Electronic Yaw Alarm?

That's much too simple. Who'd want to buy something effective, cheap,
light, and simple when we could complicate the daylights out of it?

It needs dual redundant digital signal processors. Ring laser gyros!
Pendulous integrating accelerometers with GPS-based Kalman filter
error bias estimation!. Micromachined piezoelectric pressure
sensors! Adaptive neural network threshold alarms!

If we can't turn this into a multimillion dollar project, we are not
trying hard enough!


A simple implementation would be just two pressure ports on the sides
of the nose connected together with a reed noisemaker. *In a skid or
slip, the pressure difference would set off the reed reminding the
pilot to pay attention to business.

On 11/7/2011 10:07 AM, Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
There has been much needed focus on safety in our ranks recently, and
in particular the risk of spinning during the turn to final. This is
almost always caused by slow, uncoordinated flight. Many of us go
through the trouble of installing an electronic gear up warning to
prevent a costly, but less dangerous gear-up landing. Wouldn't a "Slip
Alarm" be at least as useful? Setting aside how it might be
implemented for the moment (and there are many possibilities), I can
imagine something that was activated when the spoilers were out, and
might or might not take into account IAS. It would simply give a
distinct tone or alarm with a certain degree of yaw. Yes, we slip on
final on purpose all the time, but we better not be doing it in the
turn to base or final.

I'm thinking going too slow is the bigger problem than slipping or
skidding in the pattern. I know I can make a slow, coordinated turn that
very quickly turns into a spin or spiral dive (it has to be a shallow
turn, the kind we worry about). How about a horizon sensor that
proclaims "nose down, nose down, ..." They make sensors like that for
R/C models.

http://www.futaba-rc.com/accessories/futm0999.html

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

I've often thought an audio yaw string would be a great idea.
Especially while instructing. Maybe instead of a noise, a shot of
electricity to the ass would be better? I am always amazed at how
many pilots are perfectly happy to fly along in a slight slip all
day...

Boggs

On Nov 8, 9:44*am, GARY BOGGS wrote:
I've often thought an audio yaw string would be a great idea.
Especially while instructing. *Maybe instead of a noise, a shot of
electricity to the ass would be better? *I am always amazed at how
many pilots are perfectly happy to fly along in a slight slip all
day...

Boggs

Part of me wonders just how much value it would add to have an alarm
go off just when someone is under stress turning to final at low
altitude where it's causing them to try to skid the ship around.

I'd be stating the obvious that pilots should be better trained to not
get themselves into such situations to begin with.

On 11-8-2011 16:45, Westbender wrote:


Part of me wonders just how much value it would add to have an alarm
go off just when someone is under stress turning to final at low
altitude where it's causing them to try to skid the ship around.

I'd be stating the obvious that pilots should be better trained to not
get themselves into such situations to begin with.

Well, us powered jockies have an advantage over glider jockies...if the
approach is crappy, add power and go around and give it another go (as
many times as necessary to get it right. Until we ourselves become
glider pilots after too many go arounds!)

Jonathon wrote............
Part of me wonders just how much value it would add to have an alarm
go off just when someone is under stress turning to final at low
altitude where it's causing them to try to skid the ship around.

I'm with you Jonathon, an alarm at a critical time may just add to the
confusion (panic) I remember the gal that released from tow at 1000
feet, then tried to land doing something like 100 knots! She overflew
the entire length of the runway, then tried to make a
180.................stalled and killed herself! Her oxygen bottle had
been turned off after she check it for normal operation. leaving just
enough O2 in the line to run the M&H regulator for a few
minutes...........then it sounded the "low O2 pressure" alarm. Not
being all that familiar with O2 use, she panicked thinking it was
essentioal.

Just fly the airplane, most experienced glider-guiders can feel when
the ship is being flown too slow.............listen to what it is
telling you. I have twice gotten too slow turning final (both times
doing an off-field landing). The H-301 started to shudder (low
elevator was getting dirty air coming off the wing). In the LS-6, I
checked the landing spot while flying about 45 knots, then lowered
the gear, pulled on landing flaps, cracked the spoilers and turned
down-wind. The ship mushed and I got a wing rock....................It
was telling me that I needed to add some speed before deploying all
the draggies.
Just fly the airplane,
JJ

On Nov 8, 11:45*am, Westbender wrote:
On Nov 8, 9:44*am, GARY BOGGS wrote:

I've often thought an audio yaw string would be a great idea.
Especially while instructing. *Maybe instead of a noise, a shot of
electricity to the ass would be better? *I am always amazed at how
many pilots are perfectly happy to fly along in a slight slip all
day...

Boggs

Part of me wonders just how much value it would add to have an alarm
go off just when someone is under stress turning to final at low
altitude where it's causing them to try to skid the ship around.

I'd be stating the obvious that pilots should be better trained to not
get themselves into such situations to begin with.

My SZD55 has a mandatory (Canada) stall warning system - SP-3. It
takes pitot pressure and pressure from another hole under the nose and
uses pressure differential to work - you get a loud audio tone. It
goes off frequently in thermalling, and at the start of flilght. I
asked other 55 pilots, and they say they only really use it on the
ridge, it's off otherwise.
The system is here if you want to take a look:
http://www.olk.com.pl/indexen.php?bo...roducts&lpx=26

If you calibrated it better - which apparently is possible, though I
haven't done it, it might be your answer. OSTIV seems to like it.

At 15:44 08 November 2011, GARY BOGGS wrote:
I've often thought an audio yaw string would be a great idea.
Especially while instructing. Maybe instead of a noise, a shot of
electricity to the ass would be better? I am always amazed at how
many pilots are perfectly happy to fly along in a slight slip all
day...

Boggs


There are those who think the string should be slightly off center in a
thermal turn I have heard the phrasae" get the string pointing up"from an
old bold pilot who was flying with me.

On Nov 8, 11:00*am, Jonathon May wrote:
At 15:44 08 November 2011, GARY BOGGS wrote:

I've often thought an audio yaw string would be a great idea.
Especially while instructing. *Maybe instead of a noise, a shot of
electricity to the ass would be better? *I am always amazed at how
many pilots are perfectly happy to fly along in a slight slip all
day...

Boggs

There are those who think the string should be slightly off center in a
thermal turn I have heard the phrasae" get the string pointing up"from an
old bold pilot who was flying with me.

Geez, how about a box that starts yelling (think schrewish obnoxious
voice here) DON'T SKID!, SPEED UP!, BANK STEEPER!, WHAT ARE YOU
DOING!!!! when you get below 500'...

Seriously, it's really all about angle of attack (again). Repeating
myself, I loved the aural AOA tones in the old F-4; you could fly the
whole pattern to touchdown without ever looking at airspeed just by
listening to the varying AOA tone (and pretty much had to from the
back seat due to the abysmal visibilty and placement of the
intruments). We are used to listening to tones when thermalling -
hook up an AOA sensor to a tone generator, active only with the gear
down and/or spoilers open, and vary the tone based on AOA - lift tones
for too fast, no tone for on speed (with a deadband), sink tones
(LOUD) when too slow. Since it would be based on AOA, it would
automatically adjust for varying gross weight. If you want to be
really exotic, enable a manual wind input to move the on-speed
deadband faster so you can set you pattern speed for winds and
gusts...

Or, JUST FLY THE STUPID GLIDER and let Darwin sort it out!

Kirk
66

PS: I'm one of those who thermal with a bit of a slip. Dick Johnson
did too. Works for me in my LS6.

On 11-8-2011 18:43, kirk.stant wrote:


Geez, how about a box that starts yelling (think schrewish obnoxious
voice here) DON'T SKID!, SPEED UP!, BANK STEEPER!, WHAT ARE YOU
DOING!!!! when you get below 500'...


Maybe I can get my wife to supply the voice.

OUCH! What'd ya do that for??? #@$&!!@