Thread: New Member - Hi

Just joining your forum. My friend is attending LSA A&P 3 week training in Oshgosh and said that one of the instructors said that this forum is a good site. Since I'm now training to get my LS pilot certificate in a CTSW, this looked like a good place to hang out!

I am flying out of Hillsdale airport (KJYM) in Hillsdale, Michigan. I must drive 1.5 hours to fly at KJYM but this is the only airport that offers LS aircraft in lower Michigan. I just solo'd last week and am enjoying flying the CT. Looking for some tips on landing in X-wind and it appears that there's good info on this. Now that I've gotten some hours in the CT and reading all I can about it, I am finding that this is not the easiest plane to learn to fly in but I think that once I get the CT figured out, I'll be well prepared to fly most other LSA's! High trees at each end of the runway + X-wind at KJYM = VERY busy feet and hands!!

Dick

Dick,

you can change from busy feet and hands to quiet feet and hands. it is a matter of perception and knowing what to anticipate so it takes some experience.

busy feet and hands in the ct, imho means that you are testing, does my sight picture improve with more left rudder? more right? more left stick? more right? more back pressure? more forward?

i went through that phase in the ct and then i realized that all the movement was unnecessary, mostly a matter of smaller corrections to avoid over correcting.

a x-wind tip is to focus on the sight picture. once you understand that you control drift off of the center line with aileron and you control your heading with the rudder you can focus on keeping the sight picture correct. if you have a crosswind from the right you need a certain amount of right stick to counter drift but you might need left stick as well to counter sheer or too much right stick. in the end if you keep the sight picture perfect cross wind landings in the ct are easy up to a point. gusty x-winds are more difficult and many add 1/2 the gust factor to their approach speeds to add to safety margin. less flaps and more speed on approach make the x-wind landing easier but you still have to maintain directional control and deal with the conditions as you slow down on roll out.

the best tip is to step up to higher and gustier crosswinds a little at a time and don't stop controlling because you are on the ground.

CT, thanks for the reply and Hi from Michigan. As I read your note, I could feel myself on short final. You are correct, as I get more hours flying in windy conditions, I find myself making less large corrections. The stick and rudder require very little movement, sometimes just a pressure. In the beginning, my main problems were over correcting and not anticipating. As you point out, I'm in the "experimentation" stage and I'm trying to remember what works and what doesn't. Thanks for the good advice. I hope to get more of this from the forum.

Dick

Originally Posted by runtoeat

Now that I've gotten some hours in the CT and reading all I can about it, I am finding that this is not the easiest plane to learn to fly in but I think that once I get the CT figured out, I'll be well prepared to fly most other LSA's! High trees at each end of the runway + X-wind at KJYM = VERY busy feet and hands!!

Dick

If you really want to see what smooth, measured control inputs will do for you, fly a glider on aerotow. You can't make it go in a perfectly straight line, but you can make corrections that makes it stay nicely in formation with the towplane. Too much input or overly rapid corrections wind up in a glider that's all over the place. When I started flying with the stick between the thumb and index finger, my tow position got better.

Smoothness is hard with the CT, but work on not over reacting to each movement and the airplane will reward you.

Doug

Doug, thanks for your input. I've been up in gliders but haven't flown one so I can't relate to your thoughts on controlling a glider. Your thoughts on giving the CT's controls "judicious" input are well taken. I'm flying an older 2005 CTSW so this has shorter coupling and is a little more "twitchy" than the newer 2007 CTSW. My friend will soon take dellivery of a CTLS and I'm looking forward to flying this. I understand that the CTLS is a "kinder and gentler" aircraft.

Dick

Good news for one our CTflyer members. Mr. Dick "Run to Eat" Harrison just passed his Sport Pilot Checkride in N109CT (the first SLSA CT in the US!). He's been a great customer, student and friend to all of us at Hillsdale Aero, Inc. Congrats Dick!!!

Thanks for the support James! You, Holly, Ginger (especially Ginger!) and Gene have been my extended family for the past few months! If there's someone in Southern Michigan looking for a place to rent, train in or buy a Flight Design aircraft, Hillsdale Aero is the place to go.

Dick

Greetings.
I received my ticket last year in a '06 ctsw. The first 20hrs was in a J-3...great experience. The step to the ct was amazingly uneventful, though I must give most of the credit to my instructor.

I have been getting hrs in a Cessna 150 club I joined. Getting the most out of a $ right now to get hrs needed to afford insurace to be an outright owner of a plane.

I am still considering a ct purchase. I haven't yet flown the new ctls. The usefull load is about 120# less than the ctsw. Usefull load is important to me, and a smoother ride is important to my better half.

Has anyone out there flow both to compare?
Thanks,
Asmuth

Azmuth, maybe you should talk to your instructor.

Originally Posted by azmuth

Greetings.
I received my ticket last year in a '06 ctsw. The first 20hrs was in a J-3...great experience. The step to the ct was amazingly uneventful, though I must give most of the credit to my instructor.

I have been getting hrs in a Cessna 150 club I joined. Getting the most out of a $ right now to get hrs needed to afford insurace to be an outright owner of a plane.

I am still considering a ct purchase. I haven't yet flown the new ctls. The usefull load is about 120# less than the ctsw. Usefull load is important to me, and a smoother ride is important to my better half.

Has anyone out there flow both to compare?
Thanks,
Asmuth

Greetings Azmuth,

BE CAREFULL
Your instructor is a salesman like me

Just kidding around

JS