Newsletter apr 14

“Contact” Welcome back to the Spring 2014 edition of “Contact”. Many of you will have stayed away lately as the weather has been truly terrible, with the Met Office confirming that this has been the wettest winter in England since 1766. In fact Southend has seen rainfall about 238% greater than average but also compounded by a really bad run of luck with weather systems affecting the area at weekends and strong southerly winds taking us outside of crosswind limits. Thankfully the weather has changed and everything is returning back down to the normal settled weather the South East enjoys far more than the rest of the country.

Recent congratulations go to:

Since the winter edition we have sent GAZOG, our PA28 Arrow, for the annual check and she is now back in action and waiting to take you there in smooth, quiet, style at 150mph.

Anyone can fly her so if you fancy a try, regardless of your experience, then ask one of the instructors and we will integrate it into your flying/training.

Stephen Turner on the 1st time pass for the instructor course

Dylan Mahmut & Jonathan Cook on your 1st solo Pablo on you 1st time PPL pass James Macleod & David Button on completing their IMC/IRR ratings in minimum hours and with a 1st time pass each Gerwyn & James again on the multi engine rating George Capon, Mathew Chappell and Nick Greaves on renewing your multi engine instrument ratings

Also of note is that I have now completed the PPL examiner course and am now able to carry out initial tests for the PPL and IMC rating, as well as renewals of the IMC and Single Engine Piston (SEP) class ratings and revalidation of SEP ratings by experience.

I recently got to fly through dusk over Stansted and into Cambridge, they couldn’t have been more helpful. It was smooth and peaceful with a lovely sunset and reminded me why we should all keep persevering against the weather, over regulation and personal challenges and make time for flying.

I hope that the fine weather gives you many happy hours of flying this year.

CONTENTS

Regards Peter Shorter

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Page 1:

Introduction

Page 2/3:

Recommended trips

Page 3/4:

A student’s view

Page 5/6:

Carb heat

Page 7:

Safety Corner

Page 8:

Practical airmanship

Recommended Trips Have you ever visited Andrewsfield? Many people have not, possibly put off by its close proximity to Stansted, or possibly just unaware that there is a hidden gem of an Essex airfield only 14 minutes flying time from here.

Background Andrewsfield was built during WW2 by the US Army Engineers who came to England and build 14 airfields. In fact Andrewsfield was the 1st one completed, even though others were started earlier. Originally it assumed the layout of the classic disused airfield you would see now on a flight – 3 concrete runways in a triangle, one being the longest. After the war it quickly fell into disrepair and the bulk of the runway, taxiway and buildings were removed.

In the 70’s a grass strip was built, aligned with the original main runway and this has since developed into the busy airfield there now.

A classic disused US airfield layout –this one is actually Birch, in Essex in 2013.

Currently The airfield is home to a busy school and plenty of interesting home based aircraft.

There is a lovely café and bar, serving a good range of food and drink, which can be enjoyed sitting in the sun with an unobstructed view across the airfield. Nothing beats a lovely meal and enjoying the sun whilst a tail dragger potters around the circuit doing touch and go’s, on a late Sunday afternoon. It’s not quite so rosy in 6 inches of mud during January though!

Andrewsfield as it is now. The grass runway is aligned with the original main one and the row of trees shows the position of the former cross runway.

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altitude and don’t leave the Western side of the ATZ, you don’t need to contact Stansted or obtain clearance to fly in controlled airspace. Any of the instructors will help you plan going there.

Flying in Andrewsfield is grass and fairly short compared to Southend, but perfectly possible in the PA28’s and C152’s if the correct preflight planning is carried out. The airfield is air ground radio only, so don’t expect any instructions or ATC clearances, but it is easy to find and you can join as most appropriate from the direction you come in on. Don’t be put off by the proximity to Stansted, they have their own local flying agreement and if you approach from the East below 1500’

Difficulty: 3 out of 5 (Stansted and medium length grass runway) Appeal:

4 out of 5

Distance to fly: 22nm Landing fee:

£12 (when last checked)

PPL Training – A student’s view The following is a small article from Dave Hart. Thanks go to him for a contribution to the newsletter and I promise I didn’t edit it to make me sound better!

promptly scraped the wing tip of GBOLW on the adjacent aircraft GBGAF. Even though I was greeted by a hearty handshake from Peter it did make the whole event slightly less memorable than I had hoped. Nevertheless, with oodles of encouragement from Pete, Peter and Mark the whole episode was soon forgotten. Little did I know then that this was going to be the start of a series of incidents which looking back seemed terrifying but in reality actually helped to greatly improve my confidence.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes do!

Having already had a few trial lessons at SFC; I decided that I wanted to get my PPL. After making the decision to start the course I approached Peter Shorter and we talked through how best to proceed. A little daunted, I duly purchased all the basics needed to get me started. Unfortunately it fell with Peter Shorter to be my flying instructor (sorry Pete) and the journey began!

The first event happened returning from a lesson. Flying along quite happily I could suddenly smell a faint odour like something was burning. I turned and mentioned it to Pete who confirmed it as well.

After some checks we realized that a fuse had blown and that we didn’t have a working radio anymore. Pete, seeing an opportunity to make sure I was studying my PPL books, began to quiz me about the procedures for a radio failure, transponder codes, light signals etc. We continued to the circuit making ‘blind calls’ and orbited above the old Rochford Hospital chimney until we were spotted by ATC and given the ‘steady green light’ that cleared us to land…Phew!

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“I also managed to squeeze in my first solo before I had to return to work” I was quite fortunate that I was able to achieve over 20hrs of flying in a three week period of very nice British weather, it was June so it should be nice! I also managed to squeeze in my first solo before I had to return to work. Unfortunately I did have a little mishap on my first solo. Feeling extremely proud of myself after a successful albeit stressful landing, I taxied back to the club and 3

On another occasion Pete and I were again heading back to the airfield after another great lesson. As we approached the River Crouch I started to reduce engine power. The aircraft duly started to descend and I could hear the engine noise was different but unfortunately the tachometer wasn’t changing? After applying and reducing power a few times it was confirmed, the tacho had failed! So with that Pete talked me through the procedure for landing without knowing the engine RPM. All very simple and we landed without any problems…Phew again!

“The rest of my PPL training continued quite normally after that”

#2

The rest of my PPL training continued quite normally after that. Looking back I’m actually pleased that all the incidents happened, especially whilst I had my flying instructor sitting next to me. I have since had my door open again (I’m sure I checked it) whilst flying back over the English Channel with my wife after a visit to Le Touquet. I think my wife was more shocked that I was. Having said that it certainly didn’t put her off flying. She recently completed the Companion Course which SFC runs. It’s a great course and has made our flying together a much more enjoyable experience. Sharing the workload makes the whole flight much more fun.

I had another lesson booked at the club and arrived in time to make sure all my planning was done. After Pete had checked over everything we made our way to my regular ride GBOLW. I did all the checks and soon Pete and I were trundling down the runway (24). We had only been airborne for a few seconds and were climbing out slowly passing through 300ft when out of nowhere a small bird slammed into the Port wing near the strut. Pete accessed the situation and as there was no impact damage we continued with the lesson. Pete did call ATC just to inform them in case any bird debris had fallen onto the runway.

#3

If you’re a PPL holder reading this then you will have probably encountered similar occurrences. After all, an aircraft, however well maintained, and they are very well maintained, is still just mechanical object and things will occasionally fail. When they do, just try to remember your PPL training and if in doubt, ask…if the radio works!!

The last incident was probably the one that was the scariest, at the time anyway. Again shortly after take-off and climbing out at full power my door suddenly opened! As normal, Pete was calm and collected and uttered the words ‘don’t worry, just fly the plane’. Pete quickly gathered all the flight equipment, chart, etc to ensure it didn’t fall from the aircraft. After we had levelled off I closed the door and was reminded of the importance of checking ‘hatches & harnesses’ more thoroughly next time!!

#4

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A Look at Carb Heat Carb Heat

Conditions

Most of you will, by now, be familiar with the concept of carburettor (carb) heat and will have seen and carried out the items as listed in the checklist. Being honest how much do you really understand about why you are doing these checks and what the implications are? I expect many of us could do with some reminders in this area.

Often it is assumed that cold days are more likely to give rise to carb icing, this is understandable but incorrect. Colder air is less able to hold moisture and it is a combination of temperature and humidity that gives rise to conditions conducive to carb icing. Think of a day where the outside temperature is -2°C. There will be virtually no moisture in the air as it has all frozen out as frost or ice, whereas a day where it is humid and +20°C, will see a lot of moisture in the air, which the temperature drop across the carburettor will turn into ice.

Background Carb heat is used to combat the threat of carburettor icing, but also deals with the less common fuel icing as well. In a carburettor, the venturi effect of passing moving air though a narrowing passage, gives rise to a pressure drop, which allows for the fuel to be sucked into the airflow. Unfortunately physics gets in the way and dictates that a pressure drop also leads to a temperature drop and this can cause a fall in temperature upwards of 30°C. There are very few days in the UK where carb icing will not be possible to some extent.

This graph shows that most days in the UK are conducive to carb icing on low power settings – the blue sector.

Application of carb heat in the power checks Within a few flights you become familiar with the idea of applying carb heat during the power checks. The checklist reminds you to look at the maximum drop, which is normally in the 75-125rpm region, but a lot of people will have forgotten why this is important and

In this experiment the engine was stopped and quickly stripped back – the remaining ice is clearly visible all over, but worst by the narrowest point.

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what the significance of the RPM after this check is.

keep the heat on until the rough running stops.

The greater the restriction in the carburettor, the greater the temperature drop and so the more likely carb ice is to form. Therefore unless the POH says otherwise carb heat should be applied before starting a low power descent and left hot until higher power settings are applied again.

“The check is twofold” So the check is twofold: Firstly you are checking the carb heat system is working correctly. If the RPM fails to drop as described in the checklist then it is possible that not enough hot air is entering the intake, possibly due to a badly adjusted cable or a seized control flap. Either of these things should make you think twice about departing.

Conversely as the hot air reduces the density of the air entering the engine, it reduces performance and can lead to detonation, so on full power be sure to put the carb heat cold again. This is especially important on a go around, where you will have had carb heat applied on final approach and then suddenly require full power.

Secondly the RPM which is achieved after the check is vitally important. Most power checks are conducted at either 1700rpm or 2000rpm, once the carb heat is applied for 10 seconds or so, the rpm would be expected to return to the original speed. If the rpm finishes higher, for instance 1750rpm, then there must have been ice present, which was cleared in the check. This would suggest that you should reapply carb heat to see if any further ice remains and also serves as a warning that the conditions are conducive to carb icing. In this case reapply carb heat just before departure, especially if you were held at the holding point for any period of time.

Summary

“ever present, but easily dealt with” Carb ice is a threat that is ever present, but easily dealt with. Accurate observation during the power checks and cruise checks will indicate the presence of ice and allow you to deal with it as needed.

Finally – Food for thought

In flight

You are en-route to Andrewsfield, a 700m grass strip near Stansted. Whilst flying below an overcast layer of cloud, in light drizzle, with an OAT of +17°C, you encounter severe carb ice. 10 minutes later you reapply the carb heat and the lever becomes slacker than normal and won’t go back to cold.

Carb heat should be applied as a matter of course during FREDA checks and you should again note if the rpm increases after the check. Any increase indicates the presence of carb icing and you should be vigilant to apply carb heat more regularly.

What has happened and what should you do?

Be aware that if a significant amount of carb ice was present, then as carb heat is applied it will melt into water and the engine will run very rough as it tries to burn it off the water.

Do not be fooled into thinking there is something wrong with the carb heat system,

There is no strictly correct answer, but have a think and ask me or any other member/instructor and see what they say.

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Safety Corner The impossible Turn We have all practiced engine failure after take-off drills (EFATO). In fact it is a mandatory part of every piston engine rating initial and renewal test. Most of you who hold licences, or have got past exercise 12 in their PPL, know the blurb; “If the engine fails after take-off, I will pick a field 30° either side of the nose” But people are still trying to make the impossible turn.

Tightening the turn reduces the radius but stall speed increases at the square root of load factor - 60° banked, level turn gives an increase in stall speed of 41%.

I’ve had a partial engine failure whilst training someone and what struck me was the length of time it took me to react. I couldn’t quickly comprehend what had happened and what the ramifications were. It is so easy when the instructor promptly closes the throttle and shouts engine failure, but it takes a distinct period of time to react when it is unexpected.

It is far worse if the failure is gradual or the engine only runs roughly. Whilst that distracts you, you will be losing airspeed and heading towards a stall.

The impossible turn is greater than 180° It is called the impossible turn after numerous accident investigations into fatal accidents involving trying to turn back the airfield, Google it to you hearts content!

Unfortunately in doing that you will also find advocates of turning back, including the RAF.

So my advice is simple, any misbehaving from the engine whilst climbing out and before the 650’ turn at Southend, lower the nose for the glide attitude, aim towards something soft and fly the aircraft to the ground in between obstructions.

If you would like to try turning back, ask one of us to arrange it with the Tower and we can give it a go from say 600’.

“you are 8 times more likely to die trying to turn back”

The reason I am writing this is that someone I know, attempted it recently and was very badly injured in the subsequent crash. What all the armchair theories and mathematical models fail to account for is human nature.

Last time I researched it the Canadian CAA concluded you are 8 times more likely to die trying to turn back. Don’t try it.

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Practical Airmanship You Dipstick Rodney!

Don’t over tighten them because undoing them unscrews the filler tube itself and the engine will leak oil slowly.

We have had to get the pliers out 3 times recently to undo oil filler caps.

Finger tight means just past the point they are moving smoothly on the threads, i.e. 1/8th of a turn more. The O ring at the top of the dipstick acts as a clamp as it compresses very slightly when you do the filler cap up. Even if the cap is loose, no oil comes out as the tube is 1 foot higher than the sump and it can’t fall out as the dipstick is longer than the gap between the tube and the cowling

A quick review of new students revealed who was over tightening the filler caps…

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More Finger trouble Unsure of how to set the volumes on the aircraft with Garmin intercoms?

1. If it is ATC who are quiet, check you headset volume is max and then turn up the volume knob on the radio in use 2. Ensure you have the correct lights on (Either Com1 & Com1Mic or Com2 & Com2Mic) 3. If you can’t hear your own voice when you talk, firstly make sure the radio and your passengers are quiet then move the left side squelch knob fully anticlockwise 4. You should now hear some gentle hissing and your own voice 5. If you are still quiet turn the volume knob clockwise until you can hear yourself 6. Now squelch yourself, by turning the squelch knob clockwise very slowly until the background hiss JUST stops 7. If you can’t hear the right hand seat passenger get them to repeat steps 2-5 whilst everyone else is quiet but using the right hand squelch knob and volume Squelch

Volume

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