Maintaining altitude

Is it better (in a small GA aircraft) to maintain altitude using minor changes
in pitch and trim alone, or using both pitch/trim and throttle adjustments?
I'm asking just about maintaining altitude once there, not climbing or
descending to an altitude.

On May 16, 4:59*pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
Is it better (in a small GA aircraft) to maintain altitude using minor changes
in pitch and trim alone, or using both pitch/trim and throttle adjustments?
I'm asking just about maintaining altitude once there, not climbing or
descending to an altitude.

Define "better". Better yet hit pause.

Cheers

More flaps, don't you realize your e name is giving him the real
insider clue -- that flap extension and retraction is the superior
way?


On May 16, 6:27 am, More_Flaps wrote:
On May 16, 4:59 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:

Is it better (in a small GA aircraft) to maintain altitude using minor changes
in pitch and trim alone, or using both pitch/trim and throttle adjustments?
I'm asking just about maintaining altitude once there, not climbing or
descending to an altitude.

Define "better". Better yet hit pause.

Cheers

On May 16, 10:35*pm, Tina wrote:
More flaps, don't you realize your e name is giving him the real
insider clue -- that flap extension and retraction is the superior
way?


Yep, second only to adjusting the landing gear and dumping ballast.
But tell me T, what are you in?

Cheers

Mxsmanic wrote:
Is it better (in a small GA aircraft) to maintain altitude using minor changes
in pitch and trim alone, or using both pitch/trim and throttle adjustments?
I'm asking just about maintaining altitude once there, not climbing or
descending to an altitude.

Generally speaking, you will establish level flight with pitch, adjust
the power, and trim the airplane. At this point level flight is
maintained by extremely subtle and ever constant "caressing" in pitch.

--
Dudley Henriques

On May 15, 11:59 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
Is it better (in a small GA aircraft) to maintain altitude using minor changes
in pitch and trim alone, or using both pitch/trim and throttle adjustments?
I'm asking just about maintaining altitude once there, not climbing or
descending to an altitude.

It depends how stable the airplane is. In my Arrow, I used occasional
trim adjustments once things settled down. However, in turbulence,
more active yoke intervention is required rather than constant trim
changes.

Best solution on long trips is an autopilot with altitude hold ... :-)

In rec.aviation.piloting Mxsmanic wrote:
Is it better (in a small GA aircraft) to maintain altitude using minor changes
in pitch and trim alone, or using both pitch/trim and throttle adjustments?
I'm asking just about maintaining altitude once there, not climbing or
descending to an altitude.

Well, if you had actually read any of the books by experts you go on
about, you would know this.

Or had taken actual instruction, but I digress.

Once established in cruise and assuming power and trim have been properly
adjusted, you will in general have two factors that will cause the
altitude to change.

One is vertical wind, i.e. turbulance and thermals. This usually
requires yoke input.

The other is the airplane gets lighter as you burn off fuel. This is
what trim is for.

Theoretically the combination of temperature and pressure could cause
the engine output power to change requiring throttle and mixture
adjustments, but I don't see that happening in the typical C-172 class
flight.


--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Dudley Henriques writes:

Generally speaking, you will establish level flight with pitch, adjust
the power, and trim the airplane. At this point level flight is
maintained by extremely subtle and ever constant "caressing" in pitch.

How sensitive is the trim? I find myself wondering this as I adjust trim in
the sim. The sim seems a bit coarse, although I'm doing much better at
holding altitude in the C182 (which has no altitude hold for the autopilot)
than I was doing a week or two ago.

When I leave the runway, the aircraft (C182 or C172) seems to climb very
briskly with take-off trim set. After climbing a few hundred feet I find that
I must hold the stick forward and trim nose down significantly in order to get
the aircraft to level off a bit. This is with full throttle (and pitch all
the way forward, in the C182). I'm not sure if I should just continue
trimming to level flight with the throttle set forward, or back off on the
throttle substantially to maintain altitude. I also don't know if this brisk
climb behavior (with full tanks but just me and equal-weight ballast in the
right seat) is typical of the actual aircraft (I have had mixed replies to my
various inquiries).

writes:

One is vertical wind, i.e. turbulance and thermals.

Are thermals strong enough to raise a small GA aircraft in the same way that
they raise gliders? That is, could a small GA powered aircraft remain aloft
indefinitely by riding thermals, or is it just not a good-enough glider?

Mxsmanic wrote:
writes:

One is vertical wind, i.e. turbulance and thermals.

Are thermals strong enough to raise a small GA aircraft in the same way that
they raise gliders? That is, could a small GA powered aircraft remain aloft
indefinitely by riding thermals, or is it just not a good-enough glider?

I've had a thermal lift me up 100 feet in a couple
of seconds. The thought of which should have you
running to the bathroom.