How to avoid flying behind the power curve.

[gyrosa]

On the issues of turbo I can offer the following from experience.
1. If the prop is set for sea level, all normal at sea level BUT the engine will over speed at altitude. Corrective action is to watch that engine rpm at altitude and try not to go over 5800 OR to reset the prop.
2. If the prop was set at say 5500 feet AMSL, the engine will under rev at the coast. Here is where things get tricky. If you go into full boost ie above 35 inches of MAP, you are putting more than the required amount of pressure on your crankshaft. and this can break. This happened a few years ago to an engine set for altitude (5500 feet) and then boosted to full power at the coast.
3. As the air is thicker at the coast, the gyro will get off the ground quicker than at altitude and hence full power is not required PROVIDED that the load on the gyro is reduced. We all have the tendency to overload eg., empty mass is 280kg, pilot is 95kg, pax 95kg, fuel is 56kg, luggage is 15kg. Total 541 kg. Let's presume that MAUW for that particular gyro is 550kg. If the prop is set okay for the coast, there is no problem, however, if the same gyro tries to take off at altitude, with hot weather and high humidity, you have a problem as the runway required will increase, the rate of climb will decrease, engine rpm will increase to possible overspeeding limits etc. In this case, in my opinion, the gyro is overloaded (remember that the figures for any aircraft are usually sea level figures and the total loading MUST be reduced (never stated in any book or manual). The same will hold true if the opposite were to take place, eg the gyro set at 5500 trying to take off from the coast.
Our biggest problem in aviation in South Africa is that we try and apply sea level figures at altitude.
Maybe it is time for someone to look at performance figures on gyro's in South Africa and bring out a graph for runway required versus mass at various density altitudes. This can show, eg that for a particular type, at a particular mass, you will need X amount of runway for normal take off, and Y amount for short take off to clear a 50foot obsticle. Similar comparisons can be made for grass and hard surfaces.

[Low Level]

Back to the topic.

On Saturday I again noticed this little phenomenon with gyros.

Because it is so easy to fly slow with a gyro, going behind the power curve tends to happen unnoticed. Doing some sight seeing one tends to pull back on the stick, unintentionally,without applying power, to go slower, for a better view on the ground. Next thing is, you have overshot the scenery so turn around. Ooops, you are already decending, airspeed dropped to 50 mph, now you are doing a steep turn, but you are already lowish and decending without noticing it, cause you are flying outside the cockpit. First reaction is to keep the nose up and try to recover. Now everything is going wrong, cause Murphy will tell you that you are now actually downwind as well, full power and VSI at -200ft/min. Every little muscle in your body tells you to pull that bloody stick, cause you need to gain height.............

Nose down solves that little problem in a whoosh, but it is getting your brain to overule your instinct and survival mode thats causing problems, eating into valuable time and is letting you sink in the dung.

Instinct must tell you to put nose down, even if you are already too low. Len mentioned sometime ago, aim at the ground if you want to miss it.

It is not a lekka feeling if you are decending, and lowish to put the nose down. My stomach is acually turning while I am writing it.

[Gyronaut]

Agreed low-level. Its the only time the little hairs in the back of my neck prickle - and it happens in a flash.
Speaking of Flashing reminds me - and on topic, a flashing babe on Blaauwberg beach with my buddy taking photo's almost did me once. All the wrong reasons, low & slow - the next thing the ground rises up to smite thee. Do you chicken-out, go against everything you know to be true but decide to settle with power pulling the stick back. Thats the instant (hopefully) your training kicks in (as mine did - thankfully) and you remind yourself that the gyro WILL NOT FLY below say 44mph so how you gonna get it there quick - While you're pushing the nose hard forward all sorts of horrible little doubts about Power Push-over etc flash through your mind trying to convince you to pull up on the stick. If you're lucky - as I was, I reached flying speed a few feet from the beach - just as I was fixing to round-out hard and land on the beach - it started flying again and I managed to keep the speed up and climb away. Turns out the photo's weren't even worth it. Much happier at 300 to 500ft @65 lately. Ok, medium fast turns/orbits perhaps then... if she's hot

[gyrosa]

Can only agree with both of you, mind off the job in hand at low level, and there is trouble. Reason is you need 3 things in flying and they are:-
1. Speed
2. Height
3. Ideas.
Loose any one of 1 or 2 above and point 3 becomes limited in direct proportion to the height above ground.