UNUSUAL ATTITUDES

Description

Use of instruments solely as a mean to recover from steep climbing or descending turns, necessary for inadvertent entry into IMC.

Objective

To teach proper techniques required to return the airplane to straight and level flight.

Elements

·         Clear the area

·         Instructor: choose forced landing area

·         Configure aircraft for cruise or as necessary (C172RG: 23” Hg, 2300 RPM)

·         Student: wear a view-limiting device

·         Instructor: put aircraft into an unusual attitude

·         Student: Recover from unusual attitude using only instruments:

o        Nose low: reduce power to idle, wings level, pitch the nose to level flight, then readjust for cruise flight

o        Nose high: increase power to full, apply forward elevator pressure to prevent stall, wings level, then readjust for cruise flight

·         Maintain ball centered throughout recovery

·         Instructor looks for traffic while student performs under a hood

Common Errors

·         Slow cross-check and fixation

·         Attempting recovery by sensory information versus instruments

·         Failure to practice basic instrument skills

References

FAA-H-8083-15A Instrument Flying Handbook p. 5-26