Pria Ki Paathshala (Flying Lessons)

How the Airplane Remains Airborne?

We often use mechanical equipment without completely understanding how it works.
As a young bachelor, my parents gave me a vacuum cleaner for my birthday. Several months later, Mom called and asked, "Are you having trouble finding bags for your vacuum cleaner?" I said, "Bags? What bags?"

How was I to know the thing needed bags?

Technological ignorance has its advantages, but not when you're up in the air. You don't need a Ph.D. in
aerodynamics to be a pilot, but a moderate-to-decent understanding of why an airplane stays airborne will prove helpful and life-sustaining. That's why this first ground school class is the longest. Don't worry; you won't need to have your eyeballs recapped after reading it. But I do want you to read it all the way through. In order to fly a plane, you must first fill your brain (with a little bit of information, at least). This class is the place to start. Read, and be happy because this is an investment that will pay off big-time.

May the Four Forces Be With You

No, the four forces isn't a 1960s rock group. These forces are actually the things that pull and push on an airplane in flight. The four forces—lift, weight, thrust, and drag—are present any and every time a plane is airborne. Look at Figure 1-1, which shows the action of the four forces.

Figure 1-1 The four forces acting on an airplane in flight.

1-Lift, 2-Thrust, 3-Weight, and 4-Drag

Of course, enormous arrows don't really protrude from the airplane. I know this will disappoint those of you who still expect the states to be colored blue and red and have lines drawn around their borders as you fly over them, but you'll get used to it. The arrows do serve to show that what we've got here is a highly competitive new game—four way tug-of-war. Your job as pilot is to manage the resources available in order to balance these forces. Let's see what they're all about.

Lift


Lift is the upward-acting force created when an airplane's wings move through the air. Forward movement produces a slight difference in pressure between the wings' upper and lower surfaces. This difference becomes lift. It's lift that keeps an airplane airborne.
I discovered how lift works at four years of age during my first visit to church. The collection plate passed in front of me, and I picked out a few shiny items. My grandfather chased me around the pew, and I thought, "Wow, church is fun!" Picking me up by my sweater, Grandpa held me suspended four feet off the ground and toted me outside. It was the lift from Grandpa's arm, precisely equaling my weight, that kept me airborne. Wings do for the airplane what Grandpa's arm did for me—provide the lift to remain aloft.

Weight


Weight is the downward-acting force. It's the one force pilots control to some extent by choosing how they load the airplane. With the exception of fuel burn, the airplane's actual weight is difficult to change in flight. Once airborne, you should not be burning cargo or acquiring extra passengers (or losing them for that matter). Unexpected discharge of passengers while in flight is a violation of some FAA rule, so please don't do it.

In unaccelerated flight (when the airplane's speed and direction are constant), the opposing forces of lift and weight are in balance.

Thrust and Drag


Thrust is a forward-acting force produced by an engine-spun propeller. For the most part, the bigger the engine (meaning more horsepower), the greater the thrust produced and the faster the airplane can fly—up to a point. Forward movement always generates an aerodynamic penalty called drag. Drag pulls rearward on the airplane and is simply the atmosphere's molecular resistance to motion through it. In plain English (which pilots and engineers rarely use), it's wind resistance. Few things are free with Mother Nature. As a buddy of mine likes to say: "If you're getting something for nothing, you're not using your own credit card."

Thrust causes the airplane to accelerate, but drag determines its final speed. As the airplane's velocity increases, its drag also increases. Due to the perversity of nature, doubling the airplane's speed actually quadruples the drag. Eventually, the rearward pull of drag equals the engine's thrust, and a constant speed is attained.

My high school Volkswagen Beetle knew these limits well. The Bug's forward speed is limited by its engine size. With four little cylinders (only three of which worked at any one time), this VW simply wouldn't go faster than 65 mph. Figure 1-2 shows the results of maximum thrust meeting the equal and rearward pull of drag at this speed.

Figure 1-2 An automobile's 1-Thrust, produced by engine power

and 2-Drag,caused by resistance of air molecules

Maintaining a slower speed requires less power, since less drag exists. At any speed less than the maximum forward speed of the car, excess thrust (horsepower) is available for other uses, such as accelerating around other cars or perhaps powering a portable calliope if you are so inclined.

The same is true of airplanes. At less-than-maximum speed in level flight, there's power (thrust) to spare. Excess thrust can be applied to perform one of aviation's most important maneuvers—the climb.

With this introduction complete, I think it's time for you to learn a little about the airplane's flight controls.

Flight Controls



If you're ready-made pilot material, you've been patiently licking your chops waiting for the discussion on flight controls. Gandhi would applaud your patience (but Gandhi isn't here, so I will). Figure 1-3 shows the three imaginary axes of the airplane.

Figure 1-3 The three axes of an airplane.

1-Vertical Axis (Yaw), 2-Longitudinal Axis (Roll), 3-Lateral Axis (pitch)

By use of the flight controls, the airplane can be made to rotate about one or more of these axes. The longitudinal, or long, axis runs through the centerline of the airplane from nose to tail. Airplanes roll, or bank, about their longitudinal axis. A good way to remember which way the longitudinal axis runs is to remember that it's a long (as in longitudinal) way from the nose to the tail of an airplane.

A sideways pass in football is called a lateral pass. Similarly, the lateral axis runs sideways through the airplane from wingtip to wingtip. Airplanes pitch about their lateral axis.

The vertical axis of the airplane runs up and down from the cockpit to the belly. Airplanes yaw about their vertical axis. Think of yawing motion as yawning motion. In the morning, you yawn by standing and stretching vertically, rotating right and left, waiting for those vertebrae to kick in.

Now we're ready to examine each of the three main flight controls that cause an airplane to move about its axes.

Ailerons


Ailerons are the moveable surfaces on the outer trailing edges of the wings. Their purpose is to bank the airplane in the direction you want to turn. When the control wheel is turned to the right, as shown in Figure 1-4, the ailerons simultaneously move in opposite directions (this doesn't mean they're broken, either).

Figure 1-4 Banking to the right. How ailerons bank the airplane.

1-More lift with a lowered aileron, 2-Less lift with a raised aileron.

The left wing aileron lowers, increasing the lift on the left wing. The right wing aileron raises, decreasing the lift on the right wing. This causes the airplane to bank to the right.


When the control wheel is turned to the left, as shown in Figure 1-5, the left wing aileron raises, decreasing the lift on the left wing.

Figure 1-5 Banking to the left. How ailerons bank the airplane

1-Less lift with a raised aileron. 2-More lift with a lowered aileron.

The right wing aileron lowers, increasing the lift on the right wing. This causes the airplane to bank to the left.

Ailerons allow one wing to develop more lift and the other to develop less. Differential lift banks the airplane, which tilts the total lifting force in the direction you want to turn.


Elevator


The elevator is the moveable horizontal surface at the rear of the airplane. Its purpose is to pitch the airplane's nose up or down (Figure 1-6)

Figure 1-6 How the Elevator Control changes the airplane's pitch

Tail moves down (1) because the elevator (2) moves up.

What the Heck is "Back Pressure?"

"Applying back pressure" is another one of those terms that sounds strange to non-pilots. It doesn't mean
you'll be giving your instructor some sort of in-flight massage (as nice an idea as that may be). Rather, it
refers to the action when a pilot pulls back—gently—on the airplane's control wheel. The phrase probably
came about as the result of an instructor who realized that novice students have a tendency to take the
phrase "pull back on the wheel" a little too literally and yanked the wheel back hard… a maneuver I don't
recommend.


The elevator control works on the same aerodynamic principle as the aileron. Applying back pressure on the control wheel of the airplane, as shown in Figure 1-6, deflects the elevator surface upward.

Lower pressure is created on the underside of the tail, which moves it downward, and the nose of the airplane
pitches up.

Figure 1-7 How the Elevator Control changes the airplane's pitch

Tail moves up (1) because the elevator (2) moves down.

The elevator surface moves down, thus creating lower pressure on the top side of the tail and causes the tail to rise. The nose rotates about the lateral axis in a downward direction. Simply stated, to pitch up, pull the control wheel back; to pitch down, move the control wheel forward.

There's also a third flight control, the rudder, which controls yaw around the vertical axis. We'll discuss this later on, but for now, I want to make sure you know I didn't forget about it.

Now that you've acquired a basic idea of how the flight controls work, let's put our brain in the plane and discuss how to perform a useful flight maneuver: straight-and-level flight.


Straight-and-Level Flight



You're about to practice straight-and-level flight, one of aviation's most fundamental maneuvers. Does this sound like two separate maneuvers instead of one? Well, it is. Straight flight means the airplane's nose remains pointed in one direction and the wings are parallel to the earth's horizon. Level flight means the airplane doesn't gain or lose altitude.



Figure 1-8 shows what straight-and-level flight looks like from the left seat where you, the pilot, normally sit.

Figure 1-8

Don't worry if the picture shows us headed for a distant mountain. I'm with you, and I'm good at avoiding
mountains. In fact, it's my specialty.



How to Tell You're Going Straight?


Okay, how do you know you're actually flying straight and level? The easiest way to tell is to look over the
instrument panel and out the windscreen (the front window), as shown in Figure 1-8. It appears that the top portion of the instrument panel is approximately parallel with the earth's distant horizon. This implies that your wings are not banked, which means you're flying straight ahead and not turning.



There is, however, another way to tell if you're flying straight. You can press the hat switch on your joystick. (The hat switch is the button that sticks straight up out of the middle, near your thumb) If you look out the left or right window, as shown in Figure 1-9, you'll notice the position of each wing relative to the earth's horizon.

Figure 1-9

In straight flight, both wings should be the same distance above the horizon (refer to the horizon, not the
mountains).



Having the Right Attitude


In real airplanes, I prefer that my students almost strip the gears in their neck by looking right and left out the
windows. This helps them check the wing's position and keeps their eyes focused out the cockpit looking for traffic. No, I don't mean automobile traffic, either. I mean airplane traffic. In the simulator, however, it's inconvenient to keep shifting views to the left and to the right. So you'll use the attitude indicator to help maintain straight-andlevel flight. The attitude indicator is located at the top of the six main flight instruments directly in front of you (Figure 1-10).

Figure 1-10

The attitude indicator is an artificial representation of the real horizon. Just as its name suggests, the attitude
indicator displays the airplane's attitude (its upward or downward pitch and the bank the wings make with the

horizon). The upper half of the attitude indicator is blue (like the real sky, unless, of course, you fly in Los Angeles), the bottom half is brown (like the surface below us). The thin white line between these colors is the artificial horizon line. Pilots use the attitude indicator when they can't see the earth's horizon because of restrictions to visibility or when it's inconvenient to look at the wing tips (which will usually be your situation when flying the simulator).



By moving the joystick to the left, the airplane banks to the left, which dips the left wing downward toward the ground, as shown in Figure 1-11A.

Fig. 11-11A

Fig. 11-11B

Fig. 11-11C

This is how you begin a left turn. Notice that the miniature (orange-winged) airplane in the attitude indicator also appears to dip its left wing toward the ground. Mechanically speaking, it's really the background of the attitude indicator that moves and creates a picture of the airplane's attitude. Nevertheless, you can always tell which way you're banking by determining which one of the small orange wings in the attitude indicator dips toward the ground. (This is easy since you only have two choices).

By gently moving the joystick to the right in the same manner just described, the attitude indicator will indicate a right turn. Now the orange-winged plane's right wing dips toward the ground, as shown in Figure 1-11B. Moving the joystick to the right or left until both of the miniature plane's wings are parallel to the artificial horizon line returns the joystick to its center (default) position and returns the airplane to straight flight, as shown in Figure 1-11C. After all, if the wings aren't banked, the airplane isn't turning.

Know Where You're Heading

There is one more way to know if you're flying straight. This involves using the airplane's heading indicator, as

shown in Figure 1-12.

Fig. 1-12

Figure 1-12 shows the airplane's heading indicator (sometimes called the directional gyro). It's found in the middle of the bottom row of the six main flight instruments that we'll be discussing soon. Think of the heading indicator as a mechanical compass that shows which way your airplane points. Notice the numbers on the face of the heading indicator. Add a single zero to any number on the face to get the airplane's actual heading. In other words, 6 is really a heading of 60 degrees (spoken as zero-six-zero degrees). The number 33 is actually a heading of 330 degrees. (When we say that aloud, we say "three-three-zero degrees" for extra clarity. It's important to be extra clear when you're flying.) These numbers appear at 30-degree intervals. Between these numbers are 5- and 10- degree heading increments.

To fly a specific heading, simply turn the airplane in the shortest direction to the heading desired. For example, turn the airplane until the nose of the airplane in the heading indicator points to the letter W for west (this is a heading of 270 degrees). Of course, if the heading remains constant, then you're flying straight and thus, not turning. This is another way to identify that you're flying straight.

Now that you understand the straight portion of straight-and-level flight, let's move on to the level portion of this maneuver.

Making Sure You're on the Level

Let's talk about what happens to your altitude when you pitch the airplane's nose up or down. When you pitch the airplane up by applying back pressure on the joystick, the attitude indicator's miniature airplane also points upward toward the sky (the blue), as shown in Figure 1-13A. The attitude indicator's vertical calibration lines are worth five degrees each, so you read them (from bottom to top) as 5, 10, 15, and 20 degrees of pitch.

                          Fig.1-13

Look at the altimeter, which is located directly to the right of the attitude indicator (Figure 1-13B). The biggest hand (the hundred-foot hand) will normally move clockwise when the nose is raised. And, just like the hands of a watch, clockwise movement means something is increasing. In this case, it's your altitude.

Directly below the altimeter is the vertical speed indicator (VSI). Its needle also deflects upward when you pitch the airplane's nose up, showing a rate of climb (Figure 1-13C). These are additional indications that you're climbing and not maintaining level flight.

When the joystick is returned to its center position, the airplane will begin to settle back into level flight (assuming the airplane is properly trimmed—we'll talk about this shortly).

When you pitch the airplane downward, the attitude indicator's miniature airplane points toward the surface (the brown color), as shown in Figure 14.

               Fig 1-14

The altimeter's hands will begin to unwind (rotate counterclockwise), indicating a loss of altitude. The VSI will also show a rate of descent as its needle deflects downward. It's safe to say that if the big hand of the altimeter stops moving and the VSI needle indicates zero, then you're in level flight. In fact, this is precisely how pilots confirm that their airplane is in level flight.

It takes practice to keep these needles stationary (in real life, they're always moving just a tiny bit). The average private pilot does a great job if he or she remains within 100 feet of a chosen altitude. Unfortunately, when I was a student, I found it much easier to keep changing the target altitude at which I wanted to be (until, of course, I finally perfected this skill).

In the Interactive Lesson, you'll practice maintaining a straight course by keeping the attitude indicator's miniature airplane (the orange wings) parallel to the artificial horizon line. If a wing dips right or left, you'll raise it by moving the joystick in the opposite direction.

You'll also get some practice at maintaining level flight by keeping the altimeter's hundred-foot hand stationary. It shouldn't move. If it does, then you'll use the joystick to change the pitch slightly until it stops moving. This will be the pitch attitude required for level flight.

Time for a Trim?

Airplanes are subject to an assortment of aerodynamic forces. Some try to pitch the nose up; others try to pitch it down. Engine power, weight placement, and lift are just a few of these forces. What does this mean to you? Well, if the airplane wants to pitch forward, you can't sit there pulling back on the joystick for the entire flight. Applying continuous pressure on the control wheel to maintain pitch attitude means your arms would tire quickly (your personal trainer would be proud of you, but I wouldn't). Fortunately, airplanes have something known as a trim tab to take the pressure off the control wheel (and off the pilot!). Let's look at how the trim tab works, and then we'll talk about how to use it.

How Trim Tabs Work?

A trim tab is a small, moveable surface attached to the main surface you want to control (in this case, it's the elevator). Figure 1-15A shows the trim tab and the trim wheel that's used to change the trim tab's position. In the real airplane, the wheel is usually located between the two front seats or on the lower portion of the instrument panel.

Figure 1-15A How Elevator Trim Works 1-Nose down. 2-Nose up.

Moving the trim tab creates a slight pressure difference on the end of the control surface to which it's attached. Just enough pressure is created to keep the primary control surface in the desired position without having to hold the control wheel in place. Notice that the trim tab moves in a direction opposite to the primary control surface it affects. If you want the elevator to deflect upward (as if you're pulling back on the wheel in a climb), the trim tab must move down, as shown by Elevator A in Figure 1-15A.

To maintain a downward deflection of the elevator (as if you're in a descent), the trim tab must move upward, as shown by Elevator B in Figure 1-15B.

Figure 1-15B How Elevator Trim Works 1-Nose down. 2-Nose up.

FLY THIS LESSON NOW-

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

Dreamy Flights.....

Flying Dreams:

When you will experience dream about flying (flying dream), you will most likely wake up feeling like a million bucks.  Flying in your dream is not like the other humdrum dreams you encounter on a day to day basis.   These supernatural dreams feels somewhat mystic that offers you quick taste to be Superman for the night.  Up to 90% of all flying dreams are “crystal clear”, this  means that you are fully aware that you are in a dream and are able to control the dream settings.  Manipulating your dream environment in a clear state makes flying the best common dream you can ever experience.

What Does My Flying Mean:

Depending on the context of your dream flying they can all be interpreted in many ways. Flying free as a bird without caring about the world will interpret differently than, being afraid to fly, or even have trouble taking off from the ground.  All of the flying dream types will be properly explained below.

Trouble Flying:

Dreams where you have trouble taking off can be quite frustrating.  The funny thing is you know you possess the ability to fly in your dream but have trouble getting your feet off the ground.  Having a tough time flying in your dreams suggest that someone or something is stopping you from moving to the next step in life. In order to know what is holding you back from flying, try and remember who was with you in your dream.  If you were alone and struggled to fly implies that you are lacking confidence within yourself.  Remembering the symbols in your dream helps you find the root of the problem a lot easier.  Lets say if you had trouble taking off from your house.  It’s possible that you need to move out of your house!  Also many would dream having trouble taking off from work.  If this is the case it represents a lack of motivation to take it to another level.

Try and think what was stopping you from taking off in your dream whether it was a you, a friend or a building that was in  your way.  These objects or “dream symbols”  help us determine what is stopping us from moving up in the world.

Scared of Flying:

Flying in a dream can either be exhilarating or a nightmare depending upon the dream.  Not being able to control your flight in your dream is rare but it does happen from time to time.  Scared of flying has everything to do with lack of control in your life.  Dreams of this nature suggest you have trouble controlling the path in your life.  No matter what you do there is some interference.  You have to ask yourself what is causing me to be afraid to take control of my life, and how to get back on track.  Another possibility is with being afraid to fly is that you might be having trouble keeping up with the high goals you set.  You may feel that you can crash at anytime.

Direction of Flight:

It is important to know what direction you are going when you are flying high up in the clouds.  Where are you flying- upwards, downwards or backwards? If you are flying upwards in your dream suggests you are now on a new level of spiritually. If you are flying downwards you are trying to get more intuned to your unconscious. If you are flying low to the ground it represents strength and determination in your life.  If you are flying an airplane it means you are not fully free to have fun but your almost there.  If you are flying backwards suggests you want to relive the past and the good memories you experienced.

How To Analyze Your Flying Dream:

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you are trying to figure out what your dream meant.  Your unconscious will not spell it out for you, this is a job for your conscious to figure it out.  Dream symbols are presented  in a metaphoric fashion for you to decode.  A dream dictionary will help you figure out what your dream symbols represents and the hidden meaning behind them.  Here are some questions below that might help you figure out what your flying dream meant.

Was I flying alone?

Did Anything stopped me?

Was I in control of my flight?

What was the weather like?

Were you scared?

Was I going up or down?

Easy flight or turbulent fight?

How was the mood in your dream. Were you happy or sad?

What were you using in order to fly (Wings or rocket)?

For the most part flying dreams are positive dreams that we would all like to have before we wake up. These are common dreams that have a very powerful meaning behind them and its entirely up to you to figure it out.  People who experience flying dreams are strong minded and they want the most out of the world.

 "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

My Classroom And Its Predecessor

In this article you can find a short overview of the history and facts about the Cessna 152 (and it's predecessor the Cessna 150) aircraft. The Cessna 150/152 is a well known American made single-engine, two-seat, fixed gear airplane used primarily for flight training, touring, and personal flying. The Cessna 152 was intended to compete with the new Beechcraft Skipper and Piper Tomahawk aircraft, both of which were introduced the same year, 1977.

With a length of 24 feet 1 inches (7.3 meters), and a wingspan of 33 feet 4 inches (10.2 meters), the Cessna 152 has a maximum speed of 126 miles per hour (110 knots), and a maximum take-off weight of 1,670 pounds (757 kg). The Cessna 152 has a service ceiling of 14,700 feet (4,480 meters).

Between 1977 and 1985 there were a total of 7,584 Cessna 152's produced. The majority, around 6,943 were built in Wichita, Kansas, and consisted of 6,628 regular variants, and 315 Aerobats. During this same time period 641 were built by Reims Aviation under the Cessna license in France and given the designation F152 and FA152. 552 of these were designed as regular variants and 89 were built as Aerobats.

Below you can see some pictures from the Cessna 150 cockpit:

Cessna 150 Cockpit

Cessna instruments

Flying the C150

The Cessna 152 proved to be more economical than the Cessna 150 to operate due to an increased time between overhaul which was a direct result of the upgraded powerplant. The earlier 150 model used the Continental O-200-A which generated between 90 and 100 horsepower. By comparison the Cessna 152's Lycoming O-235produced between 100 and 135 horsepower. The Lycoming powerplant was also more compatible with the newer 100LL low lead fuel, which is still the most commonly available and used aviation gasoline.

According to rumors the Cessna 152 cabin was also widened slightly to make room for the increasing girth of late 20th century pilots.

(In this photo: Cessna 150 wing, propeller and landing gear)

Equipped with fixed tricycle landing gear, the nose wheel of the Cessna 152 is connected to the engine mount and features an oleo strut to dampen and absorb normal operating loads. It's connected to the rudder pedals through a spring linkage. The Cessna 152 is also fitted with a parking brake system which is applied by depressing both toe brakes and then pulling a "Park Brake" lever located to the left of the pilot.

There are hundreds of modifications available for the Cessna 152, including a tailwheel landing gear and a number of STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) kits. At a Cessna 150-152 club national convention take-off competition one airplane was able to take off into a headwind using 408 feet of runway when realistically a length of 1,500 feet is ideal. Additionally flap gap seals can also reduce drag and increase rate of climb, and auxiliary fuel tanks for larger capacity.  

(In this photo: Cessna 150 wing and wing strut)

Due to the worldwide popularity of the Cessna 152 there are numerous aviation clubs and associations dedicated to flying and maintaining it. The vast majority of active professional and private pilots have experience flying the Cessna 152. Although he never flew in the aircraft which bears his surname, the Cessna 152 would not have been possible without the foresight of the enthusiastic engineer Clyde Cessna, who passed away in 1954.

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."