Reference: Airplane Flying Handbook Chapter 7
Attention: This maneuver will help you to better understand how the wind effects turning the airplane.
Motivation: Ground reference maneuvers train the pilot to accurately place the airplane in relationship to specific references and maintain a desired ground track.
Objective: The Student Will Have Knowledge of The Elements Related To S- Turns as Described in the ACS.
Learning Objective (Index)
- Learning Objective (Index)
- Key Points
- What
- Why
- How
- Procedure for the Maneuver
- Pilots Needs to be Aware
- Directional Control
- Altitude Control
- Airspeed Control
- Common Errors
- Standards
Key Points
- Wind Correction
- Coordination
- Emergency Landing Area
What
- A maneuver in which the airplane’s ground track describes semicircles of equal distance on each side of a selected straight line on the ground
Why
- S- turns develop the ability to compensate for drift during turns
- Orient the flight path with ground references
- Follow an assigned ground track
- Arrive at specified points on assigned headings
- Divide the pilot’s attention.
How
Procedure for the Maneuver
- Check wind direction using smoke, water from lakes, trees…
- Best place to land in case of an emergency
- Clear the area
- Find a proper and noticeable ground reference point and sync heading bug to entry heading
- Set throttle and prop to obtain desired entry speed
- Enter the maneuver in the downwind (tail wind) with the reference at your left
Pilots Needs to be Aware
- Directional Control
- Altitude Control
- Airspeed Control
Directional Control
Downwind Side = Steeper Turn
Upwind Side = Shallower Turn
Altitude Control
- SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
- CFIT
- Scan for traffic
- Scan your instruments
Downwind = Tail wind = Less Lift
Upwind = Head wind = More Lift
Airspeed Control
Downwind = Tail wind = More Ground Speed = More Power for Airspeed
Upwind = Head wind = Less Ground speed = Less Power for Airspeed
Common Errors
- Clearing the area above, below, and on either side of the airplane pre-maneuver and during the maneuver
- Establish a constant, level altitude prior to entering the maneuver
- Maintain altitude during the maneuver
- Properly evaluate wind direction
- Properly execute constant radius turns
- Manipulate the flight controls in a smooth and continuous manner when transitioning into turns
- Establish the appropriate wind correction angle
- Coordinated turns, resulting in slips or skids
Standards
- Plan the maneuver altitude between 600 ft and 1.000 ft AGL
- Maintain Altitude +- 100 ft
- Maintain Airspeed +- 10 knots
- Max bank angle of 45º
- Select a reference area that includes an emergency-landing site, with gliding distance in case of an engine failure
- Apply wind-drift correction to track a constant radius turn around the selected reference point
- Divide attention between airplane control and ground track