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NE Practice area Google with ground elevations













XWIND

Cross wind landing technique is often the subject of debate - slip or crab and kick it straight at touch down


There should be no debate about the touch down, the nose should be aligned with the runway using rudder(unless you are flying an Aircoupe) and drift controlled with aileron. How you get there is a matter of choice. Read more. Think Lean into the wind(Aileron) get straight with the centerline (rudder).

RUNWAY

Runway Markers - know your landing and take-off distances

Google Earth is a great tool for flight training. Find Scottsdale Airport. You know from the A/FD that the runway is 8240 ft long by 100 ft wide. The threshold on runway 3 is displaced 400 ft and for runway 21 its displaced 740 ft. The private landing requirements are within 400 and 200 ft, and for the commercial the corresponding requiremts are half that. Using Google Earth you should be able to figure out where your touchdown should be on any landing. Next time you fly locate your marks.

Gene Whitt

Gene Whitt is a crusty old flight instructor with a lot wisdom to pass on. Check out is thoughts at this web site.

When it comes to IFR he has a lot to say there as well. Check out Gene Whitt on IFR.

Ever wonder about where radar came from. Gene has put together a history of radar.

PTS The PTS (Practical Test Standards)

Know the PTS for the rating you are going for - backward and forward. Don't wait until the night before your check ride to start looking at them. They should be a part of every lesson. The FAA demands that applicants are tested by the book, and this is the book.
TURNS

Turns About a Point or On a Point - what is the difference?

These maneuvers are in the Private, Commercial, and Instructor PTS - what is the difference and how do you fly them. Click here for a little different explanation.

How large is your turning radius, and how does your speed and angle of bank effect it. To get a spreadsheet showing turn calculations.

GPS-1 Can a hand held GPS enhance flight training

A hand held GPS is not a legal navigational tool but can be a valuable training aid when used to document performance for ground based, navaid, and airspace reference maneuvers and training flights. Read here to learn how.
EGT

Most aircraft have an EGT gauge or multi-point digital EGT. How do you effectively use this instrument.

The EGT measure the Exhaust Gas Temperature. EGT is the direct product of the combustion process. Understanding it will enhance your piloting skills. Read this article for a detailed description of the EGT.

IWA-VOR Approaches are an essential part of instrument flight training. To get the variety GPS, ILS, VOR, LDA you typically have to do a lot of inefficient flying to get to the location of the approach only to be frustrated by traffic or other conditions that preclude flying the full approach.

This article shows you how to offset GPS approaches to a more convenient location for easy access. Read Offsetting Approaches to find out how this is done.
CSProp How does a constant speed propeller work. Multi-engine aircraft require additional features to enable the propeller to feather and unfeather.

Constant speed propellers come in two basic type. Those that use a spring to balance high pressure oil and those that use conter-weights to oppose the high pressure oil supplied the the boost pump in the govenor. Read this short paper to learn more about constant speed propellers.
spin-entry What is a spin. Why do aircraft spin and what should every pilot know about them.

There is no requirement for pilots at any level the demonstrate the recovery from a spin. yet stall/spin acccidents continue to happen. Read here what I think every pilot should know about spins.
good-landing

Some pilots just make good landings every time. What is their secret.

Your passengers judge your piloting skills by your landing. There about as many explanation for a good landing as there are pilots. But here is a short and relatively simple tutorial on making good landings - every time.