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X-Plane Assignment 1

15 points

Last edited 3 days ago by Mason Cole Cramer.

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?

Wind is coming from the west, heading 270, at 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?

You would feel the wind on you back of your body.

Which runway at KLAF should we use?

You always want to takeoff and land into the wind, its just a little easier and gives you a little more lift, a greater margin for error, so we would takeoff on runway 28

Headwind

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

Turn to base: Turn a little sooner because you cover more ground quickly, because in base you would have tailwind. This is to prevent overshooting your final turn.

Turn to final: Maybe turn a little later than anticipated, because you are going from a quicker base to a slower final, giving you. little more time to adjust for a safe landing.

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

Yes, it gives you more time to make adjustments because a headwind slows down your groundspeed, but airspeed will say the same. A headwind generates more lift on the aircraft, because the wind is flowing over the wings, giving you more control and more time to make your landing.

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.

5 kts landing is more similar to clm conditions, your groundspeed is reduced, causing the aircraft to take more time on final, the glide slope is relatively the same, only having to add a little bit more throttle to acheive a landing. 20 kts headwind is a little more difficult, your groundspeed is greatly reduced, you would naturally have a steeper approach, the aircraft naturally wants to stay in the air, and you hove to give much more throttle on landing which was a unfamiliar feeling to me.

Crosswind

Define these techniques:

Side Slip: Slide slip is when you bank into the wind and apply the rudder to keep the aircraft aligned with the runway.

Crab: Crab is when you use the rudder to shift the nose of the aircraft into the wind while keeping the wings level.

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?

You would use left rudder to point the nose into the wind, aiming just left of centerline.

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

The aircraft will begin to get pushed right of the runway

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

you would apply left aileron to bank 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?!

Its just a quick way pilots talk about which way to turn the yoke in a crosswind, sticks in means turn into the wind to keep the wing down, and sticks out means turn away from the wind if needed.