Terrain Avoidance at Night

RST Engineering writes:

Oh, PLEEZE keep doing that. My kids need college money and I want a Hawaii
vacation next year. I make a lot of money from shock-cooled engine work.

What is a shock-cooled engine?

--
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Mxsmanic wrote:
RST Engineering writes:

Oh, PLEEZE keep doing that. My kids need college money and I want a Hawaii
vacation next year. I make a lot of money from shock-cooled engine work.

What is a shock-cooled engine?

Something that doesn't happen in MS flight sim.

In some real planes, however, if you've been flying in cruise for
a while, and you quickly pull the power back hard for a fast
descent, you can cool the engine quickly and unevenly, causing
stress and eventual damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_cooling_(engines)

writes:

In some real planes, however, if you've been flying in cruise for
a while, and you quickly pull the power back hard for a fast
descent, you can cool the engine quickly and unevenly, causing
stress and eventual damage.

This seems to be more of a theory than an established fact, although
it seems plausible.

In any case, when flying over the Arizona desert, I don't think that
shock cooling of anything would be a major risk.

--
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wrote in message
ups.com...
Something that doesn't happen in MS flight sim.

And some might argue that it doesn't happen that much in real aircraft
either...

http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/182883-1.html

My previous engine went to around 3000 hours with typical student use of two
throttle settings -- on and off... No problem with shock cooling... It even
still had good compressions, but the insurance company had a problem with
students renting an engine that far past TBO... I took it off leaseback and
flew it myself for quite awhile before deciding I wanted the high
compression cylinder STC and going ahead and doing an overhaul on it...

wrote in message
ups.com...

Mxsmanic wrote:
RST Engineering writes:

Oh, PLEEZE keep doing that. My kids need college money and I want a
Hawaii
vacation next year. I make a lot of money from shock-cooled engine
work.

What is a shock-cooled engine?

Something that doesn't happen in MS flight sim.



PLEASE STOP FEEDING THIS FRIKKIN' TROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jim

Mxsmanic,

What is a shock-cooled engine?


donning flak vest

A myth.

Alternatively: The opposite of shock heating (e.g. during take-off)

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
Oh, PLEEZE keep doing that. My kids need college money and I want a
Hawaii
vacation next year. I make a lot of money from shock-cooled engine work.

From what I've heard, shock cooling is not a big issue on the Grummans...
Considering the way that students fly the planes, if it was an issue, it
would have presented itself before... Maybe with some of the high
performance aircraft, it might be more of an issue...

The sectional and preflight planning are OK, but in Arizona, you can see
your target destination from 50 to 100 miles out at night. When letting
down, if the lights of the city or the lights of the airport start to go
away, there is something big between you and the target.

Jim


"Dan" wrote in message
ups.com...


Any "systems" or
tricks to share, or is it pretty much just look at the sectional and
make a plan?

--Dan

Dan wrote:
... Short of
filing IFR (which carries with it Oxygen requirements for some local
MEAs) what other strategies do you all use? Any "systems" or
tricks to share, or is it pretty much just look at the sectional and
make a plan?

--Dan

I fly out of DVT also. I earned my PP-ASEL in 2002, and in the
following year I made a couple of night VFR cross country trips - one
from Tucson to DVT and one from LAS to DVT. The trip from Tucson was a
repeat of the night XC trip I took while training and it was very
comfortable and enjoyable. There is a lot of civilization along I-10
between Phoenix and Tucson, and in VMC the visual reference to the
horizon at night is pretty much as easy to maintain as in daylight.
The pre-dawn trip home from Las Vegas was another story. It was, as
you say, pretty much "look at the sectional and make a plan".
There was very little moonlight that morning, and although the weather
was clear and a million my trust in the attitude indicator was as
critical to the success of the flight as it would have been in IMC.
The flight went without a hitch, but not having flown at night away
from the comfortable blanket of city lights in a couple of years I
wouldn't make that trip today without a CFI in the right seat.

My current personal minimums with respect to night flight away from the
city now are "VFR, night, mountainous terrain - pick any two at once
but not all three". I'm just starting to work on my instrument rating
now, so that pretty much means my X-C travel is all during the day. I
didn't learn about Obstacle Departure Procedures while training for the
private certificate. Now that I know of their existence and
application I'd use them even VFR to get out of an unfamiliar airport
near any rising terrain at night.

I do frequently enjoy taking in the city lights. I just don't venture
far from the city at night these days. Familiarize yourself with the
McDowell Mountains, Camelback & Squaw Peak (renamed Piestewa Peak a few
years ago, but still referred to on the charts, by ATC, and by many if
not most locals as Squaw Peak), South Mountain (the one with all the
radio and TV towers), the White Tanks, the Sierra Estrella, and the San
Tan mountains, and you'll be pretty much good to go. Utilize the VFR
class B transition right up and over Squaw Peak - in my experience,
Phoenix Approach has never been anything but accommodating.

The little bumps right off the east end of Deer Valley can be quite
intimidating at night (and take note of this current NOTAM: DVT 08/021
DVT HILL UNKN .5 E LGTS OTS TIL 0609302359). I keep a feel for flying
around them in the dark by regularly practicing touch-and-go's at
sunset. Get a few landings in while they're still clearly visible, and
you'll have a feel for their height and location relative to your
departure profile as it gets dark. On a high DA day the bumps off the
end of 7L (the short north runway) are very much a factor.

Rob

"Rob" wrote:

I fly out of DVT also.

Me too.

snip
The little bumps right off the east end of Deer Valley can be quite
intimidating at night (and take note of this current NOTAM: DVT 08/021
DVT HILL UNKN .5 E LGTS OTS TIL 0609302359). I keep a feel for flying
around them in the dark by regularly practicing touch-and-go's at
sunset. Get a few landings in while they're still clearly visible, and
you'll have a feel for their height and location relative to your
departure profile as it gets dark. On a high DA day the bumps off the
end of 7L (the short north runway) are very much a factor.

Yes, not a good airport for night operations. The PAPI's are your friends on 25L/R. If I'm just doing night
currency stop and go's, I'll use the south runway, (or go over to Glendale!)

Mike