AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2014 - 18

PROFICIENT PILOT

Training your feet

BY BARRY SCHIFF

The essence of flight control

BARRY SCHIFF

has flown 342
different types
of aircraft (and is
looking for more).

A PET PEEVE OF MINE that is particularly grating occurs
occasionally when I administer flight reviews in singleengine airplanes. During the initial climb after takeoff,
some pilots maintain heading and compensate for
the airplane's left-turning tendency (from P-factor, et
cetera) by banking slightly right instead of holding the
wings level and pressuring right rudder. Such pilots also
seem to lack aileron-rudder coordination during turn
entry and recovery. Such slipping though the sky seems
more prevalent these days possibly because not enough
emphasis is placed during training on the proper and
often subtle use of rudder.
It seems that more emphasis was placed on the basic
elements of flight during the 1950s when flying the airplane was all that there was to learn. There was no time
spent with glass cockpits and computerized systems.
Emphasis was placed on teaching pilots the essence of
flight control. Period.
I recall exercises that were used during those
simpler times that seldom are used today. One such
exercise, for example, involved slowly transitioning
from cruise flight to a maximum-performance climb
(and return) with the pilot's feet resting on the floor.
As the nose came up and power was increased, we were
instructed to keep the wings level using the ailerons and
told to observe the airplane entering and maintaining
a skidding left yaw. We actually made 90-degree turns
that way. This, we were taught, however, was no way
to fly an airplane. Finally the instructor would say,
"OK. Now slowly apply right rudder to arrest the yaw."
The pilot was then instructed to vary power and attitude while modulating rudder application to maintain
a constant, wings-level heading (using a landmark on
the horizon). After a while, it became natural to vary
rudder with changes in attitude, power, and airspeed.
The pilot's feet became trained to keep the slip-skid ball
centered without having to look at it. He became conditioned to using the rudder without thinking about it.
Not as much time is spent on such exercises today,
perhaps because modern training aircraft are designed
such that the need to apply rudder is perceived to be
almost insignificant. But when such a pilot moves up to
more powerful single-engine airplanes, the necessity for
well-trained feet becomes more apparent.
There obviously are other instructors aware of pilots
who have not developed proper rudder skills. One is
Michael J. Banner, a 5,000-hour, part-time instructor

18 | AOPA PILOT November 2014

for University Air Center in Gainseville, Florida. (He
also is a faculty member at the University of Florida
specializing in respiratory physiology.) Recognizing
that improper rudder usage is an ongoing problem, he
developed an interesting rudder-training exercise for
student (and other) pilots that goes well beyond using
the rudder to simply prevent slipping and skidding. It is
intended to make pilots more skillful with rudder usage
and make them more appreciative of what a rudder
can do, an awareness that could come in handy during
unusual or emergency situations.
The exercise begins by applying mild rudder pressure (no aileron) to enter a shallow skidding turn. Once
in the turn the rudder pedals are neutralized to maintain the turn. The desired bank angle is maintained by
applying right or left rudder as necessary.
Once the turn is stabilized, the pilot applies additional rudder in the direction of the turn (bottom
rudder) to increase turn rate. The nose eventually begins
to slide down, and the airplane begins to descend with
increasing airspeed. Continuing this obviously would
result in a spiral dive. So after losing only a few hundred feet, the pilot is instructed to apply opposite (top)
rudder to level the wings and recover from the turn.
The nose returns to a normal attitude, lost altitude is
restored, and airspeed recovers to about where it was
before the maneuver had begun.
Using the rudder to raise a lowered wing, of course,
is typically recommended to control bank angle when
an airplane is about to stall (or has stalled). Practicing
and becoming familiar with Banner's rudder exercise
makes it more likely that a pilot will instinctively use
rudder during stall recovery instead of trying to roll the
wings level with ailerons, something that can worsen a
stall and lead to a spin.
Unfortunately, many regard the rudder as a necessary evil. They think of it as something stuck on the tail
as a design afterthought. The more one learns to use it
properly, though, the more he begins to appreciate how
important it is.
Speaking of pet peeves and flight reviews, another
of my pet peeves is FAA changing the terminology from
"biennial flight review" to "flight review" even though
said reviews are conducted biennially. I mean, was there
really a reason to change it from a BFR to an FR? AOPA
WEB

www.barryschiff.com

http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2014