Message-ID: <368718CB.702F@select-ware.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 00:36:11 -0500
From: m w grossmann <fries@select-ware.com>
Reply-To: fries@select-ware.com
Organization: select ware, inc.
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01Gold (Win95; I)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.student
Subject: Re: Unusual attitudes
References: <36845EF4.957@stephenames.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
NNTP-Posting-Host: 207.240.142.60
X-NNTP-Posting-Host: 207.240.142.60
Lines: 54
Path: news.jprc.com!dca1-feed2.news.digex.net!dca1-hub1.news.digex.net!digex!howland.erols.net!news-xfer.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!news.inch.com!207.240.142.60
Xref: news.jprc.com rec.aviation.student:43014

St Stephen Ames wrote:

> I did unusual attitudes the other day ina lesson and couldn't understand
> how you could get there...The only thing I could think of was after
> performing a high G move you black out and wake up rather quickly...I
> just can't think of what you would be doing to let you blank for that
> long(maybe fighting a fire or a pax!)...I would be interested in real
> life situations some of you may have experienced...I didn't have any
> problem with them as I really like the hood work and look forward to
> instrument training as I think I have found a niche...

The situations pop up on you like a bad case of.. never mind.

A few days before my checkride, I went up to clean up some manouvres,
includin turns around a point and 45s. I trained at CLW (Clearwater),
so the practice area is over the water, and the coast runs only about
five degrees off 0-180.

Saw the clouds/haze, but it they were over the water off the coast at
least a few miles. This happens in Florida a lot. It seemed to be far
enough off to leave me clear. I went up to about 2500' rather than the
normal 1500, since I was doing manouvres in which I'd managed to lose
about 400' worst case with an instructor.

I did one sweet 45 to the right. Looked good, felt good, DG *locked* on
45, ALT *locked* on 2500', felt the 1G in the seat and hit my wake
turbulence. Then I went left. It started ugly and got worse. I'd been in
that situation before, so I moved to 30 degrees and pulled back to hold
altitude, and increased throttle just for good measure. It wasn't
helping. I started the turn at a heading of about 002, was about 100
degrees into it trying to clean up a mess and was facing nothing but
white. Couldn't see the water below and was too busy to look behind me.
My instruments did NOT look good, especially the altimeter, so I tried
to abort and right the plane, then I'd work my way out of the haze. I'll
take VFR-into-IFR over 2000'-into-water any day.

I got some serious unusual attitude practice that day. It also managed
to disorient me (something the flight instructors never managed) ad I
found myself saying out loud, "Fly the plane. The instruments are right
and your ears are wrong." I flew the instruments and headed 090, which,
on the west coast of central Florida, guarantees you'll be back over
land pretty soon. Got my bearings back and headed to CLW for some
pattern work.

Yes I 'fessed up to my instructors. They smiled, shook their heads, and
unfortunately, didn't seem all that surprised.

Hope this helps you or someone else in some way or I've embarrassed
myself further for no good reason.

Cheers-

m w grossmann
PP blah blah blah
