I was out recently with a friend/neighbor/CFI, brushing the rust off some basic skills. After 20 or so minutes of slow flight, stalls, steep turns and some erratic, uncoordinated maneuvers purporting to be Lazy 8s, we rolled straight and level for a few minutes to chat and move away from a cloud deck.
The author experienced a vacuum-powered artificial horizon failure, highlighting the critical importance of having a reliable backup attitude indicator, especially for IFR flight.
Pilots, particularly those flying IFR, are strongly advised to install a dedicated backup gyro system to ensure redundancy.
Effective backup strategies involve using instruments powered by different sources (e.g., electrical and vacuum/pressure) to prevent single-point failures, rather than relying solely on less immediate options like tablet apps.
I was out recently with a friend/neighbor/CFI, brushing the rust off some basic skills. After 20 or so minutes of slow flight, stalls, steep turns and some erratic, uncoordinated maneuvers purporting to be Lazy 8s, we rolled straight and level for a few minutes to chat and move away from a cloud deck.
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