Right hand circuit with high wing plane

[danny_galaga]

 

I don't like it! 

[facthunter]

I guess because you can't see as well.? That's only in turns and when  side by side. SO be extra careful.   Nev

[facthunter]

The view outside a lot of Civil Airliners is not that good either. Landing anything into the sun  is difficult also.  Nev

[danny_galaga]

I mention it because I haven't flown for about seven months. But now the flying school I used to go to has been wound up. So Im trying to get back into it at an unfamiliar airfield with an unfamiliar airplane and instructor, with only right hand circuits.

 

I actually felt more rusty this time around than when I went over ten years without flying. 

[Red]

Danny, what's the legal requirements to keep your rating over there (here its a biennial hour with an instructor and 12 hours PIC in the previous 24 months which is a ridiculously low hours requirement imo)

7 months is enough to get Rusty for sure.

I suppose you can look at it as having a slightly harder regime of RH Circuits in a high wing from the left seat will keep you on your toes regarding lookout but does of course mean a slightly tougher workload for you as you slide back into things.

Best of luck.

[facthunter]

Don't be over stressed by it. You must have done  quite a few right hand turns.. Get the instructor to  give you a circuit and area familiarisation flight. You don't forget how to ride a bicycle. Some anxiety is natural . Nev

[Methusala]

No law saying that you MUST occupy the l/h seat far as I'm aware.

[Deano747]

 

9 minutes ago, Methusala said:

No law saying that you MUST occupy the l/h seat far as I'm aware.

Only if it's required in the POH.

Most light airplanes don't specify ..........

[Red]

Yea Knowing some visual landmarks to know when to come out of the turn is Handy as the compass will miss read whilst still in the turn.

(I'm probably falling into the trap of appearing to teach granma how to suck eggs at this point...sorry Danny)

 

[danny_galaga]

31 minutes ago, Red said:

Yea Knowing some visual landmarks to know when to come out of the turn is Handy as the compass will miss read whilst still in the turn.

(I'm probably falling into the trap of appearing to teach granma how to suck eggs at this point...sorry Danny)

 

No it's a good point. At my regular airfield I know the landmarks of course. This one I don't and I was thinking next time I'll watch the compass but as you say I'm really not going to get good info from it .

Also, not sure why but there's a recent noise abatement on that side (Caboolture). My only experience of right hand circuits was at Delissaville, NT. The reason FOR the right hand circuits was for a noise abatement. So the Caboolture situation seems odd to me, unless there is also a noise abatement on the left hand circuit side. Point being that it's a freaking tight circuit. 

Edited July 30 by danny_galaga

[Bosi72]

Try google earth, flight sim, anything that can help you.

If using 29 in ycab, on downwind confirm your heading is 110, look for parallel runway and be patient.

 

[facthunter]

Depends on what can be reached from the RHSeat and the instrumentation Layout. A multicrew panel is usually a near duplicate. The PIC normally occupies the LH seat in aircraft except Heli's Stick to what the POH says and you can't be wrong. Nev.

[pmccarthy]

The usual constraint is access to the fuel selector. eg the PA-28

[danny_galaga]

Yeah, I'm flying a savannah. Fuel switch AND flaps can't be reached from right seat. Besides if I was the instructor, I don't think I'd let the student sit on the right just because he finds it difficult. 

 

I just hope I improve soon. This is giving me a serious case of 'imposter syndrome '. 

[IBob]

Stick with it Danny:
Our local field has town on one side, circuits for the main strip are always away from town, so LH or or RH depending on wind direction. I trained here, this is just how it is and I never really developed any preference. So I suspect a good part of it is what you are habituated to.
I fly a Savannah too, and a nice thing about the XL or S is that you can dip the starboard wing and have a look through the roof before committing to a starboard turn.

[Neil_S]

Hi Danny,

 

I also fly a Savannah and my local airfield has all circuits to the west, so depending on the wind direction I may fly either a left or right hand circuit. So, as IBob says, just stick with it and you will not be fussed by right hand circuits. Personally I find it an advantage as it means I am happy with either, so landing at a different airfield with a RH circuit is no drama. In fact I have found many airfields in Victoria seem to have RH circuits either for noise abatement or terrain avoidance, so it's definitely an advantage to have such experience.

 

Cheers,

Neil

[facthunter]

You have to be able to adapt to changed circumstances in flying though repetition is comfortable and we try to simplify. Resist dropping into a groove.  Just doing a circuit now and again at your aerodrome is not enough. You need to move out of your comfort zone to stay alert. Nev

[skippydiesel]

I am not sure I understand the concern regarding high wing aircraft, loss of visibility, in turns.

 

I trained in Cessna high wing aircraft, now fly mainly low wing. Seems to me, no matter the configuration of the aircraft, there is an inherent visual block in both high & low wing. The block becomes apparent when circumstances suggest that being able to see through the wing, may help with separation/seeing a landmark, etc.

In short both configurations have their visual problems, it's the PIC's. job to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of the aircraft he/she is flying, not whinge about something beyond his/her control😈

Edited August 1 by skippydiesel

[Red]

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

You have to be able to adapt to changed circumstances in flying though repetition is comfortable and we try to simplify. Resist dropping into a groove.  Just doing a circuit now and again at your aerodrome is not enough. You need to move out of your comfort zone to stay alert. Nev

Interesting point, perhaps one of the few beneficial aspects of living in a small country is that I have dozens of airstrips within comfortable range, all quite different with circuits in different directions, differing elevations,  differing surfaces, differing noise abatements, levels of control/uncontrolled and joining procedures.

With the huge distances involved in Australia I imagine it's quite a different reality for recreational pilots

[facthunter]

Most sheep (WHOOL) farmers had their own strips in the 50-60's. .It's a bit of a liability to have your own strip and getting landing fees from users is like getting blood out of a stone.  Nev

[danny_galaga]

8 hours ago, skippydiesel said:

I am not sure I understand the concern regarding high wing aircraft, loss of visibility, in turns.

 

I trained in Cessna high wing aircraft, now fly mainly low wing. Seems to me, no matter the configuration of the aircraft, there is an inherent visual block in both high & low wing. The block becomes apparent when circumstances suggest that being able to see through the wing, may help with separation/seeing a landmark, etc.

In short both configurations have their visual problems, it's the PIC's. job to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of the aircraft he/she is flying, not whinge about something beyond his/her control😈

Yeah, I'm having a bitch because it's everything all at once for me. If I'd have kept current and flown in the tecnam golf that I was used to it would be a fairly trivial matter to do a right hand circuit , even a squeezy one like Caboolture. Just finding it a bit overwhelming. Combined with my plane just about ready to be certified it's actually depressing me a bit.

Edited August 1 by danny_galaga

[facthunter]

Hang in there. Give it time.  Nev

[sfGnome]

13 hours ago, danny_galaga said:

Yeah, I'm having a bitch because it's everything all at once for me. If I'd have kept current and flown in the tecnam golf that I was used to it would be a fairly trivial matter to do a right hand circuit , even a squeezy one like Caboolture. Just finding it a bit overwhelming. Combined with my plane just about ready to be certified it's actually depressing me a bit.

I feel your pain. Coming back to flying in a different plane with a different instructor at a different airfield was quite overwhelming and it took me some time to feel comfortable again. Actually, I still don’t feel comfortable, but it’s getting better. When you’ve got your own plane flying, you’ll be able to fly so much more often that the comfort will return. 

[Moneybox]

I’ve been training at Jandakot and we often switch left to right depending on what the helicopters are doing. We swap to clear of their training area. Then we swap depending on the wind we could fly from 06/24 or 12/30 in either direction. That’s a lot of options and you don’t know the runway or circuit direction until you call ATIS prior to your flight.

 

I think it would be irresponsible of a trainer to train a pilot on one airstrip if other options are available. On one very busy day early in my training we were amongst eight aircraft doing circuits. My instructor said “How about we head for Rottnest?” so we did. We had the Rottnest Island airstrip all to ourselves. 
 

Then there’s the aircraft. How can we be a fully trained pilot if all we’ve flown is the one model of aircraft? I had to swap from the Evector Harmony to the Bristell while the Harmony had a new engine installed and I didn’t like it however it was perhaps good value to have to adjust to different controls. 

[spacesailor]

I agree, 

I have only flown A22 foxbat .  ( not counting trial flights )

But my problem was .

They're  all different to the Hummel bird I want too fly .

Joy-stick between legs , & no flaps or toe-breaks .

So will never learn to fly a Hummel bird . Untill I slide into that small cockpit and 

Do it myself .

spacesailor