On Sat, 4 Sep 2004 15:39:37 UTC, "Chris Reed"
wrote:

: This is a different mode of lookout
: to XC or local soaring, and I usually find myself muttering "lookout" at
: some point to remind me of the change of mode.

Good point. And the lookout I find useful to remember is for the bozo
making a straight in approach, so I have a good hard stare downwind
just before I turn final.

: S (straps or speed?) is pretty useless on downwind, T (trim) ditto

You illustarte perfectly one of the problems with long mnemonics (and
I have had WWULFSSTALL recommended to me. Seriously.), which is that
it becomes hard to remember what each letter stands for, and tryting
to remember is a distraction. It's not exactly a stage of the flight
with lots of time for contemplation.

: , and A
: (airbrakes I think) is wierd - if you can't find them you're in trouble,

I use it to crack 'em open and check that they work. I haven't had
them frozen closed yet, but it has happened to two different friend of
mine (comes of flying in the frozen northern wastes) and while I am
perfectly happy to sideslip to round out - cue long, lomg, thread from
American cousins differentiating between "forward slips" and "side
slips" - I'd rather discover that I need to as early as possible.

: U is quite clear in my mind, having landed wheels up once already, and
: hoping not to do it again.

I was taught to lower the wheel as soon as I decided to land, even if
that was at 12,000', so U is a check, not an action. I wonder how many
people get used to gabbling "Undercarriagefixedonthisaircraft" (as
they gabble "Flapsnotfittedonthisaircraft" during CBSIFTCB (with a few
E's thrown in if you want)) and continue to do so even when it's not
true...

Ian