Fist on the glareshield?
 

Heard a United Captain refer to "the old fist on the glareshield trick" while I was jumpseating home a few weeks ago. I believe he was referring to best glide speed or something. I was beyond tired, and was too embarrassed and exhausted to query him. Any military guys care to enlighten me?

Oh and I googled a few iterations of the phrase and couldn't find any useful info...

Thanks!

EM

Fist on the glareshield?
 

Perhaps he was talking about when you're established on final and on speed and configured, your aim point should be about a fist's length above the glare shield.

If you have more than a fist, then you're aim point is too low and and vice versa.

That's right. Just an aimpoint rule of thumb.

That was the trick I was told and taught myself for inital take off attitude. Also looked pretty good for a landing atittude as well (at touchdown). Depending in the aircraft type, seat position etc. kind of like "look at the end of the runway".

An extended fist is about 10 degrees of arc.

Thanks gentlemen!

Sorta depends on seat position, no??

If you position your seat (in level flight / pattern speed) so that the horizon is "about a fist" above the glareshield, then that same point will approximate your aimpoint on final, and once again on the horizon in the landing attitude. I'm sure aircraft type/speed/planetary alignment all play into it, but that's the rule of thumb I'm familiar with--and step one is having the seat positioned to match your "fist"....

If your seat is positioned where it *should* be, the fist seems to work as an indicator of level flight path...ie, will I clear the top of that little buildup? That's what I use it for.

I was taught (and later taught) that was a good reference to adjust seat height in the chocks. All the other references in flight were predicated on the same starting point at the beginning. Kind of a zero-pitch reference.

The way it was taught to me was when adjusting your seat during preflight, if you put the fist on the glare shield and the top is on the horizon, you're the right height.