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Nothing like losing a horizon to
get the old juiced flowing. I sure dampened my share of flight suits over
the years. For a VFR pilot losing the horizon is probably the
ultimate gut-wrencher. I suspect that's what happened to that Kennedy kid
a few years ago - encountered haze climbing out after takeoff and couldn't
make the instant instrument transition required to keep from augering
in.
When your horizon disappears
you have essentially three options: 1] give yourself up for dead and
put the nose down to make it quick and painless; 2[ give yourself up
for dead and try to fly out of it by the seat of your pants [this will
prolong things a little, but not by much]; 3] INSTANTLY renounce EVERYTHING
outside your canopy: INSTANTLY!. Say to yourself, there's NOTHING out
there but NOTHING,
You'll perk right up at this
because this is immediately verifiable by sneaking a peek out at the
gloom, and you'll feel better for realizing you're right. Now do
whatever it is you usually do to focus your concentration: I
always like to wring my hands a little and moan piteously at the thought of
never seeing my grandkids again...but do whatever works.
All of the above should have
occupied about one-half second. The next half-second of your
Involuntary Instrument Experience [IIV] should be taken up by shifting your eyes
to your dual-axis gyro horizon, which, after Bell's absorbing and quite
frightening story, you ordered from WAG Aero for seven hundred bucks
and installed right away. [YOu didn't? Hmmm. OK,
then instead you'll have to use your turn-and-bank indicator for
wings-level, and your altimeter as your primary pitch indicator. Not as
easy, but do-able particularly if the alternative is Greasespotville.]
However, we'll assume you Did The
Right Thing and have a dual-axis horizon on your panel. From now on until
you get your horizon back, you have three instruments on that panel
and only three. Your dual-axis, your airspeed indicator, and your
altimeter. Heres how you fly this:
Your primary instrument
is your dual-axis gryo horizon. Use it to confirm level
flight, Chances are reasonable that you were in level flight when you flew
into this mess, but if you weren't, glance at your airspeed indicator to insure
that when you bring your aircraft to level as smoothly as you can, you'll be
well above stall. Then glance for a half-second at your
altimeter and RIGHT BACK to your horizon. Register your altitiude and
stay on it. Glance at your airspeed indicator, then RIGHT BACK.
Don't worry about maintaining a specific airspeed, just compare your
airspeed to your stall speed. Are you fast enough to be
comfortable? Then back to your horizon with this information and
make an adjustment if you need to. Then back to your
altimeter. Are you climging, descending? Back to your horizon
to correct it to level flight. Back to your ASI. Is your
airspeed SAFE? Are you at approximately cruise
airspeed? If so, whatever it is stay with it. Gradually put in
full power. If you're near stall, back to your horizon and nudge down
a notch of pitch. NOT MUCH. Just a very little bit. To your
altimeter for a glance check.... and so on. This ain't easy but it will
keep you alive. Keep doing this for awhile until you discover that
your ASI-glance isn't scaring you, and your altimeter-glance isn't
requiring any pitch input. Of course, your wings have been level all
along by your gyro, right? Right.
This entire process is designed
to do two things: First, to place your aircraft in level
flight well above stall; second, to calm you down. Both of these
objectives MUST be achieved before you move on. How do you know when
you're calm? Do the above until you start getting bored with it and begin
wondering how the hell you're going to get out of this. At that moment
you'll know you're calm enough to take the next step, Extraction Of Your Carcass
>From The Gloom Without Bending Anything. For this next step you have, of
course, three options....
Robert Beeman
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