Some interesting discussions as of
late. I feel compelled to add my two cents regarding the need to be
comfortable with slow flight in our aircraft. Like Don Karich, I have a
pile of “stick and rudder”, experience…. I’ve been
flying since before I could reach the rudder pedals or see over an instrument
panel. I earned my private in a J-3 Cub in ’79 at 18, and have logged
just shy of 3,000 hours of recreational flying in everything from sailplanes,
hang gliders, paragliders, and from simple low-performance airplanes to complex
high-performance types. I am comfortable stalling, spinning, and
recovering from such in any aircraft that has reliably demonstrated its ability
to recover form such maneuvers. I routinely perform mild aerobatics in my
Lancair well away from terrain and have about 250 hours in my Lancair
235.
So,
that being said, how do I approach slow flight/stalls in my Lancair? With
the utmost respect. After reading accounts of LNC4 accidental spins out
of aggravated stalls, with nearly 12000 feet of altitude lost while applying
appropriate recovery control inputs, I decided not to “go there”. I
have done power off clean and dirty (landing configuration) stalls at 6000 AGL
and these were a non-event, however I WILL NOT practice a departure stall or
otherwise tempt a spin in my Lancair at any altitude. There is just no
way of knowing if the aircraft would recover, and the small tail and short
moment arm does nothing to boost my confidence. I know of one other 235
pilot that has performed multiple intentional spins and recovered, but since no
two aircraft are identical, I do not assume my aircraft would do the same. In
the pattern, I will not slow below 95 mph until short final. During flight
reviews, I explain my reasoning, demonstrate my ability to handle the aircraft
at pattern speeds, and I have never had an instructor insist that we explore
the low end of the white arc.
On
a different topic, I have a professional background in aerodynamic modeling,
and have created several high-fidelity real-time aerodynamic and systems models
for engineering and certified flight training applications. MS Flight Sim
and X-Plane, while fun and educational, are not up to the challenge of
providing the kind of fidelity needed for type familiarity, let alone upset
recovery training. That being said, if a group was serious about creating
a high-fidelity simulator, I would be please to contribute to the effort with the
development of a high fidelity aerodynamic model. The variations
between our individual aircraft remain a challenge, but from mostly from a
systems level. The aero models could be readily adapted model the range
of variations between our aircraft.
Tom Low