Quote:
Originally Posted by tgrayson  Stomping on the rudder makes the aircraft yaw around the vertical axis, but the airplane doesn't follow its nose. Quite a basic mistake for a student to attempt to return to centerline during the hold off by applying rudder. Doesn't work, just makes the airplane land with a side load, still off centerline. |
Ahh, you misunderstand my objective. I never said stomp on a rudder, or try to get back to centerline with rudder. I said maintain directional control, which is heading, with rudder, and control the bank, which is how you return to centerline, with aileron. You slide the airplane left/right with aileron, while using ruder to maintain runway alignment. That's how you do it. You focus on heading control - ruway alignment - with rudder and aircraft body over centerline with aileron.
You are right about the "lazy aileron" if you just teach rudder. This is like the debate over power vs pitch for airspeed control. It isn't either/or; it's coorelation of both. I am not singleing out rudder as the exclusive control for heading; it usually takes manipulation of both controls to effect a coordinated turn, or intentional cross-controlled for climbing turns or landings, or whatever.
But the rudder controls heading and the aileron controls bank, and that is my point of primary training. There are times when you want them coordinated, and times when you don't. The primary student needs to know when.
You make the point that everyone else teaches a certain way, and I am ther only one who 'mucks it up', and everyone else does a fine job.
I'm not satisfied with the general outcome of most of the training that I see. I think it is incumbent on all of us, as professionals, to find a better way. As a matter of fact, that is one of the definitions of professionalism in the Instructor's Handbook: "Professionals cannot limit their actions and decisions to standard patterns and practices."
Most pilots who learn on trycycle gear airplanes do not land on the centerline with no side drift. Almost all pilots land with a little crab - even in a no wind condition. Most don't account for gyroscopic precession and changing P-factor during the flare in a no wind condition, and they touch down with a slight yaw, because they have 'lazy feet', and probably don't even notice a slighly yawed condition.
If they were in a tailwheel, the slight yaw would immediately start exaggerating, and a quick rudder dance would teach the pilot to keep the nose from yawing with the rudder, whilst (usually) applying opposite aileron - but, in all cases, using the feet on the rudder to keep it straight and using the hands on the wheel to control left/right movement of the body.
If we all taught (enforced) absolute runway alignment before touch-down, as if it were a tailwheel, then I would agree that most everyone is doing a good job, and I wouldn't try to change things, but TG, that ain't happening; today's pilots are not making yawless touchdowns.