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To all pilots: Flying the glide slope

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View Poll Results: How do you maintain a glideslope
I use changes in power to maintain glideslope
38
33.04%
I use changes in pitch to maintain glideslope
77
66.96%
Voters: 115. You may not vote on this poll

To all pilots: Flying the glide slope

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Old 02-03-2010, 05:54 AM
  #51  
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Originally Posted by DBSociety View Post
+1
If I may make one minor correction....SMALL corrections on both!

Ive seen students nail the GS and LOC all the way down then @1/4 mile decide they need a 30deg heading change to snag a needle thats a whisker off. If I could rig up some sort of battery to induce a shock when they stray outside of the "funnel" I'd be a happy if not sadistic guy.
Below 500 feet you have to double your attention span and one-half your corrections; i.e., catch them early and make the corrections small.
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Old 02-03-2010, 06:06 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by Photon View Post
I was having a discussion the other day with another pilot friend of mine, and also some other flight instructors.

Seems to be a divided community as to the two major ways of flying the glide slope.

What do you guys do, and what kind of airplane do you do this with?

- Use power to maintain the glideslope

- Use pitch to maintain the glideslope
?

Discuss!
OK, One should have calculated a set number (airspeed) for the approach. A fixed pitch (Angle of Attack) will maintain that constant airpseed. You now have three options with power. 1. Add enough power to stay level, 2. Increase power and climb. 3. Decrease power and descend.

The Navy lands on ships this way. It is a proven aerdynamic fact regarding equilibrium.
One can maintain a perfect pitch and only adjust power to shoot the 'ILS'.

Reality 1: Gusty conditions (really anything not perfectly calm) and the pitch is disturbed. If in trim, and not excessive, power alone will correct the change in VSI since the aircraft aerodynamically seeks the trimmed pitch attitude (airspeed). Moving pitch actually complicates the solution.

Reality 2: Shooting a civilian ILS is typically a rapid airpseed deceleration to configuration change all while approaching the OM. This does not always lend itself to being fully trimmed when the GS is intercepted. This means that one is still adjusting pitch to decelerate and maintain attitide for the calculated approach speed. This by necessity requires a pitch change for airspeed, all the while adjusting power changes to compensate for the changes in the descent rate. Thus, many respond that it is both. Which is correct because that is aerodynamically required. However, given the chance to shoot a leisurely ILS fulled trimmed, on a calm day, would only use power to fly the GS as a perfectly trimmed aircraft on speed would not require any pitch changes. If you did, would need to adjust power,and you are working harder than necessary.

Really, an ambiguous question since the initial conditions are presumed by each one responding, and not a set standard.
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