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FEBRUARY 2009 Volume 3, Issue 2 |
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 Welcome
to the February issue of Reach for the Sky,
EAA's monthly e-newsletter written and created
for people who are interested in learning how to
fly. This month Certified Flight Instructor
Steve Krog explains the importance of
"thinking ahead of the airplane" in
the event of an emergency landing and notes that
practicing emergency situations during flight
instruction greatly improves our chances of a
positive outcome in a real situation.
In this month's
"A Personal View," Steve introduces us
to Earl Sessions, 69-year-old man whose love for
airplanes as a child influenced his decision to
join the U.S. Air Force, build his own airplane,
and earn his sport pilot's license - in that
order!
As always, feel
free to forward your copy to someone who might
like to receive the newsletter. And remember,
you don't need to be an EAA member to subscribe.
Note: If you're a
pilot just starting out and would like to share
your story, or if you have a question about flight-training,
drop us an e-mail at LearnToFly@eaa.org.
In
this issue ...
- Forced
Landing During Cruise Flight - Steve
Krog, CFI, Editor
- Update:
Earning My Wings video blog - Brady
Lane, EAA Multimedia Journalist
- What You're
Asking - Questions for your instructor
- A Personal
View - Don't let age stop you from
flying - Steve Krog
- Aviation
Glossary: Learning the language of
flight
- This
Month's Poll: What is your favorite
maneuver to perform in an airplane?
- Did You
Know?: Facts and information on the
world of flight
Forced
Landing During Cruise Flight
By Steve Krog
Everything is
operating smoothly while on a cross-country
pleasure flight. You and your passenger have
been lulled into a near state of euphoria
watching the spectacular landscape glide by
underneath you. The beautiful colors and
patchwork farm fields surrounded by trees and
small streams causes one to feel as if you're
flying through paradise. Suddenly, the sound of
the engine is deafening quiet and every nerve
ending snaps to attention. What happened? Why
did the engine quit?
[ Read
more
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Update:
Earning My Wings: A video blog about learning to
fly |
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Brady Lane
Written
Test: PASSED!
All the
hours of reading and studying paid off.
Today I took and passed the sport pilot
knowledge test!
I scored
93%, which my British boss tells me is
better than Prince
Harry did this week. (Sorry Adam, I
had to rub it in.)
I
prepared for the test using an
assortment of materials - primarily the 2009
FAR/AIM, ASA's
Test Prep book and Gleim's
Test Prep CD-ROM. I felt really
prepared going into the test. There were
a handful of questions I had never seen
before, but I felt I knew the content
well enough to answer them correctly (or
now that I think of it, those may be the
ones I missed).
It feels
so good to have this milestone behind
me. Now I can focus on refining my
skills in the air and making sure I
really understand the practical
application of everything I've been
reading.
As I move
forward, the next big test will be the
practical exam. I've heard the better
you do on the written test, the harder
the examiner grills you during your oral
test. Is there any truth to this rumor?
Any tips as I start this next phase of
training?
==============
Using cockpit cameras, Brady is
recording video of every flight lesson
and posting them at www.EAA.org/wings/.
He encourages you to visit the blog
regularly for updates and invites you to
leave comments and questions.
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Q&A:
What you're asking
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| Common
questions for the instructor from beginning flight students
Q:
It's my understanding that I can do
"some" training for a sport
pilot certificate in a different plane
such as a four-passenger Cessna and not
entirely in a LSA. Can a third person
besides the CFI and the student be in
the plane during student training?
A: You
understand correctly. You can take part
of your sport pilot training in a non-LSA
airplane. Dual instruction is allowed.
All of your solo flights must be made in
an LSA airplane and you must take your
checkride in an LSA airplane. It is
permissible to have a passenger along on
a training flight, assuming you're
training in a 4-passenger plane, and
provided you and your instructor are
both in agreement on having the
passenger along with you.
[ More
questions ]
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A Personal
View - Don't let age stop you from flying |
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| By
Steve Krog
 "Don't
let your age stop you from flying," states
69-year-old Earl Sessions. "In my opinion,
if you can drive a car, you can learn to
fly." Earl added, "What stops a person
from flying is never trying it! Think about what
you can do on a weekend if you fly. Where you
can go? What you can see? Who you can visit?
What you can do?"
Earl Sessions'
love of airplanes and flying began over six
decades ago growing up near Macon, Georgia.
"When I was six or seven years old I'd sit
on the front porch and watch Piper J-3 Cubs
perform spins and stalls. This was right after
World War II and there was a very active flight
school near my house," he said. [ Read
more ]
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gear indicators
- a device in the cockpit of an airplane with a
retractable landing gear to inform the pilot of
the condition of the wheels. It indicates
whether they are down and locked, in transit, or
up and locked.
landing flaps
- a secondary control surface built into the
wing by which the overall wing area, or
lift-drag ratio, can be increased. The increased
wing area permits a slower landing speed. The
increased drag reduces airspeeds on landing and
shortens the afterlanding roll.
pancake landing
- an aircraft landing procedure in which the
aircraft is on an even plane with the runway. As
the aircraft reduces speed and lift, it drops to
the ground in a flat or prone attitude.
[ more
glossary terms
]
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Last
month's poll: We
asked, "When is the best time to fly?"
The majority of you responded
"Anytime!" with 52 percent of the
votes! About a quarter of you said you liked
flying at sunrise, while the rest enjoyed flying
at sunset or in the day. Flying at night was the
least popular response with just 8 percent of
the total votes. To view the full results click
here.
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Did you know .
. .
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The exosphere is the
uppermost layer of the atmosphere. It begins at
about 700 km or 435 miles up and fades off into the vacuum
of space. The gases up there are extremely thin and there
is not much oxygen, mostly hydrogen. Conventional
aircraft, like piston-engine or jet, are unable to travel
to the exosphere. Special aircraft such as the X-15
rocketplane, the Space Shuttle, and SpaceShipOne are
designed to fly that high and beyond.
Most aircraft are
capable of flying aerobatic maneuvers. However,
the airplanes you see at an air show are specifically
designed for aerobatic flight.
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Most aircraft are designed for
specific purposes, such as training, hauling cargo, flying
passengers, or flying aerobatics. In general, aerobatic
aircraft are designed to withstand the extreme
"G" forces of aerobatics and are less stable
that other aircraft, which makes them easier to fly
aerobatically.
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A moment to
join, a lifetime to fly
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 If
you’re preparing to become a pilot, the EAA
community is here for you. Membership gives you
access to the collective passion, knowledge,
experience, and support of 170,000 members
worldwide. You'll get to participate in EAA
events, connect with fellow members, and have
access to the tools and resources to get you
airborne. Join the fun by visiting http://www.eaa.org/membership/benefits.asp
today.
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Reach for the Sky - EAA's Guide to Learning
to Fly and Light-Sport Aircraft
|
 EAA’s
guide to learning to fly and light-sport aircraft
is a resource to help anyone take the first
steps toward becoming a pilot. Whether you want to
have fun in a powered parachute or one day want to
command a Mars mission, Reach for the Sky is a
great place to start. It is
available
as a PDF
that will take a few minutes to download with a
high-speed connection.
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From the book
"Say....." Martin Leeuwis Publications
www.humor.aero
humor@leeuwispubli.nl
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