You've read about them... you've studied them... you probably even memorized them for your training. But do you really understand them?? This week we delve into the mysterious world of the 4 left turning tendencies of your airplane.
It's one of the first things a student pilot will notice that very first time they take the controls and push the throttle forward on the runway. For some reason the airplane wants to turn to the left. Why is this happening and why is it important that we understand what's going on? Dive into this week's mid-week bonus episode to find out!
Clear prop! Number two following twin traffic on 3 mile final. JB using runway 25 on a 4-mile final.
This is Behind the Prop with United Flight Systems owner and licensed pilot, Bobby Doss. and it's co-host: major airline captain Designated Pilot Examiner, Wally Mulhearn. Now let's go behind the prop!
What's up Wally. Bobby how are you. I'm fantastic so this week is the episode about something that we talk about a lot. Something that I think people somewhat understand. But I don't think they really understand until much later in their pilot time and we want to help everybody. Be a saver pilot. A better pilot and really understand things. Today's show is all about left turning tendencies. Something that's talked about a lot while they I’m sure on check rides a lot of, I don’t know pilots might not be in control because left turning tendencies. We talk a lot about in training when we have to counteract them but. I don't know that everybody understands why. So let's jump right into it There's four left turning. Tendencies that there's four things that cause left turning tendencies in and a combination of all four really will make the plane want to turn left The one that. I think it's talked about the most will safer for in. Its P factor. But I’ll I’ll talk a little bit about the minute. We have torque effect. We have the gyroscopic procession which I got honestly said and understand a way later in my pilot piling career and then spiraling slipstream that again. I'll say. I don't know that. I really understood the concepts until my multi engine training And then p factor and again p factors the one that gets the most attention. But I still would say it's it's communicated or taught a little incorrectly meaning what's really causing it So let's jump right in. Wally tells tell me tell the listeners. What what what are we really trying to do. Well we want we want to keep the airplane coordinated The bottom line is airplane. Turns the left when we add power in and a lot of it is because of that big propellers spinning out there You know the the torque from it. And I don't want to I don't want to get too down in the weeds about What each one does or or the the problems associated with each of the to the four tendencies. Bottom line is just know that the airplane is going to turn to the left That's going to be more pronounced in a slow airspeed with lots of power. And where. I where I see it on check. Rides said on power on stalls and a just think of the configuration wherein were we have probably slowed the airplane down to a Just above The stall speed and then We we add full power and so and we pitch the nose up to get the airplane to actually stall The standard for a private pilot is to maintain the heading plus or minus ten degrees. And that's going to take a lot of right rudder to not turn the airplane that the left because here we are in an again, we're talking. Mostly warriors piper Cherokees. One seventy-two those type air. So we're down around sixty knots somewhere in there. And we've we've added full power. We've got twenty-four hundred twenty-five hundred. Whatever we're getting out of the engine and that airplanes going to want to turn to the left just to A little side note. I you know I grew up flying little airplanes. I learned to fly little airplanes and just going back. And I’m thinking I don't I I don't again. It's many many many years ago. So I’ve slept many times between now and then I don't remember my instructors. Hammering it into me A whole lot and as a CFI. I when I was doing a lot of CFI. I work Again a long time ago. I don't remember emphasizing it. The way I think it should have been so maybe I let some of my students back down a little bit back in the day but You know flying jets. It's not really an issue. In fact we teach our pilots to keep their feet on the floor flying jets. We usually have hydraulically boosted rudders. And we basically don't really want them touching those riders unless were we have an engine out So the the newer airplanes. That's all taken care of your bon automatically anyway but I I remember the first instruction that I started getting Probably five six. Seven years ago I went. I was up in Alaska and I Was working on getting a sea plane rating and it was in a one seventy-two and The the instructor was just a terrific guy up in Fairbanks Alaska Fairbanks float planes. The name of his company and He just hammered me. And he he always called me captain and He his favorite saying. And then when I think of this guy the the this is the phrase that comes to my mind. He kept saying captain. You need to step on your ball captain. You need to step on your ball and and it got to be a joke after a while but after about Two or three flights of him saying about twenty times. I finally started learning at that. Turn coordinator and realizing that I was climbing this airplane out very uncoordinated. We had some disadvantage in that. We're in a seaplane with big. Floats hanging off the bottom. A lot of And this was a one seventy two that hundred and eighty horsepower engine so we had a lot of power relatively speaking and we're climbing out very slow so the left turning tendencies in this airplane was even more pronounced so You was good training for me as I got back in a little airplanes to hear that but you know it's all about keeping the airplane coordinated and keeping it as clean as you can if we can use that word When when the airplanes flying coordinated it's not flying as efficiently as we can lots of drag race we all other surface area that is impacting. The relative wind that is creating drag and slowing down and making us less efficient for sure we hopefully if we're flying refined get somewhere and we want to spend as little money as possible and that means fuel and that means economy right so right, I want to do it The other topics are all very important but she can go read about them and learn about them. I think I think the one that I that causes more more left turning tendencies than anything else other than P factor would probably be the gyroscopic procession and it's because the thrust being created on the right side of the prop is stronger than the the left side of the prop based on where the center of gravity is and so. What does that do for us. It it definitely makes the plane easier to maneuver also to the left And I think as I didn't really put two and two together and so I was working commercial rating in instructor said. Hey if you don't get asked by the DPE on your chandelle. do under the left. It's a lot easier. And lord low beholds go out there and try to do a chandelle off to the left one to the right. You'll be impressed. With how easy that maneuver going to the left. Because it as he gets slow and your full power and you're climbing you pitched way up the plane just naturally wants to kind of rotate to the left and you'll be surprised how easy it is so if you if you want a demonstrator you really want to know how it is. Ask someone to demonstrate a chandelle if you get into that point do a chandelle the one to the right. Your feet will be doing a lot different things when you go to the right and that's because you have to counteract what's naturally happening on the airframe and the airplane that it wants to go left right right and and you know the we don't have a lot of mountains around here but You know one. One example of using chandelle in the real world would be to get out of a box canyon in other words. You've you're flying a mountainous terrain and you've you've made a turn. You're going down a canyon and all of a sudden you realize this canyon ends. You took a wrong turn basically and you need to get out of there and chandelle is is basically the maneuver you would do to get out of there so If you ever find yourself in that situation Try to turn left. Not to the right. That would definitely help. So we'll wrap up with that short episode middle of the week for you guys and girls out there. If you're enjoying the show please go out to your the wherever. You're listening to podcasts. Give us a five-star review if we've earned it if you have thoughts for shows or episodes please email them to us. You can get Wally at Wally@behindtheprop.com or me Bobby at Bobby@behindtheprop.com as always fly. Say and stay behind the prop.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for checking out the Behind The Prop podcast. be sure to click subscribe and check us out online at BehindTheProp.com behind the prop is recorded in Houston, Texas. Show creator and host is Bobby Doss. Co-host is Wally Mulhearn. This show is for entertainment purposes Only. and not meant to replace actual flight instruction. Thanks for listening and remember: fly safe!