VisualArt

Chapter 1: Fear Of Heights

Ever since I can remember I had been afraid of heights. This was apparent at high sea walls, buildings, rooftops, rollercoaster rides, and during air travel. In 2003 I began taking flying lessons to get over my fear. I thought this would be an effective method to address my weakness. But... they just don't let anyone get behind the controls of even a small plane.

Chapter 2: First, A Lesson In Physics

Before I could confront my fear, I first had to learn the basics (from Jeppesen's Private Pilot's Manual). This includes the components to the aircraft and the many simultaneous forces acting upon it (check out this dictionary for any terminology you wish to explore). The first few sessions of ground school covers safety of flight, aviation concepts, and after some homework you can jump into a Cessna 172 under the proper supervision of your instructor. Of the acting forces that really stuck with me, were those resulting from the propeller. Not only does the entire plane want to spin the opposite direction of the prop, but the air pushed by the prop results in a significant slipstream effect. The slipstream's corkscrew pattern wrapping around the fuselage actually gives one side of the plane more lift than the other. Not only that but if you look at the diagram above, you can see that the wings impacted along with the rudder, horizontal stabilizer, landing gear, fuselage, etc... The high and low pressure fields around the aircraft are also disrupted. All together this means when attempting to fly perfectly straight the plane wants to roll, pitch, and yaw. The pilot has to compensate for these affects all the time, due to these facts the plane is never flying straight forward. Though the pilot is able to keep the aircraft level with the horizon, the craft flies at a slight yaw and slight pitch in relation to the surrounding air/sky.

Chapter 3: A "How To" Crash Course

3.1 - Controls

After getting an understanding of the basic physics of how a plane flies, they introduced us to the controls and instruments that are used by the pilot to manage the aircraft. The most basic is the yoke, this gives the pilot access to adjust the ailerons and elevators of the craft. The ailerons roll the craft to left or right (turning the yoke left/right) while the elevators adjust the craft's pitch (pulling/pushing the yoke). In addition to the yoke there are rudder [foot] pedals, these pedals control the rudder AND the wheel brakes on the landing gear for taxiing around the airfield. Pushing evenly on the left pedal will turn the rudder to the left and vice versa. Pressing on the top tip of the left pedal will actuate the left wheel's brake and once again vice versa. There is a throttle to adjust the speed of the propeller which accelerates the airspeed of the plane and there is also a trim tab, which will be discussed in more detail later.

Chapter 4: Initiating and Maintaining A Turn... Without Falling Too Much

Keep in mind, that the wings produce lift in a direction that pulls the plane from bottom to top. In level flight, the direction of lift vertical (figure A). As an example, lets imagine we are initiating a right turn at a 15° bank (figure B shows 60° but that's a little steep for a first timer). Turning the controls to the right will roll the plane to the right which will also tilt the direction of lift (figure B). When this occurs the vertical component of lift is diminished and a horizontal component of lift is introduced. The horizontal component of lift is what makes the plane go in the direction you intended, in this case: turing right. However, the vertical component of lift maintains the aircraft's altitude, which means when you turn right (keeping all other variables constant) the aircraft will drop to a lower altitude. My experience does not cover flying commercially or professionally, but during my flying lessons I was asked to maintain altitude. Which means I needed to create more lift (figure C). Increasing lift can be done in several ways, but the one I remember being asked to do most often was to open the throttle and pull the yoke towards me.. Opening the throttle will increase the speed of the propeller, which will increase airspeed, which will increase lift. Pulling on the yoke adjusts the horizontal stabilizers to adjust the pitch of the craft up increasing lift (and the sharpness of the turn). There is one more thing to remember when turning, return the yoke to its original position (before initiating the turn) so that the ailerons are in their neutral position. If you continue to hold the yoke twisted to the right, then the ailerons will continue to push the plane to roll right. Once you return the ailerons to their neutral position, the plane will stop rolling and continue to maintain the 15° bank. THE PLANE WILL NOT RETURN TO LEVEL FLIGHT...

Chapter 5: Great Scott! Turn Left When Turning Right?

In the previous section we talked about initiating a turn, now let's talk about getting out of the turn.

Chapter 6: How fast am I actually going?

There is a difference between ground speed and air speed

how the skies impact piloting decisions, how to communicate with the ground crew, piloting safety protocols, the equipment, piloting techniques for navigation, and operation of the aircraft.

Chapter 7 Instruments

In the world of aviation, instruments refers to the dials and gauges the pilot utilizes to understand the status of the craft and its relationship to its surroundings.