Taxi Troubles

Theotokos

Theotokos

New Member
I have only had three lessons and still am having trouble with taxis. Any advice besides keep it slow and work your way up? I tend to want to use left break more--could my being left handed have anything to do with that?

Also, at first did anyone hessitate about rotating? For some reason I am afraid I will stall. My CFI said he would rather me take off too fast, than take of too slow and stall though. However, on the climb today I was climbing at like 90kts. I had to pitch up to a very high attitude just to slow to 65kts and I bet the King Air in line behind me must have been thinking, "Is he okay?" because I must have looked like I was about to stall from the stound although I was nowhere near there.
 
There are some things you can do, and some things you should take into consideration here.

Taxing takes some time to get used to. You're used to driving with your hands, not your feet. Give it some time and it'll happen.

With the climb out, remember that you pitch for airspeed all the time. With that, you pitch for your given airspeed (whatever it is for any given situation) and you take whatever deck angle and vertical speed you get. If you pitch for 65 knots and you are getting 500 FPM up, cool. If you get 800 FPM, that's cool too. A lot of guys (and by that, I mean me) have problems with trying to climb too shallow because "it feels like you're going straight up," which couldn't be further from the truth. Next time you're climbing out, look out to the side of the aircraft; you'll notice you are only climbing at 7 or 8 degree's nose up. THat isn't a lot. It just FEELS like a lot because you can't see the ground over the nose and you get the sensation of going straight up.

You won't stall, and you've got to remember to fly the airspeed and not what the VSI, the attitude indicator or your body tell you.
 
My dad has the same problem for some reason. I guess you just learn ovet time. But a good tip I like to use for myself and with other pilots is keep your right knee lined up with the centerline of the taxiway, and you'll be fine. Some people say line it up with your crotch, but I find that works better for the right seat. As far as turning, just real nice and easy, only applying toe breaks for tight turning and stuff (depending on the plane). As far as speed goes, dont taxi any faster then a brisk walk. Of course not many people adhere to that one. cough..Southwest..cough
 
Just keep your speed down, no Nascar taxing just yet. :) You'll get the hang of it in no time. Go light on the brakes - keep your throttle closed enough that you aren't having to ride the brakes. It's not only better for the brakes, but you aren't constantly adjusting brake pressure and weaving back and forth.

I second what John said above, fly the airspeed during the climb (Vy or Vx typically). I'd imagine that you've done stalls at altitude now after 3 lessons. Have you noticed at what kind of airspeeds you're stalling at? It's more than likely around 5-10 kts slower than your rotatation speed. Perhaps that will help ease your mind about rotating. Hope this helps, good luck with your training.
 
Theotokos said:
I have only had three lessons and still am having trouble with taxis. Any advice besides keep it slow and work your way up?
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Taxiing, especially in Cessnas, takes everybody time to learn. My advice is to look way off into the distance and try to put your body over the line. Imagine the plane isn't even there and your body is magically floating along. Also, avoid using the brakes unless you need to make a really tight turn. Don't let yourself use them...pretend there are no brakes. Aircraft brakes are pretty flimsy (compared to automotive brakes) and are designed to slow you down after you land, but that's about it.

To avoid overcorrecting, consciously limit how much you step on the pedals. Just add a little pressure in the direction you want to turn, then wait for the plane to catch up. Don't worry, you'll get it with time.

Theotokos said:
Also, at first did anyone hessitate about rotating? For some reason I am afraid I will stall. My CFI said he would rather me take off too fast, than take of too slow and stall though.
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That's a common fear, but it's a LOT harder to stall on departure than you think. The worst that'll happen is the nosewheel will come off the ground, the controls will feel mushy, you'll roll along at full power for a while, and take a long time to lift off.

Here's what I do for the first few lessons with a student pilot. I don't talk about any speeds at all, because I want them to "feel" the plane instead of being focused inside at the airspeed. I tell them to just pull back lightly on the yoke at the start of the takeoff roll and let the plane lift off on its own. It works perfectly...we almost always come off at about 65 or 70 knots. This is also good because it shows them how they don't have to concentrate really hard and wrestle the plane into the air.

With more time you'll see what pilots mean when they say "let it fly when it's ready to fly." As long as you aren't actively working to force the plane off the ground, you'll be fine.
 
I also learned my lesson about the landing roll. I thought you had to break hard and I actually slammed on the breaks and scared the you know what out of my instructor. We had flown from Louisville to the airport near my house to get a landing light changed--but I was too busy flying to find my house, although I did see my alma mater. He had let me fly in until we were right over the runway, walking me through the final. Then he did the flare. He warned me how the airplane can flip since I am favoring my left. He said no breaks should be needed and we can just let it roll slowly--the most important thing is stay straight on the runway. He was like, "Only break like that in emergencies."
 
Theotokos said:
Also, at first did anyone hessitate about rotating? For some reason I am afraid I will stall.
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How well are you seeing the horizon? Provided you have a clear view, you would want to keep notes on how well you see it at different angles of attack. In regards to rotation, if you glance down and see speed at 55-60(172) and you have full throttle in, you will not stall unless you do some agressive rotating.
 
Yes, I am going to try to be less hesitant next time. My takeoffs are getting better. The one down the the FBO was not that good--for one the sun was in my eyes, but that is not the whole reason. It was my error too. He said I improved drastically on the second takeoff as well as on the trip back--I maintained altitude fairly well, as well as heading. I used trim and tried tocatch myself before I went more than 10 degrees off the given heading.
 
Theotokos said:
...tried tocatch myself before I went more than 10 degrees off the given heading.
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Just be careful to keep looking outside! Here's a way to fly a heading perfectly: turn to the heading on the heading indicator. Look outside and pick a landmark like a city, mountain peak, lake, road, etc. that is straight ahead of you, off in the distance. Then fly towards that landmark. Stay relaxed and keep the nose pointed at that landmark.

Do that and I guarantee you'll fly straight as an arrow without even thinking about it.
 
jrh said:
Just be careful to keep looking outside! Here's a way to fly a heading perfectly: turn to the heading on the heading indicator. Look outside and pick a landmark like a city, mountain peak, lake, road, etc. that is straight ahead of you, off in the distance. Then fly towards that landmark. Stay relaxed and keep the nose pointed at that landmark.

Do that and I guarantee you'll fly straight as an arrow without even thinking about it.
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interesting enough, this works well to keep it right on the heading your wanting, i taught myself this when i was learning. You'll also notice that most roads are laid in cardinal headings. So VFR flying you can generally get the idea of where you want to go by looking outside at roads and such and fine tune it with your DG or compass.
 
I'll throw a chunk of advice on the pile . . .

Remember that 'rotate' doesn't mean 'yank the plane off the runway.' At 55 KIAS (or whatever your Vr is), smoothly lift the nose gear from the runway with back pressure. Hold the back pressure and the plane should lift-off smoothly and with very little added input. If you truly rotate at 55, you probably won't unstick until 60 - 65.

As for the climb angle, John is right on in one respect: When full power is applied, pitch for the airspeed. However, if you've picked up too much speed (90 KIAS), don't pull back until you slow to 65. Instead, pitch to the sight picture that you know from previous experience will give you approximately 65. It may take the plane 30 seconds or so to lose it's momentum, but you'll avoid pitching to a HUGE angle or bleeding off too much airspeed and getting slow. Plus, you'll be right at the angle you need and won't have to lower the nose and try to feel it all out again.

As you try to figure out these angles, don't stare at the attitude or airspeed indicator. Use an outside reference. It may be an overall visual thing, it may be an analytical "the horizon is 1 inch from the glareshield," or it might be a bug on the windscreen that you put two fingers above the horizon. Either way, learn to do it without looking inside and you'll be a much safer, happier pilot. You'll also be much more precise.

Third lesson? Still having trouble with taxiing? Don't sweat it! I've flown with some 600 hour pilots who could barely keep it on the taxiway. You'll get there. Just be patient and don't berate yourself for being in a learning phase . . . you'll find the learning phases tend to strech on for QUITE a while! :)
 
FlyingNole said:
As far as speed goes, dont taxi any faster then a brisk walk. Of course not many people adhere to that one. cough..Southwest..cough
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That's good advice for a student pilot but as they advance they should take into account the environment in which they are taxiing the AC. I once flew with another pilot who took the advice to taxi no faster than a brisk walk. So we back taxied, 3000ft at no faster than a brisk walk, on an active runway at an uncontrolled field. It drove me nuts because it was TOO SLOW for the environment and conditions at the time, and because I have this great fear of being landed on.
 
Ya, you got it FlyOrdie. Its better to teach it, then taxi fast, and students use that as their standards. Its all situation based, but I definitely agree with you on your situation; especially when on an active runway, get ya butt of ASAP.
 
Tell ATC to piss off. You're pilot in command (or at least your instructor is at this stage in the game), not them.
 
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