Aviator90 Episode 6

Host: [0:31] Welcome to another episode of Aviator 90 from Angle of
Attack. You have just finished the first five episodes of Aviator
90 which was the intro to flight.
[0:42] Now we move on to the next five episodes which we call the
basics of flight.

We will now learn more about actual flight techniques. The sections
you will learn are: [0:47] ground ops, take off, power management,
turns and pitch. We’ll be showing techniques within the aircraft to
assist you in learning how to use better control.

[1:04] So we start with the first lesson, this episode, which is
ground ops. Now in the real world, you don’t get to load up a
flight and start mid-air near your favorite world landmark. Nope,
not that easy.

[1:17] As a virtual pilot, it is important to know how to do ground
operations. Things like taxiing, ground communications, airport
signage and other things to watch out for. We will be learning some
of these techniques in this episode. Later we’ll dedicate a whole
episode on just starting up the aircraft. So we won’t be doing that
for now.

[1:36] First, lets start out after having just barely starting up
the airplane and turned on the avionics.

[1:42] Now here we are sitting on the ramp and you’ll notice the
beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery from ORBX. We’re going to go
through several things while we’re sitting here so I’ll list them
now and then we’ll burn through them.

[1:53] We’ll first give the traffic frequency a call and get a
radio check, listen to the weather observations, and then we’ll
power up for a short taxi to the runway.

[2:03] In the run-up area of the runway, we’ll be going through a
couple of pre flight checks. I’ll be doing the run-up this time and
next time we’ll actually just go through the take off. So, you guys
won’t have to worry about learning the run-up this time. So at that
point the lesson will end.

[2:19] At non-controlled airports, which are common, we talk on
what is called a C.T.A.F. which stands for common-traffic-advisory-
frequency. In short, it’s a frequency that all pilots in the area
use to make position reports and so on. It can also be used for
radio checks and other necessary things needed for flight purposes
or aircraft operations.

[2:41] It is up to us virtual pilots to report our position and
intentions so everyone in the area can build a picture in their
head of where we are, what we’re doing, and if there is a potential
conflict with what they are doing. You’ll see what I mean later.

[2:57] Now before taxiing out we need to make sure our radios work
and that we’re on the right frequency so others will hear our radio
calls. Do this by addressing the C.T.A.F. Say your tell number then
ask for a radio check. It’s as simple as this.

[3:15] Sesna Six-Eight-Two-Eight-Kilo radio check please.

If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with making radio calls, I
want to you say it out loud right now to yourself. I know this may
be kind of silly so in this order: [3:19] airport, aircraft, radio
check. That easy.

[3:35] If a friendly voice is in the area, they’ll return with a
“loud and clear”, or “five by five.” This means that you are good
to go.

[3:43] Alright, it’s now time to check the weather. I simply hit
the tilde key which is the top left button on the main area of the
keyboard. And then I hit the number of frequency I want to tune to
so, in this case, we want to tune to the eighties. You may chose to
manually dial the frequency which adds a bit of realism as well.

So, regardless of how you chose to tune, the voice will come up and
give you a long list of information. I don’t expect you know
everything for now. So for now, just listen for two things: [4:01]
the wind direction and speed, and the altimeter setting.

Man 1: [4:20] Sierra-Four-Seven, automated weather observation. Two-Three-
One-Zero-Zulu. Wind: Zero-Niner-Four at seven. Visibility One-Zero.
Sky condition: clear. Temperature: Two-Four-Celsius. Dew Point: Two
-Two-Celsius. Altimeter: Two-Eight-Seven-Zero-Sierra.

Host: [4:44] We’ll now use the wind direction and speed of 094 and seven
knots to determine the runway we’ll use. Because the wind is coming
from 094 at seven knots, we’ll use runway 13 for our main runway.
This is the closest match to that runway heading of roughly 130,
which is actually how they get those runway numbers.
[5:05] If ATC gives you a different runway to control the airport,
you can always ask for a different runway. They may not give it to
you, but you can always ask.

[5:13] Now, take the altimeter setting, in this case, 28.70, and
place it in the Kollsman window here on the altimeter. This means
we’re now tuning the altimeter to a pressure of 28.70 inches of
mercury. This should match the field elevation, but don’t worry
about that for this flight.

[5:34] Now that we know the runway we need to taxi to and we have
our altimeter set, we’ll now announce our intentions, and then you
can follow along with me as we taxi to the runway. I’m familiar
with the airport and know where to go, so if you want to simply
watch the first time, no problem with that at all. I’ll make the
radio call this time.

[5:53] Tillmook traffic Cessna, 6828 Kilo, taxi from self serve
fuel to Runway 13.

[5:59] Notice I address the area, said who I am, where I am, where
I’m going, and you can also say how you’re going to get there, if
you’re using a specific taxi way. Confused yet? Maybe or maybe not,
but no worries for now. You’ll pick it up along the way.

[6:19] Push the throttle forward to get about 1000 rpm on the
tachometer. This setting will get us rolling.

[6:27] Give a quick tap on the brakes right after you start moving
to make sure they are operable and not mushy. We don’t want to get
up to taxi speed before we realize the brakes won’t work.

[6:38] With feet on the pedals, tap the toes of your right foot,
and the toes of your left foot, checking the brakes. All right, all
good, let’s taxi on.

[6:45] Directional control during the taxi is done with a linkage
of the rudder pedals at your feet to the nose wheel and the rudder
on the aircraft. Pushing your right heel will turn the aircraft
right, and pushing your left heel will turn the aircraft left.
Pretty simple, isn’t it?

[7:00] Now, I recommend rudder pedals and Fly Sim, if you don’t
already have some. It makes the taxi part of the flight very
enjoyable and adds a ton of realism.

[7:09] Before we forget about our power, let’s make sure that we
keep our speed anywhere from 10 to 20 knots in the straightaways,
and 10 knots or less in turns. At this point, you’ll probably have
to bring the power down, if you haven’t already done so.

[7:24] Also, remember to always have central line pride. Stay right
on that center line, and don’t deviate from it. This will take
practice with the rudder pedals. And you can also think of this as
aim small, miss small.

[7:37] The key here is to keep the aircraft under control to where
you can pretty much stop immediately if needed. Go above 20 knots
and that becomes an issue. Get all squirrely with your steering and
the speed works against you.

[7:49] You’ve got to find the happy balance with foot movement to
keep that center line, and also power management to keep the speed
in check.

[7:57] If you’re taxiing on your own right now, do your best to
keep that center line and maintain a safe speed. Don’t worry about
being perfect the first time, your skills will get better with
practice and experience. That’s just the way it is.

[8:41] We’re now coming to the run up area for this runway, and
where we’ll do our engine tests and other things. I’ll actually
perform them this time as I mentioned before.

[8:50] So, get as close to the end of the pavement as you can, put
some pressure on the right brake and right rudder pressure, so we
can turn on a dime, and add some power. All right, keep bringing it
around until we can face into the wind.

[9:05] We’re facing into the wind now, so bring the power back and
smoothly apply the brakes. Bring the rudder neutral and come to a
stop.

[9:12] All right, that does it for this episode, great job on the
radios and the controls. This time around I’ll handle the runup and
checks, as I said, and we’ll meet next time when we’re ready to
taxi onto the runway and take off. So, for now, you don’t have to
worry about the boring stuff.

[9:28] Until next time, throttle on.

Transcription by CastingWords