Sim L1/12 is the last Part 1 simulator sortie which I was tested on the basic instrument flying skills and also nav aids tracking&procedures.

I also found out how long my 100% concentration last.

Only 1hour 30minutes. (A 2-hour sortie.)

Hence it caused me two major mistakes during the last 30mins of the sortie:
-Forgot to switch the required nav aid frequency.
-Overshot the altitude that I was supposed to maintain.
Both happened during ILS approach to land.

My mind just went blank. Eyes fixed on a position longer than usual. Scanning pattern of instruments was not in the correct order.

But I think I should be able to pass this test.

So now I just gonna wait for actual flying sorties and Part 2 simulator.




The school has come up with more funny and brilliant rules&regulations for the cadets.

Oh, to those who are coming here to study, don't worry, I won't spoil the fun!!

=) =)

There is so much more for you to learn about this school!!

And you will come to understand (very soon..in less than 2 weeks of schooling) how deep is my love for this school since October 23rd 2007.

Flew on the airways to Ipoh and then to Penang before coming back to Lgk.

After one night of practicing, I still couldn't remember all the procedures.

I seriously need to think ahead of the aircraft.




Anyway, in respond to weixi's request:

Both of these two sorties are related to SIDs and STARs.

SID - Standard Instrument Departure
STAR - Standard Instrument Arrival

Without going into the details, they are just standard procedures to depart and also to land at an airfield. Again, these procedures are listed in the charts for pilots to refer during flight.

Eg: ANDOK SID - take off Runway 21, climb to 500feet, turn left heading 205 climb 1000feet, then turn left heading 130 to intercept Radial 155 VPL to Andok and further climb to 8000feet.


So instead of such a long instruction, it is simplified to just ANDOK DEPARTURE.

Just in LGK here alone, we have more than 10 SIDs and STARs combined!

Tomorrow will have a tougher sortie to fly: Airways.

TE Sim L1/7

Instrument Landing System (ILS), most commonly used by airliners during an approach to land.

Unlike other non-precision approach systems, this one provides a more accurate guidance to pilots especially during bad weather conditions.

This kinda system not only gives lateral guidance, but also shows the vertical guidance (glideslope).

Now you see why some airlines have such psychomotor test?? To those of you who went for the test, I am pretty sure you were told to complete a task that required you to steer the vertical and horizontal axis to center position and then maintain it as long as possible.


Same concept as above, we applied it here in ILS, where we have to maintain the aircraft steadily on the glidepath and to the centreline of runway....

ALL the way down to a point called Decision Altitude (DA).

If we are visual with the runway at this point, continue with the approach visually to land.

If no, then abort the approach and carry out the Missed Approach Procedure (which is stated clearly in each and every Jeppesen chart in most of the airfields today). Different airfields, different procedures.

To remember all those procedures, you need superhuman memory power. Obviously, we don't. So we bring those charts along in flight. Something like a road map, in simple.

I am tired. Bye~

6th simulator session: VOR DME approach, with winds this time.

Mental calculation has improved quite abit. Thanks to the mini clipboard that I bought two days ago.

I realized that my mental calculation was slow NOT because I calculate slow. It's because I have a lousy short term memory power.

It's like, given information A, B and C,

I need to count D and E while trying to fly the aircraft and keep a mental picture of the aircraft location and what I have to do next.

After 5mins, I need to calculate F and G using info A, B, C.

And now the problem comes, I forget what are the values of those.

Yes, I can ask the instructor again for the info, but that is gonna make me look like fool who does not pay attention to what he is saying.

So the mini clipboard comes in handy. I just need to put it on my right thigh, jot down those values and a quick glance helps to refresh what I forgot!

TE Sim L1/4

TE Sim L1/5

Imagine you are descending steadily from 3000feet along the approach path with intention to land.

Suddenly the aircraft you are flying went out of control.

It starts to make a gradual left bank. 10degrees, 20degrees, 30degrees.

No matter how much rudder input you give, the aircraft keeps rolling to the left. Rudder trim is put to fully right.

You notice altimeter reading is dropping like mad. Rate of descent 800feet per minute and still increasing.

Realising that rudders have become useless, you slam the control stick to the right, trying to keep the aircraft in control. Almost 30degrees of bank angle.

Both engines are not giving maximum power.

You reduce power on the right engine to 20percent while keeping the left one at 70percent.

Altimeter reading 2000feet. You look around for places to make a forced landing. But it seems  a populated area is below you. No clearings, no forests, no rivers, no sea. 

Only the runway ahead is available.

There is no other choice left. It's either you make it to the runway, or you die, together with people who are unlucky enough to be in your way.

Left engine power cut further and you bank more to the right. Aircraft descends further.

1000feet. Landing gears down. Flaps to Approach position. Then to Landing position. Runway is just ahead. 

500feet

300feet

200feet

And you try to flare using wings level. But the moment you release the pressure on control stick, aircraft starts moving to the left.

Using your 1,000,000,000 hours of experience, you decide to use your modified Wing Low method (without the aircraft nose aligns with runway centreline).

Land on the right main wheel, you release the control pressure slowly together with left engine power.

The moment aircraft nose aligns with runway centreline you let the left main wheel touchdown.

And finally the nose wheel.

You think you made a perfect landing already. However right after touchdown, aircraft turns left and heads towards a building. 

You tried to stop the damned aircraft but to no avail. There is only word in your mind now.

"Wtf!"

You crash into the building.

The end.

That is what happened to me yesterday in simulator.

Ok, the last 4 lines are exaggerating.  I made it up. For fun. -_-"

Right after landing I engaged on the parking brake and the screen paused.

The simulator got some problems, you see. Rudders especially were unserviceable.

So while waiting for technician to come and repair it, my instructor and I took turns to fly it. ;p

Quite fun seriously. It's not like you can get this kinda situation often in the actual flying!

Performance in simulator is better than yesterday. At least the departure and take-off briefs are more fluent.

Autopilot makes life so much easier. To climb/descent/turning, we just need to turn the knobs and the machine does everything for us.

Mental calculation is lesser today but not for tomorrow.

Such calculations involve sin and cos angle to correct for wind and drift effect.

Then we have the descend/climb and turning calculations.

Eg:
A rate one turn--->> 180degrees/minute = 45degrees/15second.

Rate of climb/descend--->> 500 feet per minute = 125feet/15seconds.

Every 15seconds, we have to call out the heading and altitude, at the same time we have to monitor the speeds, descent/climb rate, calculating the next heading&altitude for the next 15seconds.

Sounds alot of work to you?

Autopilot can reduce the workload but we cannot fly on that all the time. At least not for now.

I will try to memorize the figures for the next training.

Twin Engine Simulator or TE Sim in short.

First, checklist! Pre-flight check is a must. Obviously there is no external checks. So we started from internal checks.

Kinda slow in the checks cuz I needed some time to familiar myself with the hell alot of buttons, knobs and switches inside.

Next, the FMS setup. *Click Click Click* *Twist Twist Twist*

Needless to say, I was slow in that too. The instructor guided me step by step while explaining to me where is where and what is what. ;p

Fyi, the image projected in front covers the peripheral vision. It's not like playing videogame on TV because what we see only a small part at the center of vision.

We have 'other static' objects around the TV (and those fall within our vision) to tell our eyes that only the objects in the screen are moving (not you!).

So in simulator, our eyes are telling us one thing but the body feels another. At one point, I needed to perform a medium turn to the right.

Control stick and right rudder were applied simultaneously (Method: Bank, Balance, Back pressure).

I saw the screen outside and knew that I was climbing but my body registered zero G force. And hence resulted in disorientation. Haha.

Well I accidentally found out 2 ways to counter it though. One: Look at the instruments ONLY.

Two: Hmmm, a trick, I'd say. But to all the cadets who are going to fly sim one day, you will find out this method yourself. ;p