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Exercise 21 – Unusual Attitude Recoveries

Exercise 21 – Unusual Attitude Recoveries

UNUSUAL ATTITUDE RECOVERIES: AIR EXERCISE

1.UNUSUAL ATTITUDES

  • Nose high, nose low, wings level and with bank, over-banked level steep turns
  • Visual and instrument indications of each

2.STALL RECOVERIES

  • Clean, full and incipient

3.STALLING IN STEEP TURNS

  • From level steep turns:
  • Higher stalling speed
  • Relax back-pressure and apply full power
  • When symptoms cease – reduce bank angle, pitch to level, adjust power

4.INCIPIENT SPINS

  • Good VMC only – visual recovery
  • Teach as in Exercise 11

5.FULL PANEL RECOVERIES

  • Check IAS and adjust power:
  • Low/falling – Full power
  • High/increasing – Idle power
  • Stable – Leave power
  • Confirm nose-high, nose-low, level
  • Altimeter, VSI

Nose-low

  • Power to idle
  • Level wings to nearest horizon
  • Pitch to (cruise) level attitude – avoid “snatch pulls”
  • Power A/R to stabilize IAS
  • Regain/refine required datums

Nose-high

  • Apply full power
  • Unload excess “g”
  • Level wings to nearest horizon
  • Pitch to (cruise) level attitude
  • Power A/R to stabilize IAS
  • Regain/refine required datums

6.LOOPING ERROR IN turn indicator/turn coordinator

  • Effect of “g” on indications
  • Need to “unload” to get correct indications

7.LIMITED PANEL (using turn indicator/turn coordinator)

  • Check IAS and adjust power:
  • Low/falling – Full power
  • High/increasing – Idle power
  • Stable – Leave power
  • Confirm: nose-high, nose-low, level
  • Altimeter, VSI

Nose-low

  • Power to idle
  • Unload excess “g” Level wings using:
  • Turn indicator – needle upright
  • Turn coordinator– to Rate 1⁄2 in opposite direction Pitch to level – Altimeter slows
  • Power A/R to stabilize IAS Regain/refine required datums

Nose-high

  • Full  power
  • Unload excess “g”
  • Pitch to level – Altimeter slows Level wings using:
  • Turn indicator – needle upright
  • Turn coordinator – to Rate 1⁄2 in opposite direction
  • Power A/R to stabilize IAS
  • Regain/refine required datums

UNUSUAL ATTITUDE RECOVERIES: AMPLIFYING NOTES

GENERAL

  • An unusual attitude is defined as: As situation which has developed UNINTENTIONALLY resulting in any of the following:

 

 

  • Pitch attitudes of more than 15° above or below the horizon and/or
  • Bank angles exceeding 45°
  • IAS within 10 kts of VNO.
  • IAS within 5 kts of VS1 or onset of the stall warner/buffet.

 

  • As with stalling and spinning, there are two elements of UPRT: recognition of and recovery from unusual attitudes and avoidance of them. In terms of both avoidance and recovery stress that, although the aeroplane may be approaching the boundaries of its flight envelope, there is no reason to panic or make abrupt, excessive control inputs – keep them gentle and progressive as normal.
  • Stress that the best way to avoid unusual attitudes is to stick to basic techniques at all times and, particularly when on instruments, to cross check all available information – visual attitude if there’s a usable horizon or, if not, all available flight instruments. Ensure your student understands the relationships between power, attitude and IAS.

BEFORE FLIGHT

  • Preparatory instruction
  1. Function of the flying controls – reminder that they act relative to the pilot, regardless of attitude.
  2. Effects of load factor on stall speed
  3. Physiological effects: “g”, disorientation
  4. Technical limitations:

a. Load Factors – including rolling “g” limits

b. Airspeeds

c. Engine – oil system limitations on inverted flight

Threat and error management ensure that all UPRT is conducted in good VMC, even when your student is practising on instruments, so that all recoveries can be completed safely – particularly if your student mis-handles the aeroplane and you have to take control. Always complete HASELL checks.

DURING FLIGHT

  • Before teaching unusual attitudes recoveries on instruments, demo attitudes visually. Show steep straight climbs; steep climbing turns, steep descents and descending turns and level steep turns. Show also that, even at speeds below VS1, provided the aeroplane is “unloaded” – i.e. the load factor is less than 1g, then a wing will not stall and ailerons are effective and can be used freely. Make your own recoveries smooth and unhurried. Have your student revise full and incipient stalls and recoveries.

 

  • Teach your student that if he is ever unsure about the aeroplane’s attitude, he should immediately take unusual attitude recovery action – the aim of which is to regain a safe situation: straight and level flight at a stable speed (within roughly 10 knots of cruise IAS).

Visual, full panel instrument flying recoveries.

  • The following actions apply whenever there is a direct and reliable indication of attitude.

a. Airspeed

Teach that the first action is to check the IAS and adjust power:

  1. High and/or increasing – power to idle
  2. Low and/or decreasing – apply full power
  3. Stable, close to cruise – leave power as set

b. Nose Low

Teach how to recognize a nose-low usual attitude:

  1. High and/or increasing IAS
  2. Decreasing Altitude/ROD on

VSI Then teach recovery:

  1. Power to idle
  2. Roll wings level to nearest horizon (on instruments, roll towards the sky pointer)
  3. Pitch smoothly to (cruise) level attitude – avoid “snatch pulls”
  4. Adjust power as required to stabilize IAS
  5. Regain/refine required datums

c. Nose High

Teach how to recognize a nose-high unusual attitude:

  1. Decreasing IAS (often also low)
  2. Increasing Altitude/ROC on

VSI Then teach Recovery:

  1. Apply full power
  2. Unload any excess “g”
  3. Roll wings level to the nearest horizon
  4. Pitch smoothly to (cruise) level attitude
  5. Adjust power as required to stabilize IAS
  6. Regain/refine required datums

Many books/flight schools teach that the Nose High recovery action is “Power, PUSH etc….” Merely pushing can rapidly turn a nose-high UA into a nose-low one which is no help at all! The aim must be to relax any back-pressure in order to unload excess “g” so that the aeroplane will not stall and ailerons can be used to level the wings. Indeed, once the “g” is unloaded, there is no urgent need to level the wings – leaving bank applied will allow the aeroplane’s nose to slice down towards the horizon when the wings can be levelled and the pitch attitude stabilized. [This is much more comfortable and less disorienting than rushing to level the wings and “bunting” to the level flight attitude.]

  • Limited panel instrument flying Recoveries Using ASI, Altimeter and Turn indicator/Turn coordinator

 

For the immediate future, the instrument rating test will continue to require applicants to demonstrate their ability to recover from unusual attitudes, without using direct attitude references. To begin by demonstrating “looping error” in Turn indicator/Turn coordinator. Using the visual horizon, settle in a steep turn, apply positive “g” and roll out of turn (keeping “g” applied). Show that even when wings are level, the Turn indicator/Turn coordinator continues to show a high rate of turn. Show that once “g” is unloaded, the Turn indicator/Turn coordinator indicates correctly. Show, too, that if  using a Turn coordinator it is necessary to roll until a Rate 1⁄2 turn in the opposite direction in order for the wings to be level.

Then teach:

a. Check IAS, adjust power as for full panel recovery and deduce pitch attitude (high/increasing IAS = nose low; low/decreasing = nose high).

b. Confirm pitch attitude with Altimeter/VSI (decreasing altitude = nose low; increasing = nose high).

c. Nose Low

  1. Power to idle
  2. Unload excess “g”
  3. Level wings using

Turn indicator – needle upright

Turn coordinator – to Rate 1⁄2 in opposite direction

      4. Pitch to level – Altimeter slows

5. Adjust power as required to stabilize IAS

6. Regain/refine required datums

d. Nose High

  1. Full power
  2. Unload excess “g”
  3. Pitch to level – Altimeter slows
  4. Level wings using:

Turn indicator – needle upright

Turn coordinator – to Rate 1⁄2 in opposite direction

(In this case pitch and roll can be made together)

      5. Adjust power as required to stabilize IAS

      6. Regain/refine required datums

  • Stalling in turns

Teach recovery from incipient and full stalls from level steep turns:

a. Incipient Stalls

Teach recovery both visually and on instruments

  1. Apply full power, simultaneously relaxing back pressure
  2. Roll wings level
  3. Pitch to level
  4. Adjust power for cruise

b. Full Stalls

Teach only visual recoveries from full stalls in turns. The aircraft will either roll out of the turn, in which case, teach that after relaxing back-pressure to unstall the wings, your student should continue with the appropriate unusual attitude recovery action (usually from a level or nose-high pitch attitude). Or the aeroplane will roll into the turn (normally with a rapidly increasing bank angle); recovery is to relax back-pressure, to unstall the wings, and continue with the nose-low unusual attitude recovery actions.

  • Recoveries from the Nose high vertical/Near vertical

Recovery from the vertical can be a fairly violent maneuver, so teach only visually and watch for signs of airsickness. With the aeroplane near the vertical (nose-high), IAS will decrease very rapidly but stress to your student that unless they apply “g”, the aeroplane will neither stall nor spin. The main danger is that the aeroplane will “tail slide” and the reversed airflow will slam the controls to full deflection and cause structural damage. So teach clamping the controls (both yoke/stick and feet locking the rudder) centrally and firmly, allowing the aeroplane to fall through into a nose-low attitude and then recovering from that unusual attitude.

COMMON FAULTS

  • The most common fault is to turn a nose-high unusual attitude into a nose-low one or vice versa by rushing the recovery and over-controlling. The underlying cause of this is usually anxiety, so build your student’s confidence by starting with moderate examples and only increasing the severity as his performance improves. Teach, too, that the smoother his handling of the controls, the more effective the recovery. When using Limited Panel (Turn coordinator and direct-reading compass) stress the need to let the aeroplane settle in a roughly straight and level attitude before trying to make fine adjustments.

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