X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Mon, 13 May 2013 22:29:48 -0400 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from mail-pd0-f171.google.com ([209.85.192.171] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 6.0.5) with ESMTPS id 6268805 for lml@lancaironline.net; Mon, 13 May 2013 17:47:04 -0400 Received-SPF: pass receiver=logan.com; client-ip=209.85.192.171; envelope-from=keith.smith@gmail.com Received: by mail-pd0-f171.google.com with SMTP id r11so4797771pdi.16 for ; Mon, 13 May 2013 14:46:28 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.68.13.168 with SMTP id i8mr31221976pbc.86.1368481588095; Mon, 13 May 2013 14:46:28 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.70.50.194 with HTTP; Mon, 13 May 2013 14:46:28 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.70.50.194 with HTTP; Mon, 13 May 2013 14:46:28 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: References: X-Original-Date: Mon, 13 May 2013 17:46:28 -0400 X-Original-Message-ID: Subject: Re: [LML] Re: challenging flight with the LNC2 yesterday From: Keith Smith X-Original-To: Lancair Mailing List Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=bcaec520efcff0b35904dca072a3 --bcaec520efcff0b35904dca072a3 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable John, I'm with you on that one. The fundamental skills still need to be there. Like..REALLY need to be there, not just theoretically, from the check ride. ;) They perish quickly, though, hence why I rely so much on simulation... and yes, it is very effective. Keith You are probably correct in that thinking? But flying in Navy fighters in the late 60's you had limited choice. It was either fly without auto pilot when IFR conditions existed or don't fly. That's because there was NO autopilot. Guess which choice our bosses made for us? XM weather? We never even dreamed of that. In reality, the challenges of flying IFR and with only directional beacons, TACANS and omnis for Nav and using PAR approaches was challenging and fun. Not to disparage your cautious approach - the concept of not taking off without all systems go is a good idea - but I worry about the tendency today of thinking the autopilot is a necessity. I think way too many of us don't practice hands on instrument flying including take offs, departure procedures and approaches. We'll be in a world of s@*# if George quits on us at a critical time and we don't know how to handle it. Sort of akin to what happened to the folks on the French Airbus who were driven from about 35K into the sea in a perfectly good airplane because the pilots didn't know how to recognize and deal with lack of airspeed indication. HELLO!! My two cents. John Barrett Sent from my iPad On May 13, 2013, at 10:43 AM, Colyn Case wrote: Somebody is going to call me not a "real" pilot but in the interest of getting from 99.995% safe to 99.999% safe (see my article this month) I'll say anyway that I personally won't launch IFR without: functioning xm weather fully functioning auto-pilot accident stats say that adding a second pilot dramatically improves safety. If you don't have that, auto-pilot is the next best thing. "single pilot IFR is almost an emergency. the first thing that goes wrong after that IS an emergency." Colyn On May 12, 2013, at 5:53 PM, Keith Smith wrote: Hi Jim, The heading hold isn't reliable and the alt hold eventually gets into a PIO after a few minutes, especially if you try to transmit on the radio. I've gotten used to doing 3 1/2hr legs without it at this point. I engage it for brief periods if I need to reorganize the cockpit or eat lunch. Keith On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 4:38 PM, James Collins wrote: > What happened To your auto pilot. I know you had one. Nice report. I've > also seen some of your trips on YouTube always great. > > From Jim Collins iPad > > > On May 1, 2013, at 10:19 AM, Robert R Pastusek wrote= : > > Keith, > Very nice report. Did you notice that with the weather conditions you > experienced, you normally pick up ice at/very near the cloud tops? I=92ve > noticed this to be true over a rather surprising range of OATs=85 Lesson = for > me has been, don=92t dawdle in and out of the tops=85**** > > ** ** > > Bob**** > > ** ** > > *From:* Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] > *On Behalf Of *Keith Smith > *Sent:* Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:58 PM > *To:* lml@lancaironline.net > *Subject:* [LML] challenging flight with the LNC2 yesterday**** > > ** ** > > Flew the LNC2 to Kentucky today for the condition inspection. This was a > tricky flight. I briefed the weather in some detail the night before to g= et > a feel for tops (9-12k along the route of flight), convective activity > (none), likelihood of icing (possible above 9k), winds (hairy at 30kt > headwind initially, then 5-10kt later on). > > Verified the weather this morning, then set off from N07-K24. Cleared > route was "upon entering controlled airspace, direct Chatham NDB, vectors > LANNA V30 ETX V39 MRB ESL V4 HVQ AZQ LOZ, direct." > > Picked up the clearance via phone, told the controller I could depart VFR= , > he was happy to hear it, so off I went. This complicated things slightly = as > I now needed to talk to Caldwell tower (KCDW) immediately after departure > since my route of flight would take me through their airspace. The > challenge would be to talk to them and get a freq change to NY Approach > before butting up against the next Delta, which was Morristown (KMMU). > Caldwell cut me loose as I was passing abeam the tower, so I checked in > with NY Approach who quickly identified me, got me onto a 180 heading and > climbed me to 7000. Once they had me above the Newark arrival stream, the= y > turned me west towards SBJ (not on the original plan, but easily added to > the flight plan and backed up with the VOR receiver a few seconds after > that). > > I spent the next 2 hours or so not being able to see a darned thing, whic= h > is pretty tiring when you're hand flying. The workload was absolutely > relentless between wind shifts, updrafts and downdrafts, monitoring outsi= de > air temps, turning the ram air on and off when going in and out of precip= , > and monitoring inlet air temperature (carb temp), employing carb heat, et= c. > I cannot stress the importance of having a carb temp gauge in non-fuel > injected aircraft that flies IFR. > > The first 2/3 of the flight generally took place at around 8000ft, almost > entirely in stratus clouds with light to moderate precip and a smooth rid= e. > It's hard to explain or recall the sights and sounds of the trip, but her= e > are the 3 most memorable parts: > 1) Keeping close track of temps at 8k, 9k and then 10k, eventually hittin= g > ice at 10k, dropping back down to 9k and watching the ice go "buh > bye"....twice. > > 2) Getting tired of being in IMC and in and out of performance-robbing > clouds, I had a pretty good feeling that if I could get on top, life woul= d > be a lot better. I was able to get the climb from 8-10k but the controlle= r > said it would be a few moments before he could get me higher. The OAT was > dropping, and I knew I had a very, very narrow window to get this climb > done, or I was going to have to drop back down and try again later, or no= t > at all). Just as the first crystals of ice start forming on the canopy, I > receive the climb to 11k. By then, the speed has wound up a bit, and I ha= ve > the ability to trade it for a quick zoom to 11k where I can sense by the > change in lighting that I should pretty much be on top. Sure enough, at > about 10,800, with 115kias (ie, just about out of gas in the zoom), I pop > out on top, the OAT immediately shoots up to +6C and the ice quickly > disappears. I have nothing but blue skies above, and every cloud I can se= e > out to the horizon is below me. Success. I let the speed wind up, carb he= at > off, ram air on and off we go in 'go fast' mode at last, free of the > shackles of IMC. It was a calculated risk, and it paid off. My workload > went down to near 0 for the next hour as I enjoyed the view. As it happen= s, > the tops eventually dropped down to around 7k, but I stayed at 11k as the > fuel burn was lower in any case and the winds were pretty light by that > point. > > 3) best descent phase I think I've ever had...continuous descent from 11k > down to 3600ft for the IAF, except for one level off at 6k to bleed off > some speed prior to entering the tops again, in case the ride wasn't as > smooth. Shot RNAV RWY 17 approach at around 180kias because I knew it wou= ld > be VMC below 3k and I was planning on doing a low approach to greet my > friend at the field anyway. Broke out, got 500ft below the clouds while > remaining on the approach, canceled IFR. Spotted what I thought was the > field, but the angle didn't quite right. It was close, but not quite. I w= as > on the final approach course, but the airport looked slightly off center > and the runway was about 20 degrees off. I double checked the plate to se= e > how the final approach course related to the runway orientation and noted > it was straight in. I looked more closely outside and noticed the airport > dead ahead, about 1.5nm away. I left the power where it was, pitched down= a > little more and savored the 215kias low approach that followed. Slow pull= up > at the end (actually, at that speed, it was more a case of releasing some > of the pressure on the stick, allowing the plane to do what it wanted to = do > which was climb). 700ft into the climb (a few seconds later), start the > crosswind turn, power to 12" and set myself the challenge of not touching > that again since the winds were practically dead, making for a very > predictable pattern. Gear...flaps, base, more flaps, what an amazing view= . > Turned a 1/4 mile final (tight pattern today), one more GUMP check and a > nice touchdown to end a truly interesting flight. > > What struck me after landing was that this was a really challenging > flight, not because of stick & rudder, but because of the thought process > and decision making a long the way. I could've absolutely stayed at 4-6k > the whole way, been miserable, flown slowly and gotten there in one piece= , > but took a calculated risk to get on top and then reaped the rewards with= a > much reduced workload. > > It also occurred to me that flying by reference to instruments for 2 hour= s > straight was tiring, but not especially difficult. I can definitely credi= t > the simulator with having helped with that task. I fly a couple of times = a > week (enroute and approaches) and never feel rusty when getting in the > airplane, even if I haven't flown in IMC for 4-5 months. > > If you're thinking about getting an instrument rating but haven't done > it...you're missing out on whole new world of sights, sounds, utility, > challenges and fun. Do it!**** > > Keith Smith**** > > --bcaec520efcff0b35904dca072a3 Content-Type: text/html; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

John, I'm with you on that one. The fundamental skills s= till need to be there. Like..REALLY need to be there, not just theoreticall= y, from the check ride. ;)

They perish quickly, though, hence why I rely so much on sim= ulation... and yes, it is very effective.

Keith

You ar= e probably correct in that thinking? =A0But flying in Navy fighters in the = late 60's you had limited choice. =A0It was either fly without auto pil= ot when IFR conditions existed or don't fly. =A0That's because ther= e was NO autopilot. =A0Guess which choice our bosses made for us? =A0XM wea= ther? =A0We never even dreamed of that. =A0In reality, the challenges of fl= ying IFR and with only directional beacons, TACANS and omnis for Nav and us= ing PAR approaches was challenging and fun. =A0

Not to disparage your cautious approach - the concept o= f not taking off without all systems go is a good idea =A0- but I worry abo= ut the tendency today of thinking the autopilot is a necessity. =A0I think = way too many of us don't practice hands on instrument flying including = take offs, departure procedures and approaches. =A0We'll be in a world = =A0of s@*# if George quits on us at a critical time and we don't know h= ow to handle it.

Sort of akin to what happened to the folks on the Frenc= h Airbus who were driven from about 35K into the sea in a perfectly good ai= rplane because the pilots didn't know how to recognize and deal with la= ck of airspeed indication. =A0HELLO!!

My two cents.

John Barrett


Sent from my iPad


On= May 13, 2013, at 10:43 AM, Colyn Case <colyncase@earthlink.net> wrote:

Somebody is going to call me not a= "real" pilot but in the interest of getting from 99.995% safe to= 99.999% safe (see my article this month) I'll say anyway that I person= ally won't launch IFR without:

functioning xm weather
fully functioning auto-pilot

accident stats say that adding a second pilot dramatic= ally improves safety. =A0 If you don't have that, auto-pilot is the nex= t best thing.

"single pilot IFR is almost an emergency. =A0 =A0t= he first thing that goes wrong after that IS an emergency."
=


Colyn

On May 12, 2013, at 5:53 PM, Keith Smith wrote:

<= div>Hi Jim,

The heading hold isn't reliable and the alt hold eve= ntually gets into a PIO after a few minutes, especially if you try to trans= mit on the radio. I've gotten used to doing 3 1/2hr legs without it at = this point.=A0 I engage it for brief periods if I need to reorganize the co= ckpit or eat lunch.

Keith


On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 4:38 PM, James Collins <jcollins@snet.n= et> wrote:
What happened To your= auto pilot. I know you had one. Nice report. I've also seen some of yo= ur trips on YouTube always great.

From Jim Collins iPad=A0


On May = 1, 2013, at 10:19 AM, Robert R Pastusek <rpastusek@htii.com> wrote:

Keith,
Very nice report. Did you notice that with the weather conditions you exper= ienced, you normally pick up ice at/very near the cloud tops? I=92ve notice= d this to be true over a rather surprising range of OATs=85 Lesson for me h= as been, don=92t dawdle in and out of the tops=85

=A0

Bob

=A0<= /p>

From: Lanca= ir Mailing List [m= ailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Keith Smith
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:58 PM
To: lml@l= ancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] challenging flight with the LNC2 yesterday<= /u>

=A0

Flew the LNC2 to= Kentucky today for the condition inspection. This was a tricky flight. I b= riefed the weather in some detail the night before to get a feel for tops (= 9-12k along the route of flight), convective activity (none), likelihood of icing (possible above 9k), winds (hairy at = 30kt headwind initially, then 5-10kt later on).

Verified the weather this morning, then set off from N07-K24. Cleared route= was "upon entering controlled airspace, direct Chatham NDB, vectors L= ANNA V30 ETX V39 MRB ESL V4 HVQ AZQ LOZ, direct."

Picked up the clearance via phone, told the controller I could depart VFR, = he was happy to hear it, so off I went. This complicated things slightly as= I now needed to talk to Caldwell tower (KCDW) immediately after departure = since my route of flight would take me through their airspace. The challenge would be to talk to them and get = a freq change to NY Approach before butting up against the next Delta, whic= h was Morristown (KMMU). Caldwell cut me loose as I was passing abeam the t= ower, so I checked in with NY Approach who quickly identified me, got me onto a 180 heading and climbed me to 700= 0. Once they had me above the Newark arrival stream, they turned me west to= wards SBJ (not on the original plan, but easily added to the flight plan an= d backed up with the VOR receiver a few seconds after that).

I spent the next 2 hours or so not being able to see a darned thing, which = is pretty tiring when you're hand flying. The workload was absolutely r= elentless between wind shifts, updrafts and downdrafts, monitoring outside = air temps, turning the ram air on and off when going in and out of precip, and monitoring inlet air temperature = (carb temp), employing carb heat, etc. I cannot stress the importance of ha= ving a carb temp gauge in non-fuel injected aircraft that flies IFR.

The first 2/3 of the flight generally took place at around 8000ft, almost e= ntirely in stratus clouds with light to moderate precip and a smooth ride. = It's hard to explain or recall the sights and sounds of the trip, but h= ere are the 3 most memorable parts:
1) Keeping close track of temps at 8k, 9k and then 10k, eventually hitting = ice at 10k, dropping back down to 9k and watching the ice go "buh bye&= quot;....twice.

2) Getting tired of being in IMC and in and out of performance-robbing clou= ds, I had a pretty good feeling that if I could get on top, life would be a= lot better. I was able to get the climb from 8-10k but the controller said= it would be a few moments before he could get me higher. The OAT was dropping, and I knew I had a very, ver= y narrow window to get this climb done, or I was going to have to drop back= down and try again later, or not at all). Just as the first crystals of ic= e start forming on the canopy, I receive the climb to 11k. By then, the speed has wound up a bit, and I hav= e the ability to trade it for a quick zoom to 11k where I can sense by the = change in lighting that I should pretty much be on top. Sure enough, at abo= ut 10,800, with 115kias (ie, just about out of gas in the zoom), I pop out on top, the OAT immediately shoot= s up to +6C and the ice quickly disappears. I have nothing but blue skies a= bove, and every cloud I can see out to the horizon is below me. Success. I = let the speed wind up, carb heat off, ram air on and off we go in 'go fast' mode at last, free of t= he shackles of IMC. It was a calculated risk, and it paid off. My workload = went down to near 0 for the next hour as I enjoyed the view. As it happens,= the tops eventually dropped down to around 7k, but I stayed at 11k as the fuel burn was lower in any case and the win= ds were pretty light by that point.

3) best descent phase I think I've ever had...continuous descent from 1= 1k down to 3600ft for the IAF, except for one level off at 6k to bleed off = some speed prior to entering the tops again, in case the ride wasn't as= smooth. Shot RNAV RWY 17 approach at around 180kias because I knew it would be VMC below 3k and I was planning on doin= g a low approach to greet my friend at the field anyway. Broke out, got 500= ft below the clouds while remaining on the approach, canceled IFR. Spotted = what I thought was the field, but the angle didn't quite right. It was close, but not quite. I was on th= e final approach course, but the airport looked slightly off center and the= runway was about 20 degrees off. I double checked the plate to see how the= final approach course related to the runway orientation and noted it was straight in. I looked more closely out= side and noticed the airport dead ahead, about 1.5nm away. I left the power= where it was, pitched down a little more and savored the 215kias low appro= ach that followed. Slow pullup at the end (actually, at that speed, it was more a case of releasing some of = the pressure on the stick, allowing the plane to do what it wanted to do wh= ich was climb). 700ft into the climb (a few seconds later), start the cross= wind turn, power to 12" and set myself the challenge of not touching that again since the winds were pract= ically dead, making for a very predictable pattern. Gear...flaps, base, mor= e flaps, what an amazing view. Turned a 1/4 mile final (tight pattern today= ), one more GUMP check and a nice touchdown to end a truly interesting flight.

What struck me after landing was that this was a really challenging flight,= not because of stick & rudder, but because of the thought process and = decision making a long the way. I could've absolutely stayed at 4-6k th= e whole way, been miserable, flown slowly and gotten there in one piece, but took a calculated risk to get on top an= d then reaped the rewards with a much reduced workload.

It also occurred to me that flying by reference to instruments for 2 hours = straight was tiring, but not especially difficult. I can definitely credit = the simulator with having helped with that task. I fly a couple of times a = week (enroute and approaches) and never feel rusty when getting in the airplane, even if I haven't flown= in IMC for 4-5 months.

If you're thinking about getting an instrument rating but haven't d= one it...you're missing out on whole new world of sights, sounds, utili= ty, challenges and fun. Do it!

Keith Smith



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