Two Of Ten Things On page 10 under “Ten Things Your Instructor Never Told You” of Mays issue, I have trouble understanding the second item, using elevator as the primary control in a turn, and the seventh, regarding the slip/skid indicator as a means of indicating the direction of a spin. The short paragraphs do not explain the actions well enough for me to get my head around the concept. Could you please clarify both points for me so I can improve my flying thought processes? Barbara Rycquart Our apologies, Barbara: Sometimes space limitations prevent us from fully explaining important concepts. The elevator may be considered a primary control in constant-altitude turns. Aileron is used to establish the bank and rudder to counteract yaw. Meanwhile, some of the vertical lift component is diverted to horizontal lift-its the horizontal lift component thats turning the airplane-and elevator is used to increase the wings angle of attack to maintain altitude and to control the turns quality. In a spin, the slip/skid indicator is unreliable to determine direction of rotation. Reasons include how the indicator is installed-on the left or right side of the cockpit, for example-and the type of spin. Other means should be used to determine the spins direction. LSA Power I just read your article on different LSA engines (“LSA Engine Safety,” May 2008). An aircraft mechanic friend of mine has experimented with different lubricants for the two-strokes such as the Rotax and similar. He finds the life expectancy of these engines is almost directly related to the oil type. He notes those using the 288
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The Spin Im In
I just read your article on different LSA engines ("LSA Engine Safety," May 2008). An aircraft mechanic friend of mine has experimented with different lubricants for the two-strokes such as the Rotax and similar. He finds the life expectancy of these engines is almost directly related to the oil type. He notes those using the [IMGCAP(1)]cheaper oils find lower life expectancy and he rebuilds a lot of these engines. Thus an article on tribology, the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion, might be worthwhile. Another friend has had several deadstick landings in the last two or three years in aircraft with these two-strokes. The engines failed mainly because of seizing from loss of lubrication. These failures are not part of the stats because most of these failures occurred over a field and successful landings were accomplished. Another friend tore down an O-200 after running it on 100LL for about 600 hours and found the valve guides were all split. Thus, how one deals with fuels and lubricants has a direct impact on aircraft safety.
Key Takeaways:
- The elevator is a primary control for maintaining altitude and turn quality in constant-altitude turns, while the slip/skid indicator is unreliable for determining the direction of a spin.
- Two-stroke Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) engine life is significantly impacted by lubricant quality, with cheaper oils leading to failures (often unreported in accident statistics).
- The "turnback" maneuver after an engine failure on takeoff is controversial; studies indicate low success rates at low altitudes, underscoring the importance of altitude, airspeed, and careful decision-making.
- Pilots transiting Military Operations Areas (MOAs) are advised to use flight following to confirm their status, a process that will be improved by the FAA printing contact information on new charts.
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