First and only time in a Cessna experiance...

[Blaze]

Year was around 1981?? but was a few yrs after the Mt St Helens eruption and they had $100.00 scenic Mt St Helens tour deals for one fly around from Thun Field in Puyallup, Wa.

I was the only one going that day and with a flight instructor that had a side business I would guess doing these tours. Soon after we took off he headed north to Seattle instead of going south to Mt St Helens... He needed to pick up a package near Renton Boeing south of Seattle. So I got an extra free trip.

On the way back from Mt St Helens he wanted to know what I thought about flying and if I was interested in flying for a few mins and possibly sign up to be a student. I told him maybe on the student thing but was interested in flying for a few mins.

He gave me a few pointers and I remember within the first minute or so he mentioned I was starting to "drag" the plane or something like that. Evidently I had the plane flying "sideways" with the tail end kicked out a little.

Anyway we landed back at Thun Field safe and sound and that was a day I will always remember! That was my first and last experience in a light plane.

 

[440Magnum]

Isn't flying sideways (too much rudder instead of a coordinated alieron/rudder/elevator turn) called "skidding?"

I'm not a pilot... just wish I was. But every time I've looked at it, it would just be cost prohibitive as a hobby for me. Maybe if I didn't like owning big-engined gas-hog cars I could take up flying... but not both.

 

[Blaze]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Isn't flying sideways (too much rudder instead of a coordinated alieron/rudder/elevator turn) called "skidding?"

I have no idea? but he did mention what ever I was doing wrong was common for first time flyers. Maybe he did say skidding? but I do remember him mentioning something about me going too sideways with the tail out. I don't know flying terminology. I did get lots of pics (slides) and need to get them on a DVD.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Isn't flying sideways (too much rudder instead of a coordinated alieron/rudder/elevator turn) called "skidding?"



That would be "slipping" through a turn. Not a good idea. You can lose control in the right circumstances.

 

[Astro14]

Skidding or slipping, depends on the direction of the imbalance in relation to the bank angle... Rudder and trim need to be tweaked constantly in piston singles...the changing effects of p-factor (from the prop) with power and speed, as well as a straight slab wing that has a large amount of adverse yaw from aileron inputs...

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Isn't flying sideways (too much rudder instead of a coordinated alieron/rudder/elevator turn) called "skidding?"

I'm not a pilot... just wish I was. But every time I've looked at it, it would just be cost prohibitive as a hobby for me. Maybe if I didn't like owning big-engined gas-hog cars I could take up flying... but not both.


There is a guy near me with an old semi run down farm, that has a cessna type plane, has a reasonably flat field(not level though) and just idles around on the nice afternoons and early evenings in the summer. He runs at much lower rpms than other small planes and I wonder if he just stretches out his engine rebuilds using a time at rpm or fuel burned schedule instead of hours? Anyways, it doesn't appear that he has a whole lot of money into it.
I've been tempted to stop in sometime and see if he would like to take a passenger, but then I'm also a bit wary that his plane upkeep isn't great and I don't want to insult the guy by not getting in if the plane looks like a heap up close.

 

[SatinSilver]

I've taken two intro flights. One in a helicopter and one in a newer Cessna that was a link off their corporate site. Which was a venture with a flight school. Very small cramped cockpit but luckily I was paired with a nice young female instructor. She said we better turn back before they start wondering what we're doing up here together.

A buddy on another forum has a Corvalis TTX which is the Corvette in their line up. He's offered rides in it but I'm a little far away. Link:

http://www.cessna.com/single-engine/cessna-ttx

 

[Blaze]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Rudder and trim need to be tweaked constantly in piston singles
Yep that is exactly what I remember at the time. I just went to Thun Fields web site and yep it not cheap getting your license!

http://www.spanaflight.com/FlightSchool/EarnYourWings.aspx

 

[Kuato]

Simply put, to turn a plane you bank to one side or the other. The lift from the wings is then vectored to the side, causing a turn. Skidding is when the tail of the plane is outside the turn, slipping is when the tail falls inside the turn; neither is optimal and can be dangerous.

 

[LoneRanger]

The danger is stalling the airplane in an uncoordinated condition, that is, the slip you speak of. I remember doing power-on stalls also called departure stalls when in flight training back in 1998. Cessna 152 aerobat. Power-off stalls (approach stalls) were a non-event, but I never cared for power-on's in that airplane, it felt like it was going to loop it would pitch up so much before the wings stalled. And the emphasis was on keeping the airplane coordinated, i.e. the rudder and aileron input properly coordinated. If you were to stall it power-on in an uncoordinated conditon then the airplane would stall into a spin from one wing stalling before the other. After I solo'd I was out in the practice area one day a couple weeks later, soloing still on my student ticket, practicing stuff. Decided to try a power-on stall. Got to a comfortable altitude (which takes awhile in a 152 in warm weather) and commenced the drill. [censored] near went into a spin because I was sloppy with the pedals while pulling the nose up as I added power. Release back pressure on yoke, step opposite rudder, close throttle. It worked to stop spin from developing, but I about [censored] my pants. I didn't practice power-on stalls solo after that anymore.

 

[wkcars]

Forward slip is a test requirement for single engine pilot, it's a safe way to descend quickly as long as it's done right.

 

[loyd]

+1. Safest way to land in a cross-wind!

 

[Win]

When I got my private ticket, applicants were not required to demonstrate recovery from a spin, as best I recall.

I think it should be required.

 

[Cujet]

Here is me, flying my Cessna, and racing an equally powered (same engine) , 200HP Mooney. I tried everything I could to go fast, including going downhill a bit, but the Mooney is simply faster.

What you don't see is that 10 minutes later, he was completely out of sight.

Flying is fun!

 

[LoneRanger]

Now you knew your Cardinal had tough odds against an M20... what is that, a C model? 177's are sweet but Mooney's are just fast. Emergency landing on a rural road though, his wings are taking out mailboxes, yours are not.

 

[Cujet]

I think it's an F model. In any case, it has the Lopresti cowl, Lopresti ram air and Powerflow exhaust. My aircraft had none of this.

From what I hear, the Lopresti cowl on the Cardinal is worth 7kts. Not quite enough to match the Mooney.

I've since installed the Powerflow exhaust. It helped climb considerably, but resulted in zero additional top speed and no additional cruise speed. It certainly makes more power, but it also creates some additional drag when compared to my very short OEM exhaust.

 

[LoneRanger]

I thought Powerflow made a short stack version for the Cessna lineup? I really want to get back into general avaition but I can't abide the cost of 100LL which remains north of $6/gal here all the time. Maybe the cost will come down when an alternative fuel is finally approved (but how long has that been under development) and more than one refinery on the planet is producing it. Once in a while I think about going Light Sport or Experimental, hard to beat the Arion Lightning for efficiency and with the Jabiru 6 cylinder it sounds "like a real airplane engine."

Cessna 177B and newer and Mooney M20J and newer are my top favorite GA singles.

 

[OVERKILL]

I've been up in (and flown for a short stint) a 2008 Cirrus single. Nice plane, how does it compare to the Cardinal Cujet?

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I've been up in (and flown for a short stint) a 2008 Cirrus single. Nice plane, how does it compare to the Cardinal Cujet?


All models of Cirrus aircraft are modern compared to my 200HP (cough cough) Mighty Thunder Cardinal. The SR-20 (the lowest powered, 200HP and slowest) is still at least 15-17Kts faster than my Cardinal.

In fact, the SR20 can go 160Kts at 10GPH. I'm 143-145Kts at 9-11GPH. From what I hear, the Lopresti cowl adds 7Kts to the Cardinal.

In much the same way that modern cars are worlds better than cars from the 1970's, the Cirrus is much more refined, faster, handles better and is probably stronger too. Although I don't want to test the limits of either airframe, as they are both known to be very strong.

Overall, the Cirrus is a really, really nice aircraft.

 

[Astro14]

I'll second that...I've flown a friend's SR-20. Nice airplane. Fast, quiet, easy to fly....