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Famous PeopleWith Pilot
Certificates
Mario AndrettiPrince AndrewJames ArnessRichard BachF. Lee BaileyHoward BakerJacinda BarrettDirk BenedictChris BoniolJimmy BuffetLavar BurtonGeorge BushPrince CharlesRoy ClarkStephen CoontsDave CoulierTom Cruise Dan DierdorfMichael DornHugh DownsClint EastwoodBill ElliotCraig FergusonSarah (Fergie) FergusonHarrison FordMichael J. FoxMorgan FreemanMickey GilleyBill GlassonDavid HartmanPaul HarveyChad HenningsBarron HiltonAlan JacksonBruce JennerAngelina JolieJoe JuneauGeorge KennedySenator John KerryKris KristoffersonLorenzo LamasTom LandryJoe MontanaLeonard NimoyArnold PalmerFess ParkerSydney PollackDennis QuaidAnthony RobbinsCliff RobertsonDavid Lee RothKurt RussellJohnny RutherfordMarty SchottenheimerWilliam ShatnerLowell Thomas Jr.Aaron TippinJohn TravoltaBobby UnserHon. Barbara VucanovichRusty WallaceTreat WilliamsCharles WoolerySam Wyche
Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the worldwith your eyes turned skyward, for there you havebeen and there you long to return.Leonardo da Vinci
This valuable handbook helps you:Fly as a knowledgeable and competent pilot.Prepare for the Sport Pilot FAA knowledge exam.Prepare for the Sport Pilot practical oral exam.Refresh for required currency training.Remain an up-to-date confident pilot.
As a comprehensive book, these pages include:Simplification of aviation’s more technical subjects such as aerodynamics, engines and flight instruments.Latest information on the weather codes: METAR and TAF.Alphabet airspace made E-Z with three-dimensional illustrations.Step-by-step procedures for planning a smooth cross country flight.Easy to apply navigation methods.Clear, down-to-earth explanations of pertinent Federal Aviation Regulations Part 61 and Part 91.Water model of electricity allows quick learning and understandingof the airplane’s electrical system.Primary flight displays and the latest glass cockpit technology.A wealth of basic and advanced insights, advice and wisdom gleaned from practical experience.
With this book you are ensured an enjoyablelearning experience and quality instruction.
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot eHandbookPublished by The Aviation Speakers Bureau
(800) 437-7080
Web site: www.rodmachado.com
$44.95 More than 1,100 original color illustrations and photos
Learn all you need for:The FAA sport pilot exam
Biennial flight reviewsUpdating your knowledge
A complete information manual byone of aviation’s most experienced
and knowledgeable teachers
Welcome to your instructor in a book.Written by a veteran ground and flightinstructor, this book is presented in awarm, conversational manner andspiced with humor. A flight instructorsince 1973, Rod Machado’s tried-and-true methods of instruction haveachieved exceptional results withthousands of students. His fresh ap-proach to instructing has made him apopular national speaker and educa-tor. Rod has the unique ability to sim-plify the difficult and his humor helpsyou remember the lesson. Rod Machado
Editors.............................................................17-1, 17-2
Aviation Speakers Bureau..........................................17-2
Product Information.......................................17-3 - 17-9
Index...........................................................17-10 - 17-16
Glossary.....................................................17-17 - 17-24
Chapter One - Pages A1-10Airplane Components:Getting to KnowYour Airplane
1
5
11
9
10
8
12
13
16
15
14
7
6
4
3
2
Chapter Sixteen - Pages P1-34Pilot Potpourri:Neat Aeronautical Information
Chapter Fifteen - Pages O1-24Weight and Balance:Let’s Wait and Balance
Chapter Fourteen - Pages N1-26Airplane Performance Charts:Know Before You Go
Chapter Thirteen - Pages M1-46Flight Planning:Getting There From Here
Chapter Twelve - Pages L-40Weather Charts and Briefings:PIREPS, Progs and METARS
Chapter Eleven - Pages K1-58Understanding Weather:Looking for Friendly Skies
Chapter Ten - Pages J1-16Aviation Maps: The Art of the Chart
Chapter Nine - Pages I1-32Airspace: The Wild Blue,Green and Red Yonder
Chapter Eight - Pages H1-22Radio Operations:Aviation Spoken Here
Chapter Seven - Pages G1-30Airport Operations:No Doctor Needed
Chapter Six - Pages F1-62Federal Aviation Regulations:How FAR Can We Go?
Chapter Five - Pages E1-42Flight Instruments:Clocks, Tops and Toys
Chapter Four - Pages D1-16Electrical Systems:Knowing What’s Watt
Chapter Three - Pages C1-42Engines:Knowledge of EnginesIs Power
Chapter Two - Pages B1-46Aerodynamics:The Wing is the Thing
Acknowledgments.......................................................ivForeword.......................................................................vDedication....................................................................viAbout the Author......................................................viiBook Cover..........................................................viiiIntroduction.................................................................ix
Table of Contents iii
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook
While ailerons change the wing’slift, they also change its drag, and thechange in drag is different for eachwing. This results in the airplane’snose yawing in a direction oppositethe direction of turn. Right turn, leftyaw. This is referred to as adverseyaw, since it tries to turn the air-plane opposite the direction the pilotintended to turn.
Adverse YawA few old sayings are still floating
around that I’d like to revise. Forinstance, “The pen is mightier thanthe sword.” This is true unlessyou’re one-on-one with a modernincarnation of Zorro. A wonderfulsaying I wouldn’t care to upend is,“You can’t get something for noth-ing.” It sure works that way in avia-tion. When an airfoil develops lift,it’s always paid for by an increase indrag. The lift produced by theaileron is no different.
Downward moving ailerons createmore lift and thus more drag (Figure50). This results in adverse yaw. Forinstance, in a right turn, the down-ward moving aileron on the left wingcreates more drag than the upwardmoving aileron on the right wing as
shown in Figure 53A, and the air-plane yaws (turns) to the left. A simi-lar and opposite effect occurs witha le ft control wheel def lect ion(Figure 53B).
Adverse yaw presents a problem.You can’t have the nose yawing orpointing in a different direction thanyou bank. Fortunately, airplaneshave a control surface designed tocorrect for adverse yaw. It’s called arudder and is shown in Figure 51.
RuddersThe rudder’s purpose is to keep
the airplane’s nose pointed in thedirection of turn—not to turn the air-plane! Remember, airplanes turn by
banking. Rudder simply corrects foradverse yaw and keeps the nosepointing in the direction of turn.Think of a rudder as a verticalaileron located on the tail of the air-plane. A right or left deflection of therudder foot pedals located on thecockpit floor (Figure 52) changes thevertical stabilizer’s angle of attackand yaws the airplane about its verti-cal axis. This yawing motion keepsthe airplane’s nose pointed in thedirection of turn.
Applying right rudder pedal, asshown by Airplane A in Figure 53,forces the tail assembly to swing inthe direction of lower pressure. Asthe tail moves, the airplane rotates
2-30
Fig. 51
The Rudder
Fig. 52
Rudder Pedals
L
L
R
R
Applying left rudder yaws thenose of the airplane to the left.
Tail moves tothe right
Tail moves tothe left
Nose yawsto the left
Nose yawsto the right
Verticalaxis
L
L
R
R
Applying right rudder yaws thenose of the airplane to the right.
Highpressure
Tailmovement
WIN
D
Lowpressure Left
rudderapplied
Rightrudderapplied
Highpressure
Tailmovement
WIN
D
Lowpressure
HOW RUDDER COMPENSATES FOR ADVERSE YAW
A B
Fig. 53
Airplane banks to the rightbut nose yaws to the left.
Lowered aileron creates morelift but it also increases drag.
Airplane banks to the leftbut nose yaws to the right.
A lowered aileron creates morelift but it also increases drag.
ADVERSE YAW
A
B Fig. 50
Chapter 2 - Aerodynamics: The Wing is the Thing
about its vertical axis. Application ofright rudder pedal yaws the nose tothe right. Applying left rudder pedal(I’ll just say rudder from now on),shown by Airplane B, yaws the noseto the left (surprising, huh?).
When should you use the rudder?Any time you turn the airplane. Ifyou don’t use rudder while trying toturn, part of the airplane is going oneway, and another part points in theopposite direction. This is not a pret-ty sight, and your instructor’s eye-brows will raise so high that they willscratch his or her back. Right turn,right rudder. Left turn, left rudder.Feet and hands move together.
Now the question foremost in yourupper brain is “How much rudder isenough?” Good question. Figure 54shows an inclinometer, also known asthe ball, as a part of another instru-ment called the turn coordinator (located on the instrument panel).
The little white airplane in theturn coordinator shows the directionof turn, while the ball tells you if theproper amount of rudder is applied.The ball is free to roll right or leftwithin the glass tube. Any inappro-priate rudder use (or lack of use)applies an unnecessary side force tothe airplane. This deflects the ball inmuch the same way sunglasses scootacross your car’s dash when roundinga sharp corner. Your job is to keepthe ball centered by using the rudder.
Figure 55 shows an airplane in aturn. Airplane A’s nose is pointedoutside the turn (probably because ofinsufficient right rudder or too much
2-31
THE TURN COORDINATORDC
ELEC
TURN COORDINATOR
2 MIN
NO PITCH INFORMATION
L R
Turnneedle Inclinometer
The movement of the ball corresponds tothe movement of the sunglasses on yourcar's dashboard. The same force thatmoves the glasses also moves the ball.The ball, however, slides more easily thanthe glasses. The ball's deflection fromcenter identifies when the airplane's noseis pointed other than in the direction ofturn. Rudder is used to move the ballback to the centered position.
Fig. 54
A B C
DCELEC
TURN COORDINATOR
2 MIN
L
R
Glasses move to right
DCELEC
TURN COORDINATOR
2 MIN
L
R
Glasses stay centered
DCELEC
TURN COORDINATOR
2 MIN
L
R
Glasses move to left
Airplane Slipping:Nose is pointedoutside the turn.
Airplane Skidding:Nose is pointedinside the turn.
Airplane Flying Coordinated:Nose is pointedin directionof turn.
Right rudder necessary
Left rudder necessary
Correct rudder application
AN EASY WAY TO UNDERSTAND SLIPPING & SKIDDING IN AN AIRPLANE
Ball in theinclinometeris forced to
the right, justlike sunglasses.
Ball in theinclinometer
stays centeredjust likesunglasses.
Ball in theinclinometeris forced to
the left, justlike sunglasses.
Fig. 55
An easy way to understand slips orskids is to think of the ball as the tailand the glass tube at the wings of theairplane. (Right turn shown.)
In a right turn, if the ball (tail) is to the leftof center, this implies the tail is skiddingto the outside of the turn.
Wings Tail
In a right turn, if the ball (tail) is to theright of center, this implies the tail is slip-ping to the inside of the turn.
SLIPS & SKIDSMADE EASY
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook
right aileron is applied). The ball and theairplane slip to the right, toward theinside of the turn. In other words, youneed to point the nose slightly to the rightfor a precisely aligned turn. By addingenough right rudder to align the airplanein the direction it’s turning, the ballreturns to the center as shown by Airplane B.
Airplane C’s nose points toward theinside of the turn (probably because toomuch right rudder is applied or insuffi-cient right aileron is used.) The ball andthe airplane skid to the left, toward theoutside of the turn. Adding a little leftrudder keeps the nose pointed in thedirection the airplane’s turning and cen-ters the ball.
Simply stated, if the ball is deflected tothe right or left of center, add enoughright or left rudder to center the ball.Sometimes you’ll hear your instructorsay, “Step on the ball!” This is simplyyour instructor’s way of telling you to addright rudder for a right-deflected ball andleft rudder for a left-deflected ball. Don’teven think about placing your foot on theturn coordinator, or your instructor willquestion you about your SAT scores.Don’t put marbles in your shoes either.
When entering a turn, aileron and rud-der are applied simultaneously, in thesame direction. This is what pilots meanwhen they refer to flying coordinated.Aileron establishes the degree of bankand rudder keeps the nose pointed in thedirection of turn. If the ball is centeredduring this process, we say that the con-trols are properly coordinated.
One last point about the rudder. It isthe last control forfeited in a stall. Evenwhen the airplane is stalled, it continuesto move forward with airflow over its sur-face. This allows some degree of rudderauthority even at very slow speeds.During a stall you’ll find that the rudderis very effective for maintaining direction-al control. In a spin, the rudder is veryimportant for spin recovery. More onspins in Postflight Briefing #2-1.
ElevatorThe elevator is the moveable horizontal
surface at the rear of the airplane. Itspurpose is to pitch the airplane’s nose up or down.
The elevator control works on the same aerodynamic principle as the rudder and aileron. Applying back pressureon the control wheel of Airplane A in Figure 56 deflects the elevator surface upward. Lower pressure is created on theunderside of the tail which moves it downward, and the nose of the airplane pitches up.
2-32
HOW THE ELEVATOR CONTROLCHANGES THE AIRPLANE'S PITCH
Tail movesup & nose
moves down
Tail movesdown & nose
moves upTail movement (down)
A
B
Pulling back on thecontrol wheel deflects the
elevator upward whichforces the tail downward.This, in turn, causes the
nose to pitch up.
Pushing forward on thecontrol wheel deflectsthe elevator downwardwhich forces the tailupward. This, in turn,causes the nose topitch down.
Tail movement (up)
Fig. 56
Coordination LubeIt won’t take long before you won’t need to
look at the ball in the inclinometer to knowwhether or not you’re flying coordinated. Witha little practice you’ll be able to fly by the seatof your pants (assuming you wear pantswhile flying). Pressure on the right or left sideof your derriere is caused by the same forcethat moves the ball to the right or the left. Itdoesn’t matter how big the airplane is; a 747or a Cessna Skycatcher Land-o-matic can beflown by the seat of the pants. Use the incli-nometer as sort of a biofeedback devicecuing you to sense pressure on your derriere
when the ball is deflected. And don’t feel bad if it takes a little practice to getused to coordinating rudder and ailerons. My first instructor told me thateven if they put cold Vaseline in the inclinometer (instead of mineral oil), Iwould still get the ball to bang back and forth against the ends of the glass.
Devious Instructor Device
Hey! What about two boxinggloves suspended by stringthat act like the ball in theinclinometer?
Chapter 2 - Aerodynamics: The Wing is the Thing
Airplane B shows what happenswhen the control wheel is moved for-ward. The elevator surface movesdown creating lower pressure on thetop side of the tail.
This causes the tail to rise. Thenose rotates about the lateral axis ina downward direction. Simply stated,to pitch up, pull the control wheelback; to pitch down, move the controlwheel forward.
Trim TabsIf you had to apply continuous
pressure on the control wheel tomaintain pitch attitude, your armswould tire quickly (Schwarzeneggerw o u l d b e p r o u d o f y o u b u t Iwouldn’t). Fortunately, airplaneshave something known as a trim tabto take the pressure off the controlwheel (and off the pilot!).
A trim tab is a small, moveablesurface attached to the main surfaceyou want to control (in this case, it’sthe elevator. Ailerons and rudder canhave trim tabs too). Figures 57A, 57Band 57C show two different types oftrim tabs and the trim wheel used tochange the trim tab’s position (thewheel is usually located between thetwo front seats or the lower portionof the instrument panel).
Moving the trim tab creates aslight pressure difference on the veryend of the control surface to whichit’s attached (Figure 58). Justenough pressure is created to keep
the primary control surface in thedesired position without having tohold the control wheel in place.Notice that the trim tab moves in adirection opposite to the primarycontrol surface it affects. If you wantthe elevator to deflect upward (as ifyou’re pulling back on the wheel in aclimb), the trim tab must move downas shown by Elevator A. To maintaina downward deflection of the elevator(as if you’re in a descent), the trimtab must move upward as shown byElevator B.
Using elevator trim is quite sim-ple. Select the attitude desired withthe elevator, then rotate the trimwheel (up or down) to take the pres-sure off the control wheel. How doyou know which way to twist thetrim wheel? Most trim wheels saynose down or nose up above or belowthe wheel. Simply twist the wheel inthe direction you want the nose tostay. Aileron and rudder trim areequally simple to use.
When flying with other pilots,accept the fact that they won’t likethe way you trimmed the airplane.You might have flown the last 200miles without touching the plane.Hand it over to the other person andthe first thing he or she does is startfiddling with the trim. I can only con-clude that this action is a form ofprimitive territorial claim. It’s annoy-ing, but it’s better than how wildanimals claim their territory isn’t it?
2-33
Some elevator trim tabs are a singletab on one side of theelevator.
Another version of the trim tab is asingle tab spanning thestabilator.Fig. 57A Fig. 57B
The Elevator Trim Wheel
Fig. 57C
Applying nose-down trimmoves the tab up, creating
a small low pressure area onthe bottom tip of the elevator.
This moves the elevatordownward.
Lift acting downwardcaused by trim tab
The trim wheelis usually locatedbelow the throttlein the center of
the airplane.
Applying nose-up trimmoves the tab down, creatinga small low pressure area onthe end of the elevator. This
causes the elevator tomove upward.
HOW ELEVATORTRIM WORKS
A
B
Upward liftcaused by
trim tab
Nosedown
Nose up
Fig. 58
If you hear the word “Rotax” and imme-diately think of someone from the Klingonempire, you’re not alone. There is, howev-er, nothing that’s otherworldly about theRotax engine’s clean design and practicalutility for today’s modern airplanes(Figure 50).
Rotax began building four stroke pistonaircraft engines in 1982. Since then they’veprovided light weight and compact enginesthat have found a welcome home in thelight sport airplane (LSA) market. Thesefour stroke, four cylinder, horizontallyopposed engines operate with an internalgearbox system that allows high engineRPM to be geared down for propellersthat operate more efficiently at slowerRPMs. Let’s poke around a bit to betterunderstand how these engines operateand how to better operate them.
There are two basic Rotax models that you’re likely toencounter in the LSA market: the 912 and the 912S. The912 produces 81 HP and runs on 87 octane autogas aswell as 100 LL (low lead) aviation gasoline (AVGAS).The 912S produces 100 HP and requires a minimum of91 octane autogas or 100LL AVGAS. (There is also a 914model that’s turbocharged but these are not used in theLSA market so we won’t discuss them here.)
The 912 and the 921S both come in two separate ver-sions. The first is an FAA Part 33 certified engine found onairplanes with standard airworthiness certificates. Theseengines are identified as 912F or 912SF. The non-certifiedversions of these engines are ASTM (at one time this
meant American Society for Testing Materials) compliantand are found in your typical LSA. These engines are iden-tified as 912UL or 912ULS.
The Internal GearboxStarting right up front behind the propeller of your
typical Rotax 912 is the reduction gearbox (Figure 51).One of the great features of the Rotax engine is its abilityto generate a great deal of horsepower despite its lightweight. This is partially accomplished by having theengine run at RPMs that are typically much higher thanthe average airplane engine runs.
For example, one very popular airplane engine is theContinental O-200. This engine weighs in at approxi-mately 170 pounds and produces 100 HP at approxi-mately 2,500 RPM. The Rotax 912S, on the other hand,weighs in at 132 pounds, but produces 100 HP at 5,800(engine) RPM. By reducing the weight by 23% and dou-bling the engine RPM, Rotax was able to generate thesame amount of horsepower. Clearly, a reduction ofengine weight allowed the development of reliable, safelight sport airplanes.
But how does higher RPM produce more horsepower?Think about it this way. If the crankshaft turns faster,then there’s more rotational energy stored in thisrotating assembly of moving parts. Rotate the crank-shaft of the Rotax 912 to 5,800 RPM and the engineproduces 80 HP. That’s a lot of energy that the pro-peller can use to pull or push the airplane through theair. The only problem is that we can’t run your typicalairplane propeller at these high RPMs because of pro-peller inefficiency issues. Don’t like the sound of that?That’s understandable because the “sound” of that
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook
Postflight Briefing #3-1
THE ROTAX 912 ENGINE
THE ROTAX 912 ENGINE
Fig. 50
Fig. 51
THE ROTAXENGINE
GEARBOX
3-30
Chapter 3 - Engines: Knowledge of Engines Is Power
would be a propeller tip breaking the speed of soundbecause it’s rotating at speeds close to 5,800 RPM. Thatwould make all kinds of noise that irritates our neighborsaround the airport. I’m speaking of those with hearingthat so sensitive it would make a bat jealous. It turns outthat most airplane propellers run efficiently at lowerRPMs—generally below 2,700 RPM—where their bladetips stay below the speed of sound. Thus Rotax enginegearing (Figures 52 and 53) gives you the best of bothworlds (no, not earth and the Klingon home world) withhigher horsepower and good thrust production.
Both certified and non-certified Rotax engines on LSAshave something known as an overload clutch in the gear-box. Technically speaking, the Rotax gearbox is the spurtype, with a dog axial shock absorber and an overloadclutch that’s optional. Now that sounds like something aguy would say if he were trying to impress girl, doesn’t it?
What this means is that the gears in the gearbox havestraight teeth (spur gears) that mesh with one another(dog gearing), with a small crankshaft gear (Figure 53)turning a larger propeller shaft gear (Figure 52), thus,reducing the prop speed. If, for some reason the propellerstopped suddenly (i.e., because of a ground/object strike),then the slipper clutch (Figure 54) would absorb some ofthat energy in the plane of propeller rotation. Figure 55Ais the extracted slipper clutch. Figure 55B is the slipperclutch with the dog gear (Figure 55C) removed (the doggear connects to backside of the large propeller shaft gearshown in Figure 52. Figure 55D shows the slipping platesextracted from inside the slipper clutch. These are theslipping plates that allow the engine to suffer less damagein the event of a sudden stoppage of the propeller. Whew!You made it. I almost ran out of fuel in that discussion.Speaking of fuel, let’s speak about it.
3-31
Photo courtesy of Robert Borger Photo courtesy of Robert BorgerFig. 52 Fig. 53
Photo courtesy of Robert Borger Fig. 54
THE LARGERPROPELLER
SHAFT GEAR
THE SMALLER CRANKSHAFT GEAR
THE SLIPPER CLUTCH
Fig. 55Photos courtesy of Robert BorgerA
BD
C
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook
The Fuel SystemTo the right of the internal gearbox is the mechanical
fuel pump (Figure 56). This pump is turned by the engineand draws fuel from the airplane’s main fuel tank.Between this fuel tank and the pump, there is a fuel shut-off valve, a line drain and a fine particle filter (Figure 57).In other words, a drawbridge, a trap door and armedguards. The fuel shutoff valve is used during enginemaintenance or if you have an in-flight fire to preventany fuel flow from the tanks. The line drain allows you toeliminate any water in the fuel lines. The fine particle fil-ter stands guard to catch any solid contamination thatmight have found its way into the fuel lines. As fuel exitsthe mechanical pump, it’s directed to two Bing, constantvelocity carburetors (Figure 58). These carburetors auto-matically adjust the fuel-air mixture entering the engine,thus limiting the need for adjusting the mixture on mostlight sport airplanes.
Constant velocity (or depression-type) carburetors area little different than typical carburetors. First of all,they’re called “constant velocity” carburetors becausethey keep the air that flows past the fuel jet (Figure 59,position A) at a constantly high velocity, which helps mix-ture fuel and air together more efficiently than other car-buretor types. How does this happen? Let’s see.
Inside the constant velocity carburetor is a verticalsleeve that slides up or down within its chamber, therebyvarying the size of the carburetor’s throat (Figure 59,position B and C). This sleeve is located ahead (upwind)of the throttle butterfly valve shown at Figure 59, posi-tion D. (no, there’s not an actual butterfly in there as faras we know). The butterfly valve is controlled by throttleposition and regulates the amount of air entering theengine. The top of the hollow vertical sleeve on each car-buretor is connected to a sealed diaphragm via a flexiblemembrane (Figure 59, position E) that splits the chamberin two (Figure 59, position G). Because of a hole in thebottom of that sleeve (Figure 59, position F), the air pres-sure above the diaphragm (Figure 59, position G) is atthe same pressure as that found at the bottom of thesleeve (Figure 59, position H). When the throttle isopened slightly, air flows past the sleeve and is drawninto the engine. As the air flows past the sleeve it experi-ences that sleeve as a restriction. This causes the air toaccelerate down the carburetor’s throat because of some-thing known as the venturi effect. The pressure withinthe sleeve as well as above the diaphragm now reducesslightly. Since the area directly below the diaphragm isvented to the outside atmosphere (Figure XX, position I),it has higher pressure pushing constantly upward on theunderside of the diaphragm. As the pressure inside thesleeve and above the diaphragm decrease, higher outsideatmospheric pressure pushes up on the diaphragm caus-ing the sleeve to rise a little into its sleeve chamber(Figure 59, position C). As a result, the needle connectedto the bottom of the sleeve lifts out of the main fuel portslightly (Figure 59, position J), thereby allowing fuel to
3-32
Fig. 56
Fig. 58
TWO “BING” CONSTANT VELOCITY CARBURETORS
THE FUEL PUMP
Need Picture
FUELSHUTOFFVALVE
FUEL LINE DRAIN
PARTICLE FILTER
Fig. 57
Chapter 3 - Engines: Knowledge of Engines Is Power
flow past the throttle valve and into the engine. As thethrottle is further opened (Figure 59, position K), thesleeve rises higher and more fuel ultimately enters theengine. The general idea is that there’s a constant highvelocity of air always flowing past the bottom of thesleeve to help mix the air and fuel together. Got that? Ifso, you’ll definitely impress a girl (then again, you mightimpress her with the idea that she obtain a restrainingorder against you for talking like that).
Why use a CV type carburetor? One of the main rea-sons is that the venturi restriction made between thesleeve and the carburetor’s throat provides for higherairstream velocities and much lower pressure in this loca-tion as a result. This allows for better engine accelerationsince larger quantities of fuel are able to enter the engineas the throttle is opened. It also allows for better combus-tion since fuel and air are mixed more efficiently.
Since we’ve been talking about how the fuel movesthrough the system, you should know that your Rotax issomewhat like a vegetarian when it comes to the type offuel it consumes. Vegetarians love diets of pigeon milkand wood chips, and your Rotax mostly loves low led fuel.Let’s take a look a closer look the menu.
Fuel ConsiderationsThe best fuel to use in your engine is automobile gas
(Figure 60A) with a minimum octane rating of 87 orhigher for the 912UL (81 HP), and 91 octane for the 921S(100 HP). Both engines can use 100LL AVGAS (Figure60B) if autogas isn’t available. Keep in mind, however,that low lead fuel contains about 18 times the lead foundin automobile gas. This means that plug fouling andengine valve stress (caused by lead deposits on the valveseats in the combustion chamber) can be a concern(Figure 61). This is why some light sport airplane manu-factures recommend the use of a mineral based engine oilor at least a semi-synthetic oil (not pure synthetic) whenusing 100LL. This type of oil helps scrub lead from theengine. Using higher power settings also helps reduce leddeposits within the engine, too. There are also fuel andoil additives that can minimize lead deposits as per yourairplane manufacture’s recommendation.
On the other hand, 100LL AVGAS, as compared toautogas, is often an advantage when operating at higheraltitudes because it’s less likely to vaporize in the fuellines (i.e., cause vapor lock) due to the lower pressuresassociated with higher altitudes. Once again, you must
3-33
INSIDE THE CONSTANT VELOCITY CARBURETOR
Fig. 59
AUTOGAS AVGAS 100LL LEAD PLUGFOULING
Fig. 61Fig. 60A B Courtesy Mike Busch© Natalia Bratslavsky
The Gyroscopic Instruments
The Attitude IndicatorThe attitude indicator or artificial horizon is
one of three gyroscopic instruments in the air-plane. The other two are the heading indica-tor and the turn coordinator. The attitudeindicator (Figure 37) is located in the topmiddle of the panel’s six primary instru-ments (or in the background of the primaryflight display). Consider this. If you acquiredsomething important, like Leonardo daVinci’s “Mona Lisa” or its famed counter-part, the “Mona Larry,” you’d put it on thewall for everyone would see. Well, that’s whythe attitude indicator is put smack in themiddle of the instrument panel. You can safelyassume it has considerable importance in orderto merit such a position.
The attitude indicator provides you with attitude infor-mation in much the same way the outside, visible horizondoes. Attitude indicators become especially valuable whenthe outside horizon is no longer visible. Accidentally fly-ing into the clouds, flying in very hazy conditions towardthe sun or night flight over the desert are all conditionswhere the attitude indicator helps you determine the air-plane’s pitch and bank condition (the only thing the atti-tude indicator can’t help you with is when rear seat pas-sengers put their hands over your eyes and say, “Guesswhere?” This is why you carry fire extinguishers in theairplane—one warning shot and they always let go).
Figure 38 shows how the attitude indicator presents itspitch and bank information. The basis of this presenta-tion is a symbolic set of airplane wings resting over amoveable horizon card. Painted directly onto the horizoncard is a white horizon line, a light colored area above the
line representing the sky and a darker colored area belowrepresenting the ground (Even in smoggy Los Angeles,these two colors shouldn’t be reversed). Bank and pitchmarkings are also shown on the card.
The symbolic wings are attached to the instrument’scase, while the horizon card is free to rotate underneaththem. Because the horizon card is mechanically attachedto a stabilized gyro, it essentially remains fixed in spacewhile the airplane rotates about it during flight. Thisgives the impression the symbolic airplane wings are thethings that move (they don’t move since they’re attachedto the instrument’s case which is bolted to the instru-ment panel).
Figure 39 shows a sequence of variable attitude condi-tions on the face of the attitude indicator. (Remember, ineach case the airplane has pitched or rolled around thehorizon card that’s remaining stationary in space.) Astraight and level pitch attitude is shown on attitude
Fig. 37
Fig. 38
A VIEW LIMITING DEVICE
Courtesy Windsock Aviation & Pilot Supplies
My friend John Italianodemonstrates the infamousdevice known as Foggles.It is a view limiting deviceused to restrict your visionto the instrument panel,thus keeping you from
looking outside. You mustcontrol the airplane solelyby reference to the flightinstruments. By using theattitude indicator and theother instruments, you caneasily maneuver the air-plane as if you’re flyingwithout any restriction. Youmay learn how to fly withreference to your instru-ments during your sportpilot training.
5-22 Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook
indicator A. You know the airplane isflying straight because the symbolicairplane wings are not banked. Theairplane’s nose is level with the hori-zon, indicating it is probably holdingits altitude (that’s probably sincewe’d need to look at the altimeter tobe sure). The picture made by thereference airplane is similar to theway reality looks out of your air-plane’s front windscreen duringflight.
Attitude indicator B shows the air-plane in straight flight with a nose-up pitch attitude. The little symbolicairplane’s nose (the white ball—thehead of a bald pilot) rests a littleabove the 10° pitch up index and thewings are level. Remember, the littleairplane in the attitude indicatorisn’t moving, it’s the horizon cardbehind the symbolic airplane thatdoes all the moving (I’ll explain howit does this in a moment).
Attitude indicator C depictsstraight flight with a nose-downpitch attitude. The airplane’s wingsare level and the nose is pointedbelow the horizon.
Attitude indicator D depicts a leftturn in a level pitch attitude.Sometimes it’s a little difficult todetermine which way the airplane isbanked. Ask yourself, “Which wing ispointed toward the ground?" In thispicture it’s obvious that the left wingis pointed downward. The airplanemust be in a left turn. I do hope this
is as obvious as a chin strap on atoupee. After all, if the left wing ispointed to the ground, you should bemaking a left turn. The only timethis wouldn’t be true is if you’reinverted. And if you’re makinginverted turns at this point in yourcareer, then you either need moredual instruction or you have beenanointed by Chuck Yeager or NeilArmstrong (in other words, you prob-ably don’t need to read this book).
Another important question to askis, “If you wanted to return tostraight flight in attitude indicator D,which wing would you raise?” (you’vegot a 50-50 chance on this one). Yes,the left wing. It’s the one dippingtoward the ground. If you ever lostsight of the horizon, you could main-tain straight flight by simply askingwhich wing needs raising. Thenyou’d simply keep the small whiteball on the white horizon line tomaintain a level pitch attitude. Keepin mind that we refer to straightflight as both wings being parallelwith the horizon and level flight asthe airplane’s longitudinal axis beingparallel with the horizon. Attitudeindicator D shows the airplane in alevel pitch attitude while in a bank.
What type of turn does attitudeindicator E show? Ask yourself,“Which wing is pointed toward theground?" The answer is, the rightwing. The airplane is in a right turn.The vertical indicator at the top of
the instrument points to the 30°bank increment (each of the firstthree indices represent 10° of bank).Therefore, the airplane is in a 30°right bank. If you wanted to returnto straight and level flight, whichway would you turn? You must turnthe control wheel to the left to raisethe right wing and return to straightflight.
Attitude indicator F depicts an air-plane in a nose-up pitch attitudewhile in left 30° bank turn. Attitudeindicator G shows an airplane in anose-up pitch attitude while in aright turn at a very steep 60° of bank.Finally, attitude indicator H shows
Chapter 5 - Flight Instruments: Clocks, Tops & Toys
Fig. 39
GOOD GRIEF!We were on a pleasure flight to an air-
port in the foothills of a mountainrange...I flew over the airport at what Ithought was 1000’ above pattern alti-tude to check wind direction, thenbegan a turn and descent to join thepattern. The hills seemed uncomfortablyclose as I turned to 45 degree entry,even though I still hadn’t reached mytarget altitude. Ground features ondownwind leg were closer than Iremembered, even though I was still1000’ high. An uneasy feeling of thingsnot being right was forming whenUnicom called a warning to “aircraft ondownwind at low altitude.” By that timeI had turned from base to final and sawthat making a normal landing would bechancy, at best. I immediately initiateda go-around, still not understandingwhat had gone wrong. After gettingthings stabilized I glanced down at theairport information sheet clipped to theyoke and saw, to my horror, that the“pattern” altitude I had been descend-ing to was, in reality, the altitude of theairport! ASRS Report
When things don’t look right, imme-diately start asking questions, mentallyand verbally. On Unicom ask if theycan verify the altimeter setting. If thealtimeter setting checks out, verify thepattern altitude. Pilots like to help oneanother. Flying foolishly is a lot morehazardous to your health than swal-lowing some pride and requestinghelp. D.T.
5-23
an airplane in a nose-down pitch attitudewhile in a right turn at 20° of bank.
Have you noticed that I have not men-tioned climbing or descending in refer-ence to pitch attitude? Even though anose-up pitch attitude is normally associ-ated with a climb, there are occasionswhere it’s not. For instance, Figure 40shows three different flight conditionsassociated with a nose-up pitch attitude.The airplane may either be climbing withfull power, cruising with limited power,or stalling with no power. All these condi-tions are associated with a nose-up pitchattitude. When flying by reference toinstruments, the only way you can tellwhat your airplane is doing is to consultsome of the other flight instruments. Youwill learn about this a little later on.
How does the attitude indicator (aswell as the other gyro-based instruments)accomplish the mysterious task of por-traying attitude? It does this through agyroscopic principle known as rigidity inspace. Figure 41 shows a child’s top infull spin. A spinning top, just like a spin-
Fig. 41
Fig. 40
Fig. 42
THE INSIDE OF AN ATTITUDE INDICATOR
Gyro is in a sealed unit
5-24 Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook
ning wheel inside the attitude indica-tor (Figure 41), acquires the unusualproperty known as rigidity in space.A small wheel (a gyro) spun at highspeed tends to remain in a fixed orrigid position. That’s why the child’stop remains upright until is stopsspinning. It’s this property that
allows the attitude indicator’s hori-zon card to portray airplane attitude.
The internal workings of the atti-tude indicator are displayed in Figure42 (see Postflight Briefing #5-4 forinfo on how the solid state gyros ofthe PFD work). While this is a highlysimplified drawing, it does allow youto understand the principles uponwhich the attitude indicator works.Notice the circular disk in the centerof the instrument. This is the gyro-scope. It is mechanically connected tothe sky/ground horizon card on theface of the indicator. When spun, thisdisk takes on gyroscopic propertiesand maintains its position, fixed inspace, relative to the earth. Thus, thehorizon’s face card, which is mechan-ically connected to the gyro, alsoremains fixed in space. From insidethe airplane, the horizon face cardaccurately represents the real hori-zon in either a right or left hand turnas shown in Figure 43. As you canclearly see, the airplane rotates aboutthe attitude indicator’s gyro-stabi-lized (fixed) horizon card.
Most light airplane attitude gyrosare spun by air pressure. A vacuumpump (Figure 44) sucks air throughthe instrument and over the gyro,spinning it at high velocity (Figure 45).
This system is known as the vacuumsystem (and this isn’t something youuse to keep your airplane clean!).
Notice that the vacuum pump isconnected to two instruments—theattitude indicator and the headingindicator. Both these instrumentsuse gyroscopes that are typicallyspun by vacuum air pressure. Youmay also come across an airplanewith a heading indicator whose gyrosare electrically spun. Either way, thespinning of a gyro allows theseinstruments to work their magic.
Malfunctions of the airplane’s air-spun gyro instruments are usuallycaused by the vacuum pump provid-ing insufficient vacuum pressure. Anairplane’s vacuum gauge (Figure 46)keeps you informed about the
Chapter 5 - Flight Instruments: Clocks, Tops & Toys
Fig. 44Fig. 45
Fig. 43
Fig. 46
THE AIRPLANE’S VACUUM PUMP
5-25
to be used for sport and recreation, and not to be used as afor-hire flight training or rental aircraft. Just to be clear,you can take instruction in an ELSA, but you can’t use itfor hire to instruct others. (Note: ELSAs can, for compen-sation or hire, be used to tow gliders in the LSA categoryor unpowered ultralight vehicles).
Experimental exhibition aircraft are those aircraft oftenfound at airshows, such as warbirds. I won’t discuss thesehere since it’s unlikely that you’ll go to war after receivingyour sport pilot certificate. (See Postflight Briefing #6-2.)
Experimental Aircraft Requirements - If your air-plane has an experimental airworthiness certificate, youare required to advise your passengers of the experimen-tal nature of the aircraft. I know you’ll choose your wordscarefully, and not say something such as, “By the way, Ijust wanted to let you know that I built this thing andthere’s nothing wrong with it...any more.” This state-ment is usually followed by, “Hey wait, come back, don’trun away, I was only kidding, geesh.” Kit-built and ama-teur-built aircraft constructed correctly, are as safe to flyas any other aircraft.
Flight operations in experimental aircraft should beconducted under day VFR conditions only, unless you areauthorized by the FAA to do otherwise. These operationsmust also be conducted within the operating limits speci-fied for that particular airplane. When operating out ofairports with operating control towers, you must notifythe tower of the experimental nature of the aircraft. Keepin mind that experimental aircraft may only be used forthe purpose for which their certificate was issued, and
that means sport and recreation, and not flight for com-pensation or hire.
Perhaps you’ve seen one of those large (and experi-mentally certified) hot air balloons that drifts aroundthe country and are used by individuals to tout theirpersonal companies and products. There is one in par-ticular that impresses me. It’s a large TyrannosaurusRex dinosaur that stands many stories tall. The problemwith this type of balloon is that it causes the occupantsof Japanese restaurants to run out into the street shout-ing, “No, not again. Make him stop.”
Now we’re ready to examine the specific maintenanceand inspection requirements for both amateur-built air-craft (LSA-definition) and experimental light sport air-craft (ELSA).
Maintenance and Inspections on ExperimentalAmateur-built Aircraft (LSA-definition)
We’ve seen that anyone (you, him, that guy over there,your uncle Fred, and so on) can perform any maintenanceon any experimental airplane. You don’t need any license,rating or certificate to do so. That’s because the FAAbelieves that anyone who owns an experimental aircraftwill use a little common sense and only let someone whoknows what they’re doing work on the machine. And if youhappen to own the experimental airplane, hopefully youwon’t touch it unless you know the difference between adoohickie and a thingamajig. On the other hand, all air-craft are required to have an inspection every 12 calendarmonths. Let’s see who can do this inspection as well as
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook6-50
Fig. 76
ANNUAL CONDITION INSPECTION
Fig. 77
AIRCRAFT LOGBOOKS
There’s Something I’ve Got to Tell You...As a pilot of an experimental aircraft or a special light sport aircraft, you are required to notify your passen-
ger that he or she is going flying in an aircraft that doesn’t meet the airworthiness requirements for an air-craft that was issued a standard airworthiness certificate. Of course, you’ll modify that statement so asnot to scare anyone, right. Perhaps you’ll say:
“I want to advise you that this aircraft has an experimental airworthiness certificate and is not requiredto meet the airworthiness requirements for aircraft issued a standard airworthiness certificate.” Ifit’s an SLSA, you might say, “Because this aircraft complies with industry consensus designstandards, it’s allowed to fall into the light-sport aircraft category and isn’t required to meetthe airworthiness requirements for aircraft issued a standard airworthiness certificate.
who is responsible for ensuring this inspection iscompleted.
Required Inspections - As a sport pilot, ifyou own an experimental amateur-built air-craft (LSA-definition), then it must have had acondition inspection (Figure 76) within the pre-ceding 12 calendar months to be considered air-worthy. This is sometimes called the annual con-dition inspection. The person performing thisinspection (we’ll discuss who can do this inspection next)must approve the aircraft for return to service by provid-ing the appropriate endorsement in the aircraft’s logbooks(Figure 77). Experimental amateur-built aircraft (LSA-def-inition) typically have three logbooks, one for the airframe,the engine and the propeller. All required inspections andmaintenance must be logged in the appropriate logbook(s).
Who is responsible for ensuring that any required main-tenance and inspections are logged into the appropriatemaintenance records? The pilot? The aircraft fueler? No.The FAA requires the owner (the person who has legal titleto the aircraft) or the operator (this can be the person whooperates the flight school, but this isn’t relevant for ama-teur-built experimental aircraft since they can’t be used asrental aircraft) to ensure that the aircraft is properly main-tained and inspected, as well as ensure the maintenancerecords are endorsed properly.
Who Can Perform the Annual Condition Inspection on Experimental Amateur-BuiltAircraft (LSA-definition)?As you know, if you built or purchased an experimental
amateur-built aircraft, then anyone can perform the main-tenance on that airplane. The annual condition inspec-tion, however, must be done by either:
� a certificated repairman (experimental aircraft builder)(Figure 78A and 78B), or
� an appropriately rated mechanic (i.e, an A&P or airframe and powerplant mechanic, Figure 78A and 78C), or
� an appropriately rated repair station.
If you are the primary builder of the amateur-built air-craft, then you can obtain a repairman certificate with anexperimental aircraft builder classification (no, this isn’ta home repairman certificate, either. To obtain the cer-tificate, you simply apply to the FAA for one. No trainingis necessary. This certificate allows you to perform theannual condition inspection on the amateur-built aircraft(LSA definition) listed on your repairman certificatebecause you were the primary builder of this aircraft.
Since FAR 65.104[a][2]) states that you have to be the“primary builder” of the aircraft for which you’re seeingrepairman privileges, any future owner of this aircraftcannot qualify for the repairman certificate (experimentalaircraft builder) for this airplane. That means if you pur-chase an already constructed experimental amateur-builtLSA, then an A&P (or the person who holds the repair-man certificate for that airplane—if one exists) must dothe inspections on this machine from now on. Pleaseremember that we are talking about amateur-built air-craft that meet the definition of light sport aircraft here.
Chapter 6 - Federal Aviation Regulations: How FAR Can We Go?6-51
Amateur Built (LSA-definition)
Special AirworthinessCertificate
Experimental
Requirements for Doing Maintenance or Inspections on Light Sport Aircraft
Maintenance Inspections
ExperimentalLight Sport (ELSA)
Maintenance Inspections
Special Light Sport
AnyoneAnyone
Inspections
A&PA&Pmustbeprimary
builderofaircraft
A&PR +MR + Imustown
aircraft
LSAR +M
LSALSAR
EXP
Maintenance
A&PR +MLSA
R =repairman(experimentalaircraftbuilder)EXP
Toobtainarepairman(experimentalaircraftbuilder)certificateastheprimarybuilderofyourairplane,
youwouldapplytotheFAAviaanapplicationform.Notrainingisrequired.Therepairman
(experimentalaircraftbuilder)certificateallowsyoutoperformtherequiredinspectionsontheamateur-
builtaircraft thatyoupersonallyconstructed.
A&P=airframeandpowerplantmechanic
This isanFAAissuedcertificatethatrequiresboth
practicalandknowledgetestsaswellasmanyhours
ofactualhands-onexperience.LicensedA&P
mechanicscanworkonalmostanythingthat flies.
mustbetrainedin
“category”ofaircraft
mustbetrainedin
“category”ofaircraft
mustbetrainedin
“category”ofaircraft
(orappropriatelyratedrepairstation)
Fig. 78A
Fig. 78B
Fig. 78C
Maintenance and Inspections On ELSAs(Experimental Light Sport Aircraft)
Keep in mind that ELSAs are airplane kits (fully orpartially built) or special light sport aircraft (SLSAs) thatwere re-registered so as to convert them to ELSAs.(SLSAs to be discussed next.)
Required Inspections - Despite being allowed to dothe maintenance on your ELSA, the aircraft must havean annual condition inspection within the preceeding 12calendar months for it to be considered airworthy (Figure79). In addition, if the ELSA is used for hire (i.e., towing ser-vices), then the airplane must have had a 100-hour inspec-tion within the preceeding 100 hours of time in service(known as the 100-hour inspection). The person performingeither of these inspections (we’ll discuss who can do theseinspection next) must approve the aircraft for return toservice by providing the appropriate endorsement in theaircraft’s logbooks (Figure 80).
ELSAs typically have three logbooks, one for the air-frame, the engine and the propeller. All required inspec-tions and maintenance must be logged in the appropriatelogbook(s).
Who is responsible for ensuring that any requiredmaintenance and inspections are logged into the appro-priate maintenance records? Ricardo, the airport Elvisimpersonator? The Pilot? No. The FAA requires theowner (the person who has legal title to the aircraft) orthe operator (this can be the person who operates the flightschool that provides towing services for compensation orhire to gliders in the LSA category or unpowered ultralightvehicles) to ensure that the aircraft is properly main-tained and inspected, as well as ensure the maintenancerecords are endorsed properly.
Let’s be clear on the point about flight instruction. ELSAs(or any experimental aircraft, for that matter) can’t be usedfor hire to instruct others nor can they be used as rental air-craft for the purposes of flight training. Yes, you can takeinstruction in an ELSA (or any experimental aircraft) andyou can pay the instructor for that training. An FBO isn’t,however, allowed to rent you an ELSA for that purpose.
Who Can Perform the Annual Condition Inspection on an Experimental Light Sport Aircraft (ELSA)?You must know by now that anyone can perform the
maintenance on an experimental airplane. The annualcondition inspection, however, must be done by either:
� a certificated repairman (light sport aircraft) with aninspection rating in the category of aircraft for which the holder has completed training (i.e., airplane category), or
� a certificated repairman (light sport aircraft) with a maintenance rating in the category of aircraft for which the holder has completed training (i.e., airplane category), or
� an appropriately rated mechanic (e.g., A&P mechanic), or� an appropriately rated repair station.
Let’s examine each of these in more detail.Repairman Certificate (LSA) - Inspection RatingIf you hold a repairman (light sport aircraft) certificate
with an inspection rating, in the airplane category, thenyou can perform the annual condition inspection on anaircraft that you own as shown in Figure 81A and 81B.The reason the FAA wants you to own the airplane isthat the inspection rating doesn’t require a great deal oftraining to obtain (more on obtaining this certificateshortly). Therefore, owning the airplane assumes thatyou will have greater familiarity with the machine and awillingness to accept more of the risks associated withperforming the annual condition inspection yourself.When you obtain your repairman certificate, the specificaircraft you’ll be allowed to inspect will be listed on thatrepairman certificate by make, model and serial number.If you sell your ELSA and buy another one, or acquire anadditional one to add to your neighborhood air-defensefleet, then the annual condition inspection can’t be doneon that aircraft until you add it to your repairman certifi-cate. That’s right. You must have the FAA add this newor additional aircraft to your certificate if you want toperform the annual condition inspection on that machine.
Repairman Certificate (LSA) - Maintenance RatingYou can also do the annual condition inspection if you
hold a repairman certificate (light sport aircraft) with a
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook6-52
Fig. 79
ANNUAL CONDITION INSPECTION
Fig. 80
AIRCRAFT LOGBOOKS
maintenance rating (Figure 81A and 81C) inthe airplane category. You don’t need to ownthe aircraft to do this inspection with thistype of repairman certificate, either. Why?As you’ll soon see, this type of repairmancertificate requires a great deal more train-ing to obtain than that required for theinspection rating. With more training comesmore privilege. Thus, the FAAallows you perform the annu-al condition inspection onany ELSA (not just theone you own) as long asthe aircraft falls withinthe category of aircrafton which you weretrained.
A&P or AppropriatelyRated Repair StationOf course, any licensed airframe and powerplant
mechanic (Figure 81A and 81D) or appropriately ratedrepair station can do the annual condition inspection, too.
Obtaining the Repairman Certificate and RatingsTo obtain a repairman (light sport aircraft) certifi-
cate with an inspection rating, you must attend a FAAapproved 16-hour training course and pass a knowledgetest at the end of the course. To obtain a repairman(light sport aircraft) certificate with a maintenance rat-ing, you must attend a FAA approved 80- to 120-hourtraining course for the category of aircraft on whichyou intend to work (i.e., airplane, weight-shift, glider,etc.), as well as pass a knowledge test at the end of thecourse (see, I told you it was more extensive).
Keep in mind that an inspection rating on yourrepairman certificate allows you to perform the annualcondition inspection on an ELSA that you own. Unlikethe repairman certificate (experimental aircraftbuilder), you aren’t required to have built the airplaneto perform the annual condition inspection. You are only
required to own the airplane, meaning that you mighthave purchased it from someone, purchased it as a kitand built a little bit of it or none of it. This is one reasonwhy some people obtain a repairman certificate with aninspection rating, then deregister their SLSA. In doing sothey convert its airworthiness certificate to the ELSAsub-category, allowing them to do their own maintenanceas well as annual condition inspection. This may saves agreat deal of money on mechanics, but only if the work isdone properly, right?
Amateur Built (LSA-definition)
Special AirworthinessCertificate
Experimental
Requirements for Doing Maintenance or Inspections on Light Sport Aircraft
Maintenance Inspections
ExperimentalLight Sport (ELSA)
Maintenance Inspections
Special Light Sport
Anyone Anyone
Inspections
A&Pmustbeprimary
builderofaircraft
A&PA&PR +MR +Imustown
aircraft
LSAR +M
LSAR
EXP LSA
Maintenance
A&PR +MLSA
R +I=repairman(lightsportaircraft)withan ratinginspection
R +M=repairman(lightsportaircraft)witha ratingmaintenance
A&P=airframeandpowerplantmechanic
LSA
LSA
Toobtainarepairman(lightsportaircraft)certificatewithan ,youmust
takeanFAAapproved16-hourtrainingcoursefor thesameclassofELSAthatyou
ownandyoucanonlydotheannualconditioninspectionontheaircraft thatyouown.
inspectionrating
Toobtainarepairman(lightsportaircraft)certificatewitha,youmustcompleteanFAAapprovedratingcoursefor the
categoryofaircraftonwhichyoudesiretowork.Thiscourseconsistsof80to120hoursof training.Thecourseallowsyoudotheannualcondition
inspectionsonELSAsandSLSAs,the100-hour inspectiononanSLSA,aswellasperformthemaintenanceandrepaironanySLSA, ifauthorizedby
theaircraftmanufacturer.
maintenancerating
This isanFAAissuedcertificatethatrequiresboth
practicalandknowledgetestsaswellasmanyhours
ofactualhands-onexperience.LicensedA&P
mechanicscanworkonalmostanythingthat flies.
mustbetrainedin
“category”ofaircraft
mustbetrainedin
“category”ofaircraft
mustbetrainedin
“category”ofaircraft
(orFAAcertifiedrepairstation)
Chapter 6 - Federal Aviation Regulations: How FAR Can We Go?6-53
Fig. 81A
Fig. 81B
Fig. 81C
Fig. 81D
Figure 5 shows the VFR cloud dis-tance and flight visibility minimumsbelow 10,000 feet MSL. Any altitudein Class E airspace below 10,000 feetMSL requires that you fly at least1,000 feet above, 500 feet below and2,000 feet horizontally from anycloud formation. Three statute milesof flight visibility is also required.Here’s Rod Machado’s AirspaceSimplification Rule #1: Since you’relikely to see at least three Cessna152’s below 10,000 feet, let’s encodethe minimums in an easy-to-remem-ber formula: 3V/152.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s entirelypossible that an airplane on an IFRflight plan could pop out of the sideof a cloud that’s close to you. Eventhough there is a 250 knot (288MPH) indicated airspeed limit for allaircraft operating below 10,000 feetMSL, this should still concern you.Seeing a 250 knot airplane emergingfrom the side of a cloud could shockyou as much as it would a pig seeingsomeone eating a ham sandwich.Maintaining a distance of no lessthan 2,000 feet horizontally from anycloud formation minimizes the risk ofa collision. To repeat myself for agood cause, stay as far away from anycloud as you need to in order to feelreally, really safe. Two thousand feetmight not do it for you; it certainlydoesn’t for me. I prefer three, four oreven five thousand feet (big feet too).
Why is a greater distance requiredabove a cloud than below? Many high
performance airplanes typically climbfaster than they descend. Small jetaircraft, like Learjets, can climb atseveral thousand feet per minuteafter takeoff (Learjets feel like some-one strapped a little rocket onto yourback). Being higher above the cloudtops helps reduce the risk that youwill unintentionally become a hoodornament for a Learjet.
Pilots of jet aircraft, particularly bigones, rarely descend at thousands offeet per minute when they are below10,000 feet MSL. Why? Trying toarrest a 6,000 foot-per-minute sinkrate in a fully loaded Boeing 747would take hundreds of feet. Boeing747’s (also known as “aluminum over-casts”) have such inertia that descents
in excess of 1,000 feet per minutewhile close to the ground are donewith great care. Since pilots generallydescend at lesser rates than theyclimb, required distances below cloudsare typically less than those above.
Class E Airspace Starting At700 Feet AGL
When Class E airspace starts at700 above ground level, it will be sur-rounded by a magenta faded line, asshown in Figures 6 and 7, position 1.Anywhere within this magenta fadedarea, controlled airspace starts at 700feet AGL. An aeronautical sectionalchart shows this magenta faded bor-der (sharp on the outside, fading tothe inside) quite clearly in Figure 7,
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook9-6
Fig. 6Fig. 7
Fig. 5
3
21
Carr airport as shown on anaeronautical sectional chart.
position 1. Outside the border of themagenta fade, controlled airspacestarts at 1,200 feet AGL.
Within the borders of the magentafade, at and above 700 feet AGL, RodMachado’s Airspace SimplificationRule #1 applies. In other words, youneed a minimum of 3V/152 for VFRflight.
Why would an airspace designerwant to lower Class E airspace to 700feet AGL around or near an airport?To keep VFR pilots from bumpinginto IFR pilots who are makinginstrument approaches.
The keyhole type extensions ofClass E airspace starting at 700 feetAGL in Figure 6, position 2 identifydescent paths followed by IFR air-planes during their instrumentapproaches. The keyhole slot isshown on the aeronautical sectionalchart excerpt in Figure 7, position 3.IFR pilots on an instrumentapproach typically descend to alti-tudes of 700 feet AGL (and lower).They remain in Class E airspace dur-ing most of their IFR approach. Ifthey see the airport, they land; if theydon’t see it, they fly off to another air-port (hopefully one that has fewerclouds and better visibility).
Remember that in Class E airspacebelow 10,000 feet MSL, VFR pilotsshould be flying with no less than3V/152. This means if an IFR pilotpops out of the clouds, there should beample time for the VFR and IFR pilots
to see and avoid each other (IFR pilotsare equally responsible to see andavoid whenever they are not in instru-ment meteorological conditions).
Some airports have instrumentapproaches that bring IFR pilotsdown closer than 700 feet AGL, asshown in Figure 8. There are airportsallowing IFR pilots to come within200 feet AGL or less while still in theclouds. Since controlled airspace helpsVFR pilots see and avoid other pilots,these airports have Class E airspacelowered all the way to the surface.(There are other reasons why con-trolled airspace is lowered, but theseare beyond the scope of this book.)
Figure 9 shows how surface-basedClass E airspace is shown on an aero-nautical sectional chart. A dottedmagenta line defines the lateralboundaries of the controlled airspacesurrounding McComb-Pike Countyairport (position 1). Airports withoutair traffic control towers use amagenta dashed line to represent thissurface-based Class E airspace.(Airports with established controltowers, as you’ll see a little later, useblue-dashed lines to represent con-trolled airspace in contact with thesurface around that airport.)
What does this surface-based ClassE airspace mean to you as a VFR
Chapter 9 - Airspace: The Wild Blue, Green & Red Yonder9-7
Fig. 9Fig. 8
1
McComb-Pike airport as shown on anaeronautical sectional chart.
WHICH WAY DOES THE MAGENTA AND BLUE FADE?
The magenta fades in thed i r e c t i o n o f t h e r e darrows, indicating con-trolled (Class E) airspacestarts at 700 AGL withinthe faded border areas.
The blue faded border(often seen in the westernpart of the US), indicatescontrolled (Class E) air-space begins at 1,200feet AGL in the directionof the blue fade (the samedirection my blue arrowspoint).
If you see only a magen-ta fade and no blue fade,just assume the area onthe other side of themagenta faded border isClass E airspace startingat 1,200 feet AGL.
Class E beginsat the surfacewithin themagentadashed lines.
To learnaboutthis non-fadedarea, seepage 16.
An increase in air pressure produces anincrease in temperature for the same rea-son dough becomes warm when it’s knead-ed (I’m not talking about the $dough$everyone needs). Compressing dough (orair) increases its temperature. The harderthe dough is squeezed, the warmer it gets.If this descending layer of warm air comesto rest on a cooler layer of air, a tempera-ture inversion can form aloft. This type ofinversion is sometimes called a subsidenceinversion.
In the summer months, a subsidenceinversion is more common in the westernhalf of the country than in the eastern half.In particular, it’s quite common on or nearthe Pacific Coast. When warm, high pres-sure air subsides (lowers) onto the cool,moist inflow of air from the ocean, an inver-sion aloft forms, as shown in the tempera-ture-altitude profiles of Figure 24.
A pilot faces a decreasing temperaturelapse rate when departing an airportbeneath the inversion. The climb is initiallymade in cool air (position A). Upon enteringthe bottom of the inversion the air becomes warmer as altitude is gained (position B). At the top of the inversion, adecreasing temperature lapse rate once again prevails (position C).
Effects of Temperature InversionsRecently, a friend and I went flying in a hot air balloon. We departed immediately after sunrise and ascended
through the cool, morning air. We rose so quickly it appeared that we were climbing at the best-angle-of-bag (if therewere such a thing—there isn’t). Suddenly, at approximately 1,500 feet AGL, the balloon ceased climbing (Figure 25A).
Reaching the base of a temperature inversion aloft nullified our lift. The middle or top of a surface inversion canproduce the same effect on a balloon but at an altitude closer to the surface (Figure 25B). We just skipped along hori-zontally, beneath the base of the inversion, until more heat was applied to the balloon. In much the same way a tem-perature inversion impedes the ascent of a balloon, it can also prevent parcels of warmer air on the surface fromascending any higher.
Have you ever noticed smoke coming from a chimney in the early morning or evening hours? Sometimes this smokeascends for a short distance then spreads out horizontally, as shown in Figure 26. The flattening of smoke is a sureindication of a temperature inversion (since it’s often seen closer to the surface in the evening, it’s probably a surface inversion).
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook11-14
Fig. 24
Fig. 25BFig. 25A
Warm, rising puffs of smoke, much like a hot air bal-loon, cannot ascend through the warmer air of an inver-sion. In a very similar way, the presence of a temperatureinversion acts to flatten cloud tops. Therefore, layer-typeclouds (otherwise known as stratus or straight typeclouds) are another visible indication of a temperatureinversion, as shown in Figures 27A and 27B (more onstratus clouds later).
The inability of smoke, haze or pollution to move verti-cally and be carried away by winds at higher altitudesreduces the local flight visibility. This is especially true inareas of industry, as shown in Figure 28. Mexico Cityrests in a large valley and is notorious for its temperatureinversions. Trapped pollution from the city can become sobad that asphyxiated birds have been known to fold theirwings, croak, and just fall to earth. I wonder how manyneedless hours are spent plucking pigeons from sombreros?
Chapter 11 - Understanding Weather11- 15
Fig. 26
Look for the flattening of smoke as one indication of atemperature inversion.
When cloud tops become stratus-like at higher altitudes(flattened), this probably indicates the presence of aninversion aloft.Stratus clouds close to the surface are generally good
indicators of a surface inversion.
Fig. 27A Fig. 27B
Fig. 28
© Björn Schick - Fotolia
dim-light receptors. Since these rods arelocated outside the fovea, they are respon-sible for our peripheral vision, as shown inFigure 9. Moving images are more easilydetected by rod cells than by cone cells.Catching an object out of the corner ofyour eye is an example of rod cells at work.
As I’ve already mentioned, cone cellsdon’t work well in the dark, which explainswhy it’s difficult to see an object at nighteven though you’re looking directly at it.This is why we have a night blind spot inthe center of our vision where the lightfrom a dimly lit object falls directly ontothe fovea (Figure 9).
If you want the best view of a dimly litobject you need to expose the rods to thelight. You can do this by using your periph-eral vision for off-center viewing. Simplylook 5 to 10 degrees to the side from thecenter of the object you want to view. This allows some of the object’s reflected light to fall on the rods. You candemonstrate this process at night by looking directly at an airplane’s strobe light head on and offset a few degrees. Adirect view dims the object while an indirect view increases its brightness. Think of looking at a dim object at night asyou might think about looking at a carnival worker. In other words, try not to look directly at their tattoos for fear offinding misspelled words.
Night VisionHow well you see at night is determined by the amount of light passing through the pupil. Pupils close to prevent
the eyes from receiving too much light and open when light intensity diminishes. The problem is that it may take atleast 30 minutes for your eyes to completely adapt to the dark. This is one reason you want to avoid very bright lightsfor at least 30 minutes before the flight if you’re planning on flying any time past sunset all the way until the end ofevening civil twilight (when night officially begins and all sport pilots must be on the ground). The reason being thatif you’ve spent the day sungazing and haven’t adapted your eyes to darker conditions, it’s possible that you may notbe able to see the airport or the runway, much less other airplanes in flight. That’s a fact!
Using sunglasses for protection from glare is most helpful in preventing night vision deterioration as well as pre-venting eye strain and eye damage. Find sunglasses that absorb at least 85% of the visible light (15% transmittance)
and have minimal color distortion.Usually, a green or neutral gray is asatisfactory color. I’d recommend thatyou stay away from sunglass frameslike Elton John wears (personally,flaming pink flamingo glasses don’t domuch for me at all and I can hardly seehow they would help you during yoursport pilot check ride). I make it a pointto ensure all my sunglasses have a highdegree of impact resistance. Why? Theyare excellent eye protectors in the eventthat something penetrates the wind-shield.
Haze and Collision AvoidanceKeep in mind that all objects (traffic
included) appear to be farther away inhazy conditions. The mind equates dif-ficulty in seeing an object with in-creased distance. As a result, you might
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot Handbook16-10
Fig. 9
Bob, why can’t youland softly at night?
Ahh, because dark air hasless lift in it than white air?
allow another airplane to get closer to youunder hazy conditions before taking correc-tive action.
Wearing yellow lens sunglasses is oftenrecommended for hazy, smoggy conditions.Yellow lenses allow for greater definitionand contrast of objects. I keep a pair in myflight case for hazy days (I also have a pink-rimmed pair in case I meet Elton John atthe airport). Yellow lens sunglasses put alittle more strain on my eyes if I wear themfor a long time, but the payoff is in easieridentification of traffic in smoggy and hazyconditions.
Scanning for Traffic During the Day
Avoiding midairs is predicated upon oneimportant premise: you must look outsidethe cockpit. Far too often, pilots spend theirtime with their head inside the cockpit star-ing at instruments instead of honoring thesee and avoid concept. How much timeshould be spent looking outside and insidethe cockpit? Many years ago a militarystudy indicated that on a 17 second cycle, approximately 3 seconds should be spent inside the cockpit with 14 secondsspent looking outside. That’s approximately a 1 second inside to 5 second outside ratio. These are good numbers to follow.
Looking outside the cockpit is one thing; knowing how to look, another. Scanning for traffic requires that youunderstand another peculiarity about the eye: objects are difficult to detect when the eye is in motion. Effective scan-
ning requires the eyes be held still for avery short time to detect objects. Perhapsthe best way to scan is to move your eyes ina series of short, regularly spaced move-ments that bring successive areas of thesky into the central visual field. The FAAsuggests that each movement should notexceed 10 degrees with each area beingobserved for at least 1 second to enabledetection, as shown in Figure 10.
Since the brain is already trained toprocess sight information presented fromleft to right, you will probably find it easierto start your scan from over your left shoul-der proceeding to the right across the wind-shield, as shown in Figure 11.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to scan thearea behind you. Many years ago an AOPA(Aircraft Owner’s and Pilot’s Association)study indicated that the majority of midairsoccur with one aircraft overtaking another(one study indicated that 82% of the acci-dents occurred this way). Obviously this isa faster aircraft overtaking a slower one.This becomes a greater concern whenyou’re operating in an area where fast andslow aircraft mix. Scanning the rear quad-rants may take some neck bending or turn-
Chapter 16 - Pilot Potpourri: Neat Aeronautical Information16-11
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
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Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the worldwith your eyes turned skyward, for there you havebeen and there you long to return.Leonardo da Vinci
This valuable handbook helps you:Fly as a knowledgeable and competent pilot.Prepare for the Sport Pilot FAA knowledge exam.Prepare for the Sport Pilot practical oral exam.Refresh for required currency training.Remain an up-to-date confident pilot.
As a comprehensive book, these pages include:Simplification of aviation’s more technical subjects such as aerodynamics, engines and flight instruments.Latest information on the weather codes: METAR and TAF.Alphabet airspace made E-Z with three-dimensional illustrations.Step-by-step procedures for planning a smooth cross country flight.Easy to apply navigation methods.Clear, down-to-earth explanations of pertinent Federal Aviation Regulations Part 61 and Part 91.Water model of electricity allows quick learning and understandingof the airplane’s electrical system.Primary flight displays and the latest glass cockpit technology.A wealth of basic and advanced insights, advice and wisdom gleaned from practical experience.
With this book you are ensured an enjoyablelearning experience and quality instruction.
Rod Machado’s Sport Pilot eHandbookPublished by The Aviation Speakers Bureau
(800) 437-7080
Web site: www.rodmachado.com
$44.95 More than 1,100 original color illustrations and photos
Learn all you need for:The FAA sport pilot exam
Biennial flight reviewsUpdating your knowledge
A complete information manual byone of aviation’s most experienced
and knowledgeable teachers
Welcome to your instructor in a book.Written by a veteran ground and flightinstructor, this book is presented in awarm, conversational manner andspiced with humor. A flight instructorsince 1973, Rod Machado’s tried-and-true methods of instruction haveachieved exceptional results withthousands of students. His fresh ap-proach to instructing has made him apopular national speaker and educa-tor. Rod has the unique ability to sim-plify the difficult and his humor helpsyou remember the lesson. Rod Machado
