Greatful for this group

On Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 11:11:02 AM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
A few nights ago I stumbled into a conversation on FB Tail Draggers Unit. The question was as simple as it gets: Airspeed, controlled by power or pitch?

I still remember being asked that question by the DPE that gave me my power CFI check ride back in the late 70"s. I had been prepped by someone that new this guy wanted to hear "power", so I said "power". He was very ecstatic that I gave the "right answer" and said of course, just try sitting on the end of the runway and move the elevator all you want and you won't go anywhere. I wanted to (and did) pass my check ride so I never mentioned gliders :-)

While conducting Airplane Commercial SEL Checkrides recently, we were down to the Power Off 180* Accuracy Landing. There was a strong headwind on Base Leg, and two separate applicants slowed to Best Glide Speed when they noticed the significant headwind. Needless to say it made their glide path worse instead of better. I thought to myself that a glider pilot would’ve sped up...

On Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 3:27:02 PM UTC-7, Richard Wilkening wrote:
While conducting Airplane Commercial SEL Checkrides recently, we were down to the Power Off 180* Accuracy Landing. There was a strong headwind on Base Leg, and two separate applicants slowed to Best Glide Speed when they noticed the significant headwind. Needless to say it made their glide path worse instead of better. I thought to myself that a glider pilot would’ve sped up...

Until they changed the min crossing altitude of the Julian VOR, on wave days, we routinely lost pilots or in one case while I was flying a glider in the same area an instructor and student. Pretty sure they got into serious down air, pulled back to best climb speed in their CE 172. I find the young airplane only guys I know are frightening in what they do not know. Don't know how to read clouds, don't understand wind flow in the terrain....

Until they changed the min crossing altitude of the Julian VOR, on wave days,
we routinely lost pilots or in one case while I was flying a glider in the
same area an instructor and student. Pretty sure they got into serious down
air, pulled back to best climb speed in their CE 172. I find the young
airplane only guys I know are frightening in what they do not know. Don't
know how to read clouds, don't understand wind flow in the terrain....
- - - - - -

Warning!!! - Philosophical riff follows...

When I was a wet-behind-the-ears, 150-hour, glider-only, tyro, flying nut, I
had the opportunity to ride along with a power flying buddy sucking
brain-knollich from a one-time Alaska bush pilot. At that time I'd ride with
anyone, greedily slurping through the knollich straw myself. To my (great)
surprise, perhaps 90% of the "generic mountain-centric" - i.e.
non-power-centric - words of wisdom proffered by the bush pilot was "stuff" I
was already aware of through glider instruction and continuing self-education.
(Mercy!)

Some years - and a whole lot of additional personal
mountain-soaring-experience later - a friend gave me a copy of Sparky Imeson's
"Mountain Flying" book...power-centric of course, information-dense, and (IMO)
well worth internalizing despite (for me) not containing very much
glider-centric new knollich/tidbits.

Fairly recently and many more years later (thanks to the web), I learned
Sparky Imeson "had killed himself" while (apparently) engaged in some
thin-margin, (at-least-semi-)mountainous-terrain flying in his
personally-owned airplane. Though I'd never met the man, it saddened and
(further) sobered me to the inherent, unavoidable, risks associated with
flight (of any sort) *near* essentially-immovable things to hit.

"What's your major point?" I hear impatient readers ask. I think I have several...
- It's entirely normal - unavoidable! - for Joe Pilot to progress *away* from
the state of "Beginner's ignorance" and *toward* "Experienced pilot," until
death stops piloting fun.
- That progression's gonna happen *regardless* of Joe Pilot's mindset (e.g.
curious or incurious, prudent or imprudent, etc.).
- It's entirely normal (IMO) for "more experienced pilots" to (eventually)
bemoan the state of affairs of "today's tyros"...but doing so (to me, anyway)
is (choose whichever you wish): more self-indulgent than meaningful?
kinda-sorta off-target?
- YOUR (i.e. Joe Pilot's) mindset *matters* to your continued-survival chances
inside the cockpit. Lots of aphorisms exist addressing this (non-obvious?)
truism (e.g.): Never carry a package by the string. Always have an out/Plan B
(and C and D). Flying is unforgiving of inattention or "general foolishness."
Ignorance can kill. Etc.

With winter approaching in the northern hemisphere, some easy-reading, daily
skimming of (e.g.) the (somewhat-funky/clunky) Kathryn's Report website (with
which I have zero involvement), easily/entertainingly/sadly shines
real-world-light on some of the above obvious (to me, anyway), aphoristic,
generalized, musings. In Joe-Pilot-centric terms, the "vast majority" of
(typically, entirely avoidable) piloting deaths are due to:
ignorance/poor-judgment/off-target or non-internalized training. "Kids, don't
DO those things!!! Your chances of continuing opportunities for additional
stick-hours will be increased by working really hard at having *ONLY* those
sorts of accidents that will fall into the category of, "Man! I wonder
what-in-heck underlies this particular set of fatal piloting circumstances?"

Bob W.

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