Help! Aviation Weather, Radio Work, Ground Speed Checks/etas

[slyjive]

Hey everybody, I'm a 25 hour pilot looking for help with a couple things:

 

Radio work:

I am finding it difficult to visualize where all the traffic is when I am getting advisories from the tower. It is starting to worry me. I don't know if there are any tip or tricks that anybody has to help me out with it. I feel that it would be very unsafe doing solo nav trips without being really confident knowing what the traffic is and where it is in relation to me. I'll be starting NAV trips as soon as I get off Christmas break, so I want to prepare myself as much as possible.

 

Aviation weather:

Does anybody know of a good book for learning aviation weather? I have Air Command Weather Manual, but it's really hard to follow, plus it's around 40 years old. I would like something in more readable language that covers all the topics required for the TC exam. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Ground speed checks:

Frustrated am I trying to get good at ground speed checks in my head. I am wondering if there are any ways that anybody could suggest for me to study during the holidays to get better at them. As everybody probably knows: I need to start a timer at a mark on my map and stop it at another mark so I know the distance, then take that time and figure out my ground speed/ETA. If anybody has any help, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

So that's all. I am just looking for little tips and tricks that people have found helpful in their training. Thanks very much!

[RTR]

Get yourself a copy of "From the ground up".

 

It's one of the bibles for student pilots. All of what you are asking should also be covered in the ground school portion of your course.

 

Also, get yourself a copy of A.I.M. It is also available on-line at www.tc.gc.ca

 

cheers,

RTR

[Cole]

Well my first thought is whether or not youve raised these issues with your FTU? Ive read FGU, Culhane, The air command w/x manual, and countless orhter books and the air command is the best as far as the weather is concerned.

 

I believe, and have been told that, one of the most important aspects of this job is being able to give a fairly accurate analysis and prediction of local weather.

 

Theres a couple of programs available to help you learn radio procedures but again this is one thing I would talk to your instructors about.

 

Ground speed checks can be done a variety of ways and if you take a look at FGU youll find out a few of those... again something I would talk to your school about.

 

Good Luck!

[Skids Up]

Cole,

 

Good points. At 25 hours the forum is a pretty poor place to be looking for answers. Kind of makes you wonder what is being taught, or is it a "self study" program?

 

That would be sadder....

[Cole]

Mind PM'ing me the school youre going to, I have a hunch...

 

I'm glad all of my groundschool was done befor we turned a blade at this point.

 

Keep in mind youre paying upwards of 400 an hour to learn. That person on the other side of the helicopter isnt just there for looks haha.

 

Merry Christmas!

Cole

[Ryan]

Radio work:

Don't worry, no one sees everything in the sky. If you were a danger your instructor hopefully wouldn't let you solo any time soon. Seeing traffic isn't an exact science. Some days you see them all, some days you can't spot anything other than birds. Just don't scan the sky with fast eye movements. Scan sectors by focusing on a distant object for a few seconds and letting your peripheral vison catch any movement out there.

 

Weather:

FTGU has everything you really need. Even still I dust mine off and read thru it.

 

Ground speed:

Practice practice practice. Our class would spend weather days in the class room doing speed check math in our heads all **** day.

"You go 5 miles in 4 minutes, what is your ground speed?"

"You go 6 miles in 3 minutes, what is your ground speed?"

"You go 12 miles in 10 minutes, what is your ground speed?"

-then elaborate

"You go 6 miles in 4 minutes. Your R22 burns about 8 gal/hour with . At this rate can you divert to a hillside 60 nm away with your remaining 10 gals? Are you legal?"

 

You'll need to be able to answer that last one in about 10 seconds on your flight test, cause you'll get a diversion like it. Cut 5nm marks in your pencils for easy reference on the charts.

[slyjive]

Thanks for the help... It's nice to know that not everybody is perfect with catching the traffic. I do feel like I need to be better, but I hopefully that will come with more time in the cockpit. I am thinking about spending more time by the radio indoors and just practicing as often as I can.

 

For the weather thing, I actually have a copy of from the ground up, so I will check out the weather section over the next couple of days. Hopefully it explains the coriolis force better than "the coriolis is a complicated force", like the Air Command book says. I really need to understand things fully instead of remembering what the effect is and what it does. Things stick in my head if I know why.

 

OK, so, ground speed checks.. The problem I have is I don't know how to figure out the ground speed checks quickly in my head. I could easily get it on a calculator, but is there a trick to finding out, say 5 miles in 4 minutes... or is it just memory? Some people in my class have had no trouble, some are frustrated like me. Math was never a strong subject for me, so this isn't coming naturally. Any suggestions?

[dimit]

Hey slyjive,

 

Corliois is the interaction of inertia, flow and rotation. When you flush the toilet the water has inertia, is flowing from high pressure towards lower pressure, and the earth is rotating and starts spinning the flowing water. The result is the water funnel you see reaching down the toilet's throat . In the atmosphere air has inertia, is flowing from areas of high pressure towards areas of low pressure, and the earth is rotating and starts spinning the flowing air. When viewed from above the funnel spins clockwise around areas of high pressure and counter-clockwise around areas of low pressure.

 

Groundspeed math. 5 miles in 4 minutes: 4 minutes goes into 60 (minutes/hr) 15 times(/hr). 15 times(/hr) x 5 miles is 75 mph. If you don't know yer 15 times table, break the 15 down into 10 + 5: (10 + 5) x 5 = (10 x 5) + (5 x 5) = 50 + 25 = 75.

 

12 miles in 10 minutes: 10 minutes goes into 60 minutes(/hr) 6 times(/hr), 6 times(/hr)x 12 miles is 72mph. Don't know yer 12 times table, break 12 down into 10 + 2: (10 + 2) x 6 = (10 x 6) + (2 x 6) = 60 + 12 = 72.

 

If yer all over this math I apologize for stating what may be obvious; if not I hope it helps.

 

More to the point, your instructor is the one to be helping you with all this stuff. That's what yer payin'im fer! Go git 'em!!

 

Season's greetings, best of luck, and look forward to seein' ya out in the field when yer done yer trainin'!

 

DM

[slyjive]

Hey slyjive,

 

Corliois is the interaction of inertia, flow and rotation. When you flush the toilet the water has inertia, is flowing from high pressure towards lower pressure, and the earth is rotating and starts spinning the flowing water. The result is the water funnel you see reaching down the toilet's throat . In the atmosphere air has inertia, is flowing from areas of high pressure towards areas of low pressure, and the earth is rotating and starts spinning the flowing air. When viewed from above the funnel spins clockwise around areas of high pressure and counter-clockwise around areas of low pressure.

 

Groundspeed math. 5 miles in 4 minutes: 4 minutes goes into 60 (minutes/hr) 15 times(/hr). 15 times(/hr) x 5 miles is 75 mph. If you don't know yer 15 times table, break the 15 down into 10 + 5: (10 + 5) x 5 = (10 x 5) + (5 x 5) = 50 + 25 = 75.

 

12 miles in 10 minutes: 10 minutes goes into 60 minutes(/hr) 6 times(/hr), 6 times(/hr)x 12 miles is 72mph. Don't know yer 12 times table, break 12 down into 10 + 2: (10 + 2) x 6 = (10 x 6) + (2 x 6) = 60 + 12 = 72.

 

If yer all over this math I apologize for stating what may be obvious; if not I hope it helps.

 

More to the point, your instructor is the one to be helping you with all this stuff. That's what yer payin'im fer! Go git 'em!!

 

Season's greetings, best of luck, and look forward to seein' ya out in the field when yer done yer trainin'!

 

DM

 

Thanks, that math was exactly what I was looking for! We've only spent a little bit of time going over the ground speed checks in class. I was lost listening to my instructor as he went through it quickly the first time... Be it his teaching skills or my listening skills. Now at least I can practice while on holidays.

 

Anyway, I agree with everybody that there are some gaps in what I am being taught. That's about all I want to say.

[worldywings]

Hey everybody, I'm a 25 hour pilot looking for help with a couple things:

 

Radio work:

I am finding it difficult to visualize where all the traffic is when I am getting advisories from the tower. It is starting to worry me. I don't know if there are any tip or tricks that anybody has to help me out with it. I feel that it would be very unsafe doing solo nav trips without being really confident knowing what the traffic is and where it is in relation to me. I'll be starting NAV trips as soon as I get off Christmas break, so I want to prepare myself as much as possible.

 

Aviation weather:

Does anybody know of a good book for learning aviation weather? I have Air Command Weather Manual, but it's really hard to follow, plus it's around 40 years old. I would like something in more readable language that covers all the topics required for the TC exam. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Ground speed checks:

Frustrated am I trying to get good at ground speed checks in my head. I am wondering if there are any ways that anybody could suggest for me to study during the holidays to get better at them. As everybody probably knows: I need to start a timer at a mark on my map and stop it at another mark so I know the distance, then take that time and figure out my ground speed/ETA. If anybody has any help, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

So that's all. I am just looking for little tips and tricks that people have found helpful in their training. Thanks very much!

 

Hi There

 

 

I think you are at that point everyone hits when you are having lots thrown at you and you start to feel you are not keeping up. Just relax and concentrate on flying!

 

Radio work: Unless you have some sort of background in radio communications IE the military, this will take time. I think most people get confused because they worry what others will think. DON'T worry! I have seen guys who could fly the stink out of any machine and do work I have never tried but if you asked them to fly into a large airport like Pearson or Vancouver they would lose it. Just remember, if you didn't understand its "say again" and if you don't see the traffic, simply say so and they will help you along!

 

Weather: Read, read read. I didn't use the air command manual as I found it difficult to follow. FGU and culhane seem to work fine.

 

Navigation: This one just takes practice and you have lots of time yet for that.

 

 

Try to enjoy yourself. The hard part starts after you get that commercial license.

 

 

Happy New Year!