I have a new MX pilot, with connections

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OriensFlight
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I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by OriensFlight »

Kylie’s now checked out to fly Lulu, so I’m having her do post-MX flights. Here she is landing back home. She’s also a ramp lead for Alaska Horizon so that banter after she switches to ground is with the E175 pilot, the aircraft she passes at the end. We think Tony was the ground controller’s name.



Feel free to subscribe to my channel, where I’m planning to post more Diamond-related / Flight Simulator content in the near future.
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Colin
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Re: I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by Colin »

That's awesome.

My last CFI (for MEI) said that if I touched anything on the panel before clearing the runway that DPE would have a problem with it. I flip the flaps up because it puts more weight on the tires for braking action, but he said that in front of a DPE he said it would count as a distraction. They want to see you come to a stop on the centerline, then clear the runway.

I did it that way for the checkride. I'm with Kylie the rest of the time.
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CFIDave
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Re: I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by CFIDave »

The story is that many pilots (non-Diamond of course :) ) have accidentally retracted the gear when intending to retract the flaps or other switches while still rolling down the runway after landing.

Consequently, many CFIs I know will admonish students for touching panel controls prior to pulling off the runway and stopping past the hold short line -- even in fixed gear planes because someday pilots may be flying a retractable and don't want to start bad habits.
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Soareyes
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Re: I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by Soareyes »

I'm new to retractables and have flown with two CFIs this year. One said don't touch anything until you are off the runway so you don't raise the gear by mistake and the other said raise the flaps ASAP to decrease lift and get more weight on the wheels for braking. Listening to the logic of both, I imagine there is no universal answer. The best practice is airframe specific and dependent on configuration, whether full or partial flaps.

If landing with full flaps on a short, wet runway:
The raise flaps early argument assumes the wing makes more lift with full flaps than clean and that you are dumping lift by raising flaps. Not sure that is true. In the DA42 anyway full flaps adds more drag than lift and helps with aerodynamic braking.

Most wings generate maximum lift with partial flaps. When landing with full flaps and raising them ASAP, as they are coming up they will pass through the zone of maximum lift while you are still moving pretty fast, decreasing weight on the wheels for a few seconds at a time when you want maximum braking.

If landing with partial flaps however, getting them up will indeed decrease lift and put more weight on the wheels sooner.

Hopefully I'll never run off the end of a short, wet runway because of inadequate braking or raise the wheels on the ground. The damage to the plane may be similar but...

I'm going with the don't touch nuthin' theory for now.
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shorton
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Re: I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by shorton »

The "don't touch anything until clear of the runway" guidance his its origin in the desire to maximize situational awareness while on an active runway. It's related to the sterile cockpit concept - don't do anything that will distract you when there are more important things to do (i.e. clear the runway safely and expeditiously). It's standard operating procedure in the commercial world - even with 2 professional pilots.
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Chris
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Re: I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by Chris »

Recently I’ve been trying to break the habit of raising flaps before exiting the runway. I think I started with flipping off the boost pump (due it it being prone to failure in the first place) and then read somewhere about “dumping lift” by raising flaps after touchdown. But after starting to think about moving into a retractable, it seemed like it wasn’t really buying me anything and just setting myself up for doing something stupid later. If I’m flying into a field where I’m that worried about stopping distance that I think I need to raise flaps on the rollout, then I figure I’ve already screwed up by getting myself into that sort of situation in the first place.
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Rich
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Re: I have a new MX pilot, with connections

Post by Rich »

With the DA40 I find that aerodynamic braking is far more effective with the flaps retained in landing position and the nose held off the ground, even if I have to pick it back up after initial touchdown. In this condition the flaps are canted something like 55 degrees from horizontal. This results in sometimes using the brakes not at all during rollout.

Then there's the fuel pump switch, which sits right next to the avionics master. I always have alarm bells go off in my head as I reach for that switch to turn it off. This is more than embarrassing in the air or upon landing at a controlled airport. :oops:

Some older Beechcraft models (like Bonanza) had the gear and flap switches side by side. The were stylishly and identically designed as segments of this art-deco look of the panel. :scratch:
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