AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2022 - 26

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Getting to
know you
Entering a relationship with a new airplane
I'VE BEEN DALLYING with an Extra 300L that Bruce Williams
donated to AOPA this winter in support of safety (see " Briefing:
Extraordinary Generosity, " p. 37). We're in the early stages of our
relationship, the Extra and me, and I know to be careful. The
Extra-a popular choice among world aerobatic champions-is
built for more than I'm currently ready to handle. Its high G-limits,
rapid roll rate, and power response make for an exciting platform
to demonstrate unusual attitude awareness and recovery, and
to stress the disciplined mental work that advanced aerobatics
demands...eventually. All in good time. For now, we'll get to know
each other, this mischief and me.
Airplanes lure you into different risks. Backcountry airplanes
like Carbon Cubs and Huskys tempt you to go more rugged, into
shorter, and rougher strips in harder-to-access locations. As a
result, you're maneuvering slower and lower, in tighter confines,
closer to stall with limited room to recover. You're also learning
maximum performance braking in a tailwheel on rough terrain-a
delicate act. The cross-country cruisers, like Cirruses and
Bonanzas, get you and companions to destinations in style and
comfort. You want friends and family to experience the convenience
and access of general aviation travel. The cruisers will lure
you to push weather conditions and chance turbulence and icing
forecasts to make the trip. They're equipped to fly approaches in
lower weather than you may be ready to handle.
The Extra is an adrenaline junkie. It's your renegade friend
who tempted you to skip class when the surf was up, or the powder
was fresh. If a dance with a Super Cub is a slow dance by a bonfire,
and a Bonanza is a waltz at a cotillion, dancing with an Extra is a
fandango. Provocative and enticing, it demands full attention, and
it's anxious for a thrill. If you're not careful, if you lack the patience
to let your skills develop and learn to lead the airplane with firm
finesse, you'll get tangled up and tumble.
Advancing flying skills requires going beyond your comfort
level, but you must extend at a measured pace, deliberately,
always leaving an option to retreat to where you're comfortable.
Transitioning airplanes initially pushes us beyond our comfort
level, and statistically, new-to-us airplanes add risk. For many the
transition is a tailwheel, or an upgrade to more power, retractable
landing gear, or advanced avionics. Some step up to twin
engines or turboprops and even jets. We see tragedies in each of
26
AOPA PILOT / April 2022
BY RICHARD MCSPADDEN / Senior Vice President
AOPA Air Safety Institute
these upgrade scenarios as pilots underestimate the gaps in their
skills and experience. Rather than advancing at a methodical,
deliberate pace, they get over-confident after a little experience.
When strong winds, poor weather, busy airspace, or higher gross
weight complicate the flight, they get behind the airplane and fall
further and further behind until they can no longer retreat to
their comfort zone.
My experience flying aggressive, high-G air combat maneuvers
in mock dogfights, and showing off the performance of the
F-15 as an airshow demonstration pilot, will prove helpful. But
I've been away from the advanced aerobatic scene for a while,
and my G-tolerance is low. I've not flown extreme aerobatics
with propeller thrust, which changes dynamics at high angles of
attack. I've never experienced inverted spins, lomcevaks, or sustained
negative-G maneuvers. The F-15 was limited to negative
3 Gs; I rarely touched negative 2 and then only briefly. Negative
Gs are exponentially more punishing than positive Gs and can
be disorienting. The Extra is rated to negative 10 Gs. Airshow
pilots like Patty Wagstaff and Michael Goulian will push negative
6 or 7 Gs several times in a single performance. That's a
regime I cannot imagine experiencing right now, even fleetingly.
So, I'll take my time with the Extra, seek training, and get lots of
advice from experts who have flown them for years through the
entire flight envelope. Then, the Extra and I will start with the
basics. Once we master those, and I have an instinctive feel for
the airplane and build confidence in my ability to recover when
I get in trouble, then we can push the edge.
I've learned through our first encounters that the Extra isn't all
that naughty. In fact, underneath the rebellious persona, it's wellmannered.
When you go too far with the Extra, you can demand it
settle down by pulling throttle to idle, neutralizing the stick, and
applying rudder opposite whatever disorienting direction you're
whirling. If you can gather yourself to exert this control correctly,
the Extra will straighten up and behave.
Airplanes will lure us to leap beyond our comfort level more
quickly than we're ready. We need to be more thoughtful, start
slowly, and progress in stages
as we demonstrate skills and
build confidence.
richard.mcspadden@aopa.org
RICHARD MCSPADDEN
leads the AOPA Air Safety
Institute.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2022

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