Easiest and Hardest

[[email protected]]

What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
"taxiing" doesn't count :)

Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.

Hoping this thread gets responses :)

Ramapriya

[Skywise]

wrote in news:1151471361.849506.135350
@x69g2000cwx.googlegroups.com:

> What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> "taxiing" doesn't count :)
>
> Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
>
> Hoping this thread gets responses :)
>
> Ramapriya


Well, in my limited time at the controls of a plane, all of
about an hour, the easiest was holding the plane level. Hardest
was holding my lunch down. Hey, it was one of those mock combat
things! Air Combat USA out of Fullerton CA to be exact.

Pulling 4.5 G's was fine. It was when we called knock-it-off
and leveled out that I got sick. By the last engagement I was
feeling better.

When we called fights-on I just flipped that Marchetti over,
pulled back on the stick to the edge of stall, and eventually
drove my opponent into the "ground". It was damned fun. All that
flight simming payed off once I stopped paying homage to the
porcelain god's little brother, the plastic bag.

Oh, flying formation was a tad difficult. The pilot thought I
did pretty good though.

Ahhh...but this was almost 15 years ago.... :(

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

[[email protected]]

That's a lot of good stuff written in there, Pete. Thanks. Quite
surprised to read about taxiing difficulties, though - especially since
you won't likely cross 40 mph :))

Ramapriya


Peter Duniho wrote:
>
> I'm not sure that's a reasonable limitation. There are some airplanes for
> which taxiing *is* one of the hardest things to do. Sometimes it's only in
> a crosswind, other times it's because taxiing the airplane is just plain difficult.

[Flyingmonk]

wrote:
> What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> "taxiing" doesn't count :)
>
> Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
>
> Hoping this thread gets responses :)
>
> Ramapriya

Flying in general:
--Hardest: Communication with ATC, and as Peter has pointed out,
weather interpretations.
--Easiest: Straight and level of course.

Flying Airplanes:

--Hardest: Remembering when to use flaps and how much. I suppose,
taxiing a jumbo might be hard because you'd be way out ahead of the
front wheel, having to pass your turn off thirty feet to turn into it
gotta feel strange at first, but I can only immagine.
--Easiest: Straight and level of course.


Flying Helicopters:

--Hardest: At first learning to hover was the hardest thing to do;
after getting the hang of that, it is performing autorotation with the
CFI or the examiner in the cabin with you. Although we 'are allowed to
practice autos on our own, I experienced carb icing once and was able
to do a very good autorotation right down to the ground. While
practicing, we were not permitted to auto all the way to the ground. We
had to do a "power recovery" at the bottom.
--Easiest: Straight and level of course.

Monk

[Tony]

The hardest and most important aspect of flying is the continuous
exercise of good judgement. We all have lapses, and those lapses can
put us in conditions that test our skills at times when we didn't
intend those tests.

For example: deciding to land for fuel within a hour''s flight of home
because reserves would be marginal.

Or continuing an approach just a little lower than minimums because "I
think I see the field."

Or taking off not feeling quite right physically.

I'm a fairly high time PP Instruments, been there and done that, and
still sometimes driving back from the airport I realize I had made one
or more really stupid decisions, but you know what? There are always
new stupidities to commit.

As for the easiest? It's deciding to fly!


Clear!



Flyingmonk wrote:
> wrote:
> > What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> > mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> > "taxiing" doesn't count :)
> >
> > Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> > storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
> >
> > Hoping this thread gets responses :)
> >
> > Ramapriya
>
> Flying in general:
> --Hardest: Communication with ATC, and as Peter has pointed out,
> weather interpretations.
> --Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>
> Flying Airplanes:
>
> --Hardest: Remembering when to use flaps and how much. I suppose,
> taxiing a jumbo might be hard because you'd be way out ahead of the
> front wheel, having to pass your turn off thirty feet to turn into it
> gotta feel strange at first, but I can only immagine.
> --Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>
>
> Flying Helicopters:
>
> --Hardest: At first learning to hover was the hardest thing to do;
> after getting the hang of that, it is performing autorotation with the
> CFI or the examiner in the cabin with you. Although we 'are allowed to
> practice autos on our own, I experienced carb icing once and was able
> to do a very good autorotation right down to the ground. While
> practicing, we were not permitted to auto all the way to the ground. We
> had to do a "power recovery" at the bottom.
> --Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>
> Monk

[Flyingmonk]

Flyingmonk wrote:
> wrote:
> > What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> > mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> > "taxiing" doesn't count :)
> >
> > Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> > storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
> >
> > Hoping this thread gets responses :)
> >
> > Ramapriya
>
> Flying in general:
> --Hardest: Communication with ATC, and as Peter has pointed out,
> weather interpretations.
> --Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>
> Flying Airplanes:
>
> --Hardest: Remembering when to use flaps and how much. I suppose,
> taxiing a jumbo might be hard because you'd be way out ahead of the
> front wheel, having to pass your turn off thirty feet to turn into it
> gotta feel strange at first, but I can only immagine.
> --Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>
>
> Flying Helicopters:
>
> --Hardest: At first learning to hover was the hardest thing to do;
> after getting the hang of that, it is performing autorotation with the
> CFI or the examiner in the cabin with you. Although we 'are allowed to
> practice autos on our own, I experienced carb icing once and was able
> to do a very good autorotation right down to the ground. While
> practicing, we were not permitted to auto all the way to the ground. We
> had to do a "power recovery" at the bottom.
> --Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>
> Monk

"Although we 'are allowed to practice autos on our own"

That should have been "Although we aren't allowed to practice autos on
our own"

Monk

[Robert M. Gary]

In a tailwheel plane taxiing is the hardest.
I find that every student has their own area that is most difficult for
them. Its always amazing to me to see what each person will have a hard
time with. From my experience there are no "universal" hardest and
easiest for everyone.

-Robert, CFII


wrote:
> What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> "taxiing" doesn't count :)
>
> Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
>
> Hoping this thread gets responses :)
>
> Ramapriya

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, said:
>What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
>mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
>"taxiing" doesn't count :)
>
>Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
>storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.

The hardest aspect of flying, and the most important to master, is the
ability to say "no, I don't think so, maybe tomorrow" when you or your
passengers really want to get where you were planning to go. Whether it's
weather, a minor squawk, or just a bad feeling at the back of your head,
you've got to know when to say "no", and how to make that "no" stick.


--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
-- Arthur C. Clarke

[Maule Driver]

I have to agree on the "exercising good judgment" thing being the
hardest. It's not just because it is difficult but it is also because
the payback for doing it well can be so negative.

I was thinking of landing some difficult to handle tail dragger in a
strong crosswind landing as being one of the hardest. Yes, it can be
difficult, but the feedback is so immediate and direct and the
successful conclusion so damn satisfying, that it's somehow easier to do
than...

....canceling a flight to the beach with 2 excited friends because a
brake is a little spongy.

....or successfully making a precautionary off-field landing when you
know that extraction will cost many bucks and much time.

Exercising good judgment is the hard one.

Tony wrote:
> The hardest and most important aspect of flying is the continuous
> exercise of good judgement. We all have lapses, and those lapses can
> put us in conditions that test our skills at times when we didn't
> intend those tests.
>
> For example: deciding to land for fuel within a hour''s flight of home
> because reserves would be marginal.
>
> Or continuing an approach just a little lower than minimums because "I
> think I see the field."
>
> Or taking off not feeling quite right physically.
>
> I'm a fairly high time PP Instruments, been there and done that, and
> still sometimes driving back from the airport I realize I had made one
> or more really stupid decisions, but you know what? There are always
> new stupidities to commit.
>
> As for the easiest? It's deciding to fly!
>
>
> Clear!
>
>
>
> Flyingmonk wrote:
>
wrote:
>>
>>>What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
>>>mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
>>>"taxiing" doesn't count :)
>>>
>>>Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
>>>storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
>>>
>>>Hoping this thread gets responses :)
>>>
>>>Ramapriya
>>
>>Flying in general:
>>--Hardest: Communication with ATC, and as Peter has pointed out,
>>weather interpretations.
>>--Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>>
>>Flying Airplanes:
>>
>>--Hardest: Remembering when to use flaps and how much. I suppose,
>>taxiing a jumbo might be hard because you'd be way out ahead of the
>>front wheel, having to pass your turn off thirty feet to turn into it
>>gotta feel strange at first, but I can only immagine.
>>--Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>>
>>
>>Flying Helicopters:
>>
>>--Hardest: At first learning to hover was the hardest thing to do;
>>after getting the hang of that, it is performing autorotation with the
>>CFI or the examiner in the cabin with you. Although we 'are allowed to
>>practice autos on our own, I experienced carb icing once and was able
>>to do a very good autorotation right down to the ground. While
>>practicing, we were not permitted to auto all the way to the ground. We
>>had to do a "power recovery" at the bottom.
>>--Easiest: Straight and level of course.
>>
>>Monk
>
>

[A Lieberman]

On 27 Jun 2006 22:09:21 -0700, wrote:

> Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.

The easiest decision is to fly.

The hardest decision is not to fly.

Allen

[Maule Driver]

Well said. That's the balancing act we are often faced with.
I guess that walking away from it at the end is the final
determinant of 'not bad'.

T o d d P a t t i s t wrote:
> Maule Driver > wrote:
>
>
>>Exercising good judgment is the hard one.
>
>
> Yes, and I'd add that the hardest part is deciding what is
> "good." It's not really all that hard to fly only locally
> on perfect VFR days, but you don't gain much skill that way.
>
> Sometimes, to be safe over the long haul, you need to have
> skills that you can only get by going just a bit farther
> down the road than you've gone before. The trick is to take
> that next step when everything is in your favor and to make
> it small enough that your current skills keep you safe.
>

[Gene Seibel]

The ground is the hardest.
--
Gene Seibel
Gene & Sue's Aeroplanes - http://pad39a.com/gene/planes.html
Because we fly, we envy no one.

wrote:
> What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> "taxiing" doesn't count :)
>
> Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
>
> Hoping this thread gets responses :)
>
> Ramapriya

[Maule Driver]

Thoughts to fly by,
"... avoid the terrain, don't run out of fuel, and don't pick up a
package by its string"

The first 2 are easy, the last is the hard one.

wrote:
> What in your view are the easiest and hardest aspects about flying? I
> mean in the phase between takeoff and touchdown, so the obvious
> "taxiing" doesn't count :)
>
> Hardest would be countering windshear on finals or flying IFR through a
> storm at low altitude, I'd imagine.
>
> Hoping this thread gets responses :)
>
> Ramapriya
>

[Dylan Smith]

On 2006-06-28, Robert M. Gary > wrote:
> In a tailwheel plane taxiing is the hardest.

I'm not sure I agree: taxiing my Cessna 140 wasn't hard - the visibility
over the nose on the ground was reasonable (better than some nosewheel
planes like the Cherokee Six with its unfeasably long conk), and it had a
steerable tailwheel. Landing it in a gusty crosswind was far harder
than taxiing it in the same crosswind (thanks to the steerable tailwheel).
Having brakes that worked consistently all the time was helpful.

On the other hand, in the Auster, I'd definitely agree that taxiing is
the hardest. It has a free castoring tailwheel which you can't even
lock. Visibility over the nose is terrible, so you have to S-turn. The
brakes are inconsistent (cable operated drum brakes) and in a quartering
tailwind especially it can be very tough.

--
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