# The Killing Zone  ## Metadata - Author: [[Paul A. Craig]] - Full Title: The Killing Zone - Category: #aviation-safety ## Highlights - In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “safe is not equivalent to risk-free.” ([Location 90](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=90)) - For every fatal aircraft accident, hundreds of thousands of safe flight hours are flown. Accidents therefore are outliers. ([Location 104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=104)) - it became clear that the greatest number of accidents took place when a private or student pilot had between 50 and 350 total flight hours—that span the Killing Zone. ([Location 119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=119)) - The NTSB is not a part of the FAA, or vice versa. This separate arrangement is on purpose so as to prevent any possible conflicts of interest. If an investigation turned up the need for a regulation change, it could be argued that the FAA might not pursue that recommendation vigorously because it could lead to shared blame on the FAA’s part. The FAA investigating itself is probably not a good idea—but in practice it happens all the time. The NTSB only has about 800 investigators in total, and that is for all transportation forms, including highways, waterways, and pipelines. ([Location 162](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=162)) - General aviation training airplanes simply were not being built after the 1970s because of the threat of lawsuits against the manufacturers. Tort reforms in the 1990s removed many of those barriers, and legacy aircraft manufacturers began producing again. ([Location 389](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=389)) - The laser ring gyro was separated from the navigation function, and the attitude heading reference system (AHRS) was born. The AHRS only attempts to estimate the aircraft’s attitude: roll, yaw, and pitch. AHRS does not estimate velocity, position, and altitude, as would be the case with the INS. The cost of the laser ring gyro dropped, and together with computergenerated images, the AHRS made a primary flight display (PFD) possible for civilian pilot use in training. The age of round “steam gauges” was done. The age of the glass cockpit had begun. ([Location 402](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=402)) - Before 2000, humankind actually had a more accurate map of the surface of Venus than of the surface of Earth. The unmanned Magellan spacecraft was launched in 1989 and entered orbit around Venus a year later. Venus is shrouded in clouds, so the surface of Venus had never been seen before. To peer through the clouds, Magellan spent the next four years aiming a downward-facing radar toward the surface and bouncing back images of the terrain below. Radio contact with Magellan was lost in October of 1994, but not before it sent back detailed maps of 98% of Venus. ([Location 418](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=418)) - By 2002, all the components converged: AHRS could give us an affordable computer screen-sized image of an airplane’s attitude, GPS could tell us exactly where we were located over the Earth, and SRTM gave us the view of what we were flying over. ([Location 426](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=426)) - Pilots before 2002 never had enough information and always needed more. Pilots after 2002 have more than is needed and must determine what to keep and what to throw out. We went from famine to feast overnight. ([Location 447](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=447)) - The principle of intensity (from the FAA’s Aviation Instructor’s Handbook) implies that a student will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute. Students understand when they are training for the real world rather than “checking an arbitrary training box.” Students completed in less time, costing less money, and they liked doing it. ([Location 568](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=568)) - The average was just about 12, just as before. Of course, there are many factors involved with the performance of a person in flight training, and we didn’t claim to have all those factors accounted for, but the evidence does support the idea that the way you teach makes a difference. I concluded that you don’t have to have a technically advanced airplane to make improvements using scenario-based training. ([Location 581](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=581)) - The number of flight hours that a pilot has is still important, but it is what you do during those flight hours that increases the margin of safety. ([Location 591](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=591)) - This is why the Airline Safety Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-216) is a bad law. The law ignores the fact that quality flight training is better than quantity alone. The law was a direct reaction to the February 2009 Colgan Airlines accident in Buffalo, New York. Congress held hearings and passed legislation, signed into law on August 1, 2010 by President Obama, that was aimed at improving airline safety. ([Location 592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=592)) - If pilots are required to acquire 1500 flight hours before they can move into this career field, then two things will happen. First, pilots will go back to “boring holes in the sky.” This is the phrase used for building flight time in the fastest and cheapest way possible. This means flying the most inexpensive (read slowest and least well equipped) airplanes. The Colgan accident happened in an advanced turboprop aircraft that looks nothing like a “time builder” airplane. Second, if a pilot has to pay for this flight time on his or her own, then the temptation will be strong to cheat. There will be a few pilots interviewing for those first-officer positions with falsified records. The better way to acquire the 1500 hours would be to have an interim flying job that produces flight time without having to pay out of pocket for it and without cheating. But those jobs are few. ([Location 597](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=597)) - Simply stated: Quality is better than quantity. The Airline Safety Act of 2010 ignores this fact, and as a result, airline safety is compromised. ([Location 621](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=621)) - But the statistics show that there is a list of situations where accidents most likely occur. The list is • Continued VFR flight into IFR conditions • Maneuvering flight • Takeoff and climb • Approach and landing • Runway incursion • Midair collision • Fuel mismanagement or contamination • Pilot health and physiology • Night flying • Encounters with ice ([Location 660](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=660)) - Automation-related accidents are a new phenomenon in general aviation, and therefore, they may be underreported or classified in a different category. ([Location 677](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=677)) - FLYING INTO BAD WEATHER is the deadliest general aviation aircraft accident category. ([Location 711](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=711)) - Lethality is the number of accidents that take place in a category compared with the number of those accidents which involved at least one fatality. ([Location 714](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=714)) - the deadliest weather-related accident is when a pilot flies from visual meteorological conditions (VMC) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). ([Location 717](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=717)) - Continued visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument flight rules (IFR) condition accidents usually have three phases, and these three problems combined create the deadly situation. First the pilot flies into bad weather or deteriorating weather. Second, the pilots loses control of the airplane or descends too low in an attempt to fly under the clouds. Third, the airplane strikes an object or the ground at a high rate of speed. ([Location 719](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=719)) - Between 70% and 75% of all weather-related fatal accidents start when the pilot, “attempted VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).” The pilot voluntarily flew into the clouds or into an area of poor visibility. ([Location 727](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=727)) - Weather accidents have few survivors and therefore there is never much information about what exactly took place. ([Location 752](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=752)) - But when we travel into our adopted environment—the sky, our Earth-bound senses can trick us. We can easily experience spatial disorientation. This phenomenon has also been called “pilot’s vertigo” but vertigo is not an accurate term for this situation. Vertigo is a hallucination of movement. It is a sensation of rotation when there is truly no rotation. Spatial disorientation is different. When a pilot experiences this disorientation, is it because movement and rotation are present, but they are misinterpreted by the body. ([Location 838](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=838)) - Humans keep their balance and orientation with a combination of three sources of information. First, we use our eyes for balance. ([Location 841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=841)) - The second method that our bodies use for balance is called the proprioceptic sense. The tension on our muscles in our body assist in determining our position. ([Location 845](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=845)) - Finally, we determine balance and position with the vestibular apparatus, which is a fancy name for the inner ear. ([Location 849](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=849)) - The proprioceptic sense can’t tell the difference between gravity pushing down and centrifugal force pushing sideways so it becomes confused. ([Location 865](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=865)) - When an airplane turn is stopped, the fluid continues on and carries the sensory hairs along in the stream. This will send a strong signal of turning motion to the brain when in fact there is no motion. ([Location 886](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=886)) - The pilot must ignore what the body is saying and trust what the instruments are saying—but this is very hard to do. ([Location 901](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=901)) - You cannot “train-out” the body senses. ([Location 907](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=907)) - if you get queasy while flying in VFR conditions, look outside so that your eyes, body, and inner ear will all send the same signal to the brain and you will probably feel better. ([Location 924](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=924)) - You should make every human effort to avoid flying VFR into instrument meteorological conditions, but if it does happen you should start a 180-degree turn back to clear air. ([Location 993](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=993)) - At the first indication that a cloud has been entered or that visibility has been reduced below VFR minimums, glance at the heading and then start a shallow turn, either left or right. Do not exceed a bank angle of 15 degrees. You might be tempted to turn steeper in an attempt to get out of the cloud quicker, but a steeper bank will bring on additional load factor and altitude loss problems. While the shallow turn progresses, decide on a roll-out heading. This should be the opposite direction of the heading you glanced at before the turn started. Smoothly roll out on the opposite heading and be patient. You know that clear air was just behind you when you entered the cloud, so clear air will be in front of you after the 180-degree turn. At all times, keep a safe airspeed. ([Location 995](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=995)) - To maintain airplane control you must maintain airspeed. ([Location 1006](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1006)) - If the nose is high: You are under a stall-spin threat, so lower the nose first. If the wings are banked, level the wings after the nose is lowered. Once the stall threat has passed, add power to reduce altitude loss. If the nose is low: Bring the wings to level first, then raise the nose. Raising the nose first would only tighten the turn. Initially reduce power to prevent overspeed. Then add power to climb after the airplane is back under control. ([Location 1011](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1011)) - Probably the most challenging flight maneuver is a spin recovery while in the clouds. In a spin, the airplane is moving faster than your ability to comprehend. This is why pilots do not respond or do not respond correctly to a spin. ([Location 1018](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1018)) - Reduce power to idle. Hold opposite rudder to stop the spin. Give brisk forward elevator to break the stall. After airspeed is regained, raise the nose. ([Location 1036](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1036)) - But no matter your level of instrument experience, pilots must trust the instruments and be ready to troubleshoot them. ([Location 1062](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1062)) - The scan can not be standardized. A predetermined scan pattern will not be adequate in every situation. In a turn, the turn coordinator will require more attention than in straight-and-level flight. ([Location 1073](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1073)) - Primary flight displays (PFDs) have made detection of instrument failure easier to recognize, and this drastically improves our safety. ([Location 1079](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1079)) - 1. Identify which instrument is lying. 2. Ignore the instrument that has failed. 3. Start using a combination of functioning instruments to avoid disorientation. ([Location 1084](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1084)) - Electronic PFDs use a combination of laser ring gyro technology to provide the attitude information to the pilot. The application of laser ring gyros into general aviation has been a tremendous leap forward in safety because laser gyros have no moving parts. ([Location 1086](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1086)) - The most insidious instrument failure, and therefore the most deadly, is the vacuum-system failure. ([Location 1090](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1090)) - The vacuum pump is usually engine driven and therefore mounted to the engine itself with a gear through a shaft. ([Location 1092](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1092)) - The connection between the engine and the pump is a shaft that ironically is designed to fail! If there ever is a binding of the pump, the shaft will easily twist off saving the pump from further damage, but leaving the pilot with no gyro suction. If this happens the air flow will stop, but the gyro itself will not stop instantly. The gyro will spin down gradually, and as it does the rigidity of the gyro will be lost gradually. The attitude gyro and heading indicator will fail slowly, and this can trick and mislead the pilot. ([Location 1099](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1099)) - when the instructor covers the instruments you know to immediately look at other instruments; the detection of the failure is done for you. Also, this simulates an instantaneous failure rather than a slow failure. Flying without vacuum gyro instruments is one thing; detecting their failure as they die gradually is another. ([Location 1107](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1107)) - Ordinarily the turn coordinator is electric and does not need any vacuum air to operate. ([Location 1114](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1114)) - Fixation is a scan problem whereby the pilots fix their gaze on only one or two instruments. ([Location 1120](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1120)) - Fixation on the attitude gyro is common because it gives the most real picture of the horizon and bank angles, but the attitude gyro is the first to go in a vacuum failure. ([Location 1122](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1122)) - When you fly without vacuum instruments, you should make long, shallow, slow turns because you will only be left with the magnetic compass for direction information. ([Location 1126](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1126)) - The regulations call for you to advise ATC whenever a system failure occurs, such as a vacuum system, but there is not too much help they can give. ([Location 1127](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1127)) - If you ever have a vacuum system failure, remember a good scan leads to detection. Detection leads to solution. Advise ATC, but stay in command of your airplane. You want a long, easy, narrow intercept vector to the final of an instrument approach. Reject anything else. ([Location 1138](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1138)) - The gyro instruments form one major “family,” and the pitot-static instruments form the other. ([Location 1151](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1151)) - The airspeed indicator is the only instrument that uses both “ram” air from the pitot tube and “static” air from the static ports; the other two use static air only. Static pressure is the weight of the air pushing down on us by gravity. ([Location 1157](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1157)) - Instruments of the pitot-static family also can give incorrect or misleading information to the pilot. Pitot tubes and static ports can become clogged or blocked. ([Location 1166](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1166)) - If dirt and debris are detected in the pitot tube, do not try to clear the blockage by inserting anything into the tube. Doing so would just push dirt further into the tube. ([Location 1178](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1178)) - pitot tubes ram air entry has become blocked. In this situation the airspeed indicator will read zero—or whatever its lowest speed might be. ([Location 1183](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1183)) - Downstream of the pitot tube’s entry port is another hole—a drain hole. Normally the drain hole allows water that comes into the pitot tube to drain out. ([Location 1185](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1185)) - Air from the outside static port arrives at one side of the diaphragm and air from the drain hole arrives at the opposing side. Both have the same outside pressure so the diaphragm will not bulge in either direction. No bulge means no airspeed reading. ([Location 1194](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1194)) - If the blockage is due to ice accumulation, you should turn on the pitot heat if you have it. This should melt out the ice and ram air will soon inflate the airspeed indicator again. Of course if you have pitot ice, you may also have other problems, such as structural ice on the entire airplane. Get to warmer air immediately and leave the pitot heat on. ([Location 1197](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1197)) - situation where both the ram air and drain hole are blocked. When this happens the “airspeed indicator will act like an altimeter.” This means that if you climb, the airspeed indicator will show an increase in speed and if you descend it will show a reduction in speed. Higher altitude/higher numbers, and visa versa. Now this could slowly catch a pilot off guard because there will be no abrupt change in airspeed indication. ([Location 1203](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1203)) - If I see a climb on the VSI and a simultaneous increase of airspeed, I know something is not right. ([Location 1211](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1211)) - When it comes to flight instruments, we must “trust, but verify.” ([Location 1238](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1238)) - Both VSI and altimeter also have flexible diaphragms. They are actually aneroid barometers that are sensitive to pressure changes. ([Location 1247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1247)) - The VSIs diaphragm has a “calibrated leak,” which is a hole so that no pressure can be contained for very long. If pressure does change, in time the higher pressure will push through the hole and eventually equalize. ([Location 1248](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1248)) - With the static port blocked, there will be no pressure changes for the VSI and altimeter to detect. With no differences to measure, both instruments will “freeze.” The VSI will show no climb or descent regardless of an actual climb or descent. ([Location 1262](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1262)) - The alternate air opening is usually inside the cockpit if the airplane is not pressurized. If the airplane is pressurized, the opening could not be inside the cabin because then the altimeter would read whatever the cabin was pressurized to. In that case the alternate static air opening is inside a wheel well or someplace else that is less likely to obtain ice. ([Location 1270](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1270)) - Unpressurized airplanes are not airtight, so the slightly lower pressure just outside draws air out of the cabin, making the inside pressure slightly less than outside. Then when we use this slightly lower pressure air in the alternate static port, we are sending slightly lower air pressure into the pitot-static system. When the system senses slightly lower air pressure, the altimeter will read slightly higher, the airspeed will read slightly faster, and the VSI will show a momentary climb. ([Location 1276](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1276)) - Haze can reduce visibility and hide the horizon. It is especially dangerous because haze is not often reported and rarely will appear in a forecast. ([Location 1300](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1300)) - Remember, haze is a “concentration” of particles. The atmosphere must be stable and the winds light for a haze layer to form. ([Location 1305](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1305)) - Watch out for days and nights when the atmosphere is stable and winds light. How can you determine the stability of the air? One way is to ask the FSS weather briefer for the “lifted index.” ([Location 1308](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1308)) - The lifted index measures the atmospheric stability by comparing how quickly or slowly the air cools off with altitude. The standard cool-off rate for dry air is 3 degrees Celsius per 1000 feet. ([Location 1314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1314)) - When the lifted index is a positive number, this means that if the sea level air were lifted to 18,000 feet, it would be cooler than standard; it cooled off more than 54 degrees. This air, being cooler and therefore heavier, would sink. Sinking air is stable air. A negative lifted index number would mean that the lifted air would be warmer than standard. That air, being warm and therefore light, would rise like a hot-air balloon. Rising air is unstable and is one of the ingredients of a thunderstorm. ([Location 1316](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1316)) - If the lifted index is a positive number, then the threat of thunderstorms will be very low, but the possibility of haze will be very high. ([Location 1321](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1321)) - The H2O molecule is the only molecule that can be found in all three states (gas, liquid, solid) at normal temperatures found on Earth. ([Location 1328](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1328)) - Water vapor is always invisible. Steam is not water vapor because it is visible. Steam, clouds, fog, are all liquid, but in these cases the microscopic liquid H2O molecules are too light to fall and remain suspended in the air. But a cloud is liquid. ([Location 1330](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1330)) - The dewpoint is the temperature where clouds (liquid suspended in the air) form. ([Location 1348](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1348)) - Pilots can predict fog by looking at the difference between the actual temperature and the cooled temperature that the air would have to be to become saturated. This is the temperature/dewpoint spread. Fog can be expected anytime the spread is four degrees and less. ([Location 1349](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1349)) - Many of the VFR-into-IMC accident victims had continued their flight as the terrain came up and the clouds came down. ([Location 1360](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1360)) - Dry air cools off at a standard rate of 5.4 degrees F per 1000 feet. The dewpoint cools off at a standard rate of 1 degree F per 1000 feet, so the two converge at the standard rate of 4.4 degrees F (about 2.5 degrees C) per 1000 feet of altitude. ([Location 1365](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1365)) - In fact, approximately 70% of the fatal maneuvering accidents took place during flights that could be classified as a personal flight. ([Location 1501](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1501)) - You can see that when the lift vector is leaned over, we lose effective lift because the lift vector no longer directly opposes weight. So in a turn we lose lift. ([Location 1592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1592)) - Centrifugal force joins forces with gravity to form a resultant load. This is more commonly called the G force. ([Location 1595](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1595)) - It stalls faster than the indicator says it should; that’s why its called an accelerated stall. ([Location 1602](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1602)) - THE SAYING IS THAT “landings are mandatory; takeoffs are optional.” ([Location 1631](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1631)) - Takeoff and climb are the second highest accident cause, behind only approach and landing. ([Location 1645](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1645)) - The carburetor uses a heat transfer from the engine exhaust to provide carburetor heat (Chapter 12). The heat is used to melt ice from a carburetor should ice accumulate and threaten to choke off the airflow to the engine, which would stop the engine. The problem is that heated air is less dense and the result is less engine power. ([Location 1675](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1675)) - but hot weather can turn near sea-level airports into hazards. ([Location 1732](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1732)) - Overconfidence combined with a lack of experience is a deadly mix. ([Location 1747](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1747)) - Do not fly an airplane until you have looked over its takeoff performance charts. ([Location 1846](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1846)) - If you are ever pressured to go before you are ready by either another pilot, ATC, or even your own passengers, remember who is pilot in command. ([Location 1867](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1867)) - There are three problems with a premature liftoff. First the airplane stalls off the ground into ground effect but will not climb much higher. ([Location 1884](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1884)) - The second problem is that when the noise is pitched up, the airspeed will decrease. It is only an increase in airspeed that will remedy the situation, but that requires the nose to be down. ([Location 1889](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1889)) - A premature liftoff will increase the ground roll in an attempt to reduce the ground roll! If the pilot knows the takeoff distance ahead of time by referring to the airplane’s takeoff charts, then there will be less surprise on takeoff and less temptation to lift off early. ([Location 1894](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1894)) - So why do we teach short-field takeoffs to student pilots if we would discourage their use of the maneuver? It is the elements of the maneuver that are important. We teach student pilots to control airspeed accurately in a critical situation. ([Location 1906](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1906)) - As a part of “getting to know” an airplane, you should spend some time maneuvering during slow flight. This is when we learn what pitch angle will produce what airspeed. This knowledge of the airplane must be put to work just after breaking ground during the short-field takeoff. ([Location 1932](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1932)) - With the nose wheel in the air, there will be less drag from the wheels and less chance the nose wheel will hit something. An important part happens next. As the nose wheel rises into the air, the airplane continues to accelerate. ([Location 1945](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1945)) - Once in the ground effect, pilots must be patient. If they attempt a climb here, the airplane will mush and most likely recon-tact the surface. ([Location 1956](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1956)) - The use of flaps is a trade-off. Flaps will produce extra lift but also extra drag. ([Location 1962](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1962)) - A crosswind adds yet another pilot challenge. Premature liftoff and loss of directional control have been the cause of several crosswind accidents. ([Location 1966](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1966)) - Coming off a little faster helps in two ways. A slow liftoff in a crosswind can blow the airplane downwind and toward the runway edge like a leaf. And, with more speed, the airplane will jump into the air, yielding enough immediate altitude to begin a crab angle. ([Location 1979](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1979)) - One of the by-products of lift is wake turbulence. ([Location 1984](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1984)) - The greatest danger from wake turbulence/wingtip vortex is from large airplanes in slow flight. In slow flight, large airplanes must produce extra lift to make up for the slow speed by using flaps, leading-edge droops, and a range of other devices. ([Location 1994](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=1994)) - WHEN TAKEN TOGETHER, takeoffs and landings do not make up a large percentage of the total flight time, but combined they are the most accident prone of any other groups. ([Location 2013](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=2013)) - The physical act of landing may not be more hazardous than the act of takeoff, but it takes place when the pilot is the least rested and possibly the least alert. ([Location 2025](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=2025)) - Be ready for turbulence close to the ground on short final. If there is any wind, the air will be more choppy near the surface, where the airflow interacts with objects on the ground. Be especially wary of a crosswind flowing through a row of trees that line the edge of a runway. The air will come spilling out of those trees and jolt the airplane at about flare altitude. ([Location 2191](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=2191)) - I teach at an airport that has 3900 feet of runway and I don’t let my student pilots make touch-and-goes anymore. I strongly advise other pilots not to do it either. This maneuver just has too many accidents associated with it for me to be comfortable. Too many things have to happen just right, during a very short amount of time, for it to be a safe maneuver. ([Location 2239](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00AYWTHZS&location=2239))