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X-Plane Assignment 1

15 points

Nathan Tyler Rose

Last edited 2 days ago by Erik Russell Krellner.

Overview

Generated by Coda AI

This assignment requires students to answer questions about interpreting METAR information, runway usage, and the effects of headwind and crosswind during flight. They must set up a flight simulator, then record and upload screen recordings of two stabilized circuits with headwind and four with crosswind at varying speeds for runway 28. Tips for flying in these conditions are provided. Deliverables include a completed PDF of the document uploaded to Brightspace, along with the recordings from specified tasks, which should be titled appropriately and uploaded to the same platform.

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Tasks

Task 0 - Questions

Answer the following questions. Some questions can be answered after completing the assignment.

General

KLAF 100213Z AUTO 27005KT 10SM SCT027 OVC031 18/15 A2982 RMK AO2 T01830150

When reading the winds in the METAR above, what is the wind direction and speed?

270 degrees, 5knts

If you are standing with your back to the west, on which side of your body will you feel the wind given in the above METAR?

Feel the wind on your back side

Which runway at KLAF should we use?

Runway 28

Headwind

When flying into a headwind (relative to calm conditions), what considerations do I need to make for:

Turn to base: You are going to have to Yaw to the left to counteract the forces of the headwind (only in some cases). Your groundspeed will also be lower which means that you will cover less distance on your final. This means you might want to consider turning base a little later.

Turn to final: Becasue of the lower groundspeed from the headwind your angle of descent might appear steeper which means you may need to slightly lessen the descent rate and be careful to not cut throttle too fast as that would cause a stall.

Is landing with a headwind easier than in calm conditions? Why?

I think so as it makes the flare process of landing a lot easier. This is because you are able to have a lower ground speed while maintaining airflow over the control surfaces of the plane.

In a short paragraph, compare landing with a 5 kts vs 20 kts headwind. Be sure to discuss airspeed, ground speed, descent angle, power input, and landing roll distance.

During both landings you should try to keep you airspeed the same. Your groundspeed will appear a lot slower in the 20kts headwind which will cause you angle of descent to be steeper. To compensate for the 20kts increased angle of descent you are going to have to input more throttle/power than a 5kts head wind. The landing roll distance will also be much longer for the 5kts headwind because it has a higher groundspeed.

Crosswind

Define these techniques:

Side Slip: A maneuver where the plane moves sideways relative to forward flight and keeps the planes longitudinal axis aligned with the runway.

Crab: A maneuver also used during crosswind where the pilot points the nose of the aircraft to the wind while keeping a straight path to the runway

When flying into a left-quartering crosswind and using the crab method:

Which single control input (and direction) do I use to align the aircraft's nose with the centerline?

right rudder

What happens to the aircraft if all other control inputs are null? Include direction.

it will drift right (downwind)

What control (and direction) will counteract the movement described above?

Left aileron (in wind)

In crosswind flight training, your instructor will ask if it's a “sticks in” or a “sticks out” kind of day. What the heck does that mean?!

It means what way will you be holding the ailerons while you taxi the aircraft. Sticks in means into the wind and sticks out means away from the wind You do sticks in in headwind and sticks out in tailwind. That is what the heck it means.