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X-Plane Assignment 1

15 points

Nathan Tyler Rose

Last edited 57 days ago by Lucas Toppe.

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?

West 270º, speed: 5 knots

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?

On your back

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: Need to turn to base sooner to avoid overshooting due to headwind on turn to base. set up for landing sooner.

Turn to final: You will be approaching with a lower groundspeed, so the turn is kept a little smaller and earlier. Then if the headwind isn't perfectly parallel to the runway, you have to adjust for any crosswind.

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

Yes. It allows the PIC more time to land and correct for possible errors, and keeps the aircraft in the air at slower speeds.

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.

In a 5kts headwind the aircraft will have a slightly reduced speed, but it won't be overly noticeable. The descent angle will be steeper, with just an overall small reduction in most landing techniques.

In a 20 Kts headwind, it could be harder to land if there is a slight cross wind, as the user needs to give stronger but more precise inputs. Luckily, the user will have a lot of time to adjust in this scenario as this greatly reduces the aircraft ground speed.

Crosswind

Define these techniques:

Side Slip: Side slip steps into play when crosswind is causing the aircraft to drift. What side slipping is, is a technique where the aircraft is slightly banked into wind, and rudder is applied to keep nose aligned with runway.

Crab: Crab is a technique where the aircraft is pointed into the wind using the rudder to keep the nose aligned with runway. This is similar to side slip, but no ailerons are used.

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?

Left rudder to direct yourself into the wind. To straighten up on the runway as you are about to land you would use right rudder to straighten back out.

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

The aircraft will drift to the right.

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

left aileron, banking into the 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?!

This relates to the direction of wind + takeoff, landing, taxi, etc. Plus the relation. of the rudder and aileron direction due to crosswind. Sticks in means the flight controls are moved towards each other, sticks out, the opposite. For example, in a left crosswind, you would want a sticks in, so you can roll into the wind, then yaw the center yourself on the centerline. For right cross wind, you use sticks out, for the opposite reason.

Task 1 - Setup Simulator

Use

Broken link⁠

document to set up the simulator.

Task 2 - Flying with Headwind

Capture a screen recording of this task, title the file appropriately, and upload a copy to Brightspace.

Complete two stabilized circuits for runway 28 with the following wind settings:

Winds 1: 280 @ 5 kts

Winds 2: 280 @ 20 kts

Headwind flight tips:

You will take off earlier than in calm conditions; adjust accordingly.

Your downwind leg will go very quickly; be ready to set up for landing early.

Your power input during approach will differ from that in calm conditions.

Task 3 - Flying with Crosswind

Capture a screen recording of this task, title the file appropriately, and upload a copy to Brightspace.

Complete four stabilized circuits for runway 28 with the following wind settings:

Winds 1: 240 @ 5 kts

Winds 2: 320 @ 5 kts

Winds 3: 240 @ 20 kts

Winds 4: 320 @ 20 kts

We discussed my corruption of my videos.... Anestis can attest that I am a great flyer! I had some struggle with the 20 KTS wind as expected, but was still able to land successfully on the runway, just not exactly on centerline. 5 kts, I had no issues with, I was very impressed with my ability to flare well. Unfortunately I don't have the video to flex my amazing skills, but I believe I did well with the wind. I am looking forward to flying the believer.

Crosswind flight tips:

Watch the video below:

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This embedded link can't be shown.

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