July 13, 2014
Today I was supposed to have my first flight with Steve, my new flight instructor. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the airport the sky was overcast and the ceiling was way too low to fly. Steve suggested that we spend an hour on the flight school’s Redbird flight simulator. I was happy to learn that up to 2-1/2 hours of simulator time can be counted toward flight hours.
Ventura Flight Training keeps its Redbird simulator in a mobile trailer which is usually parked just outside the hangar. This unit was Redbird’s “SD” model, the most advanced version that doesn’t simulate motion. Inside, two seats face a series of flat-screen monitors that wrap around the “cockpit.” The visual set-up is very realistic, giving a 180-degree view as if seated inside a real Piper Warrior. All the instruments and controls are arrayed in front of the left-hand seat in the correct positions. The terrain projected onto the screens was just like the area around Republic Airport, all the way down to the buildings and vegetation. You can specify almost anything you want for the simulation: wind and weather, time of day, geographic region (anywhere in the world), etc. The only slightly unrealistic aspects were the darkness inside the room and the backlit instruments, which made it feel like flying at night.
We practiced slow flight, steep turns, stalls and touch-and-gos. The simulator allowed Steve to pause the action and explain things clearly before continuing – something that can’t be done in a real flight.
Steve showed me what he calls “The Flow,” a sequence of pre-landing and pre-maneuver checks going from right to left across the bottom of the instrument panel. It consists of (1) turning the carburetor heat on, (2) turning the auxiliary fuel pump on, (3) moving the fuel/air mixture to “rich,” (4) verifying that the primer is locked, (5) making sure the ignition key is in the “both” position, and (6) switching fuel tanks.
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These checks are designed to ensure that every vital system is being backed up during higher-risk moments like landings, takeoffs, and slow maneuvering: the carburetor heat is to keep the engine warm while it’s running at lower RPM; the auxiliary fuel pump is a backup to the engine-driven fuel pump; the fuel/air mixture should be “rich” to ensure combustion at low altitude; the primer has to be locked so that there is no chance of flooding the engine; the ignition key should be in the “Both” position to engage both magnetos (electrical generators); and switching fuel tanks ensures fuel delivery from the unused tank.
Other pilots use their own mnemonics for “The Flow,” but I quickly got used to the way Steve does it.
The hour flew by (no pun intended)! It turned out to be a great way to get to know Steve, and I really learned a lot.
Click here to see the Simulator photos and videos.
– Garrett C.