to fight the drift while kicking right rudder to align the nose with the runway centerline. If you start drifting right, bank harder into the wind while adding more rudder to align the nose. If you're drifting left, then it's the opposite. After a bit of practice, you stop really thinking about it and just start doing it. For a crab to landing, you'll turn into the wind until you stop drifting from the runway centerline. This results in a level bank, but your aircraft is approaching the runway at an angle (hence the name crab as in crab-walking). Before landing, you'll need to kick the nose in line with the ground path right before landing or you'll sideload the landing gear, and at best shoot off the side of the runway as soon as the tires catch. At worst, you'll roll the tires off the bead and or collapse your landing gear. I'd look into a few YouTube videos on the subjects of "crabbing", "side slipping", and "forward slipping". Here's one on side slips, as they're a little more obscure to find, but my preferred crosswind approach and landing technique. I think because it is a cross-coordinated maneuver, it's been more discouraged in recent years to prevent accidental spins with no altitude for recovery. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwVxvyccrDY
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Post by charliealfatango on Aug 1, 2022 13:50:55 GMT -5
Thank you for the detailed description.
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