Instrument Training
Sam Doolittle
When you see little 2-4 seat planes flying around in the sky, they are mostly flying under what is known as Visual Flight Rules (VFR). That means that the pilot is doing most of his flying and navigating by looking out the window. Many of the small changes in the plane’s attitude (banking, climbing, etc) are preformed by feel and by looking out the window at the horizon. The term ‘flying by the seat of you pants’ comes from the feel of our butt on the seat in various flight attitudes.
More advanced flying makes extensive use of the various instruments in the plane. For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on two instruments: the altimeter and the attitude indicator.
Altimeter
The altimeter shows the plane’s altitude above sea level. It is simply a barometer designed on the idea that changes in air pressure are a result of climbing or descending.
Attitude Indicator
The attitude indicator (AI) is also known as the artificial horizon. It depicts the plane’s attitude (whether it’s banked, climbing, descending, or level). In the attached picture, the plane is wings-level, in a slight climb. This instrument is based around a gyroscope which is sensitive to any changes in the plane’s attitude.
Using both instruments together
If you are flying in the clouds with no external references, it is quite easy to be disoriented. (In fact, this is a major cause of small plane crashes – untrained pilots flying into the clouds and becoming disoriented). Therefore, it is necessary to fly solely by reference to instruments. (As an aside, the first pilot to do this was Gen. Jimmy Doolittle. Although he is best remembered for leading the Tokyo raid in WWII, it is his instrument flying which is perhaps his greatest contribution).
When flying in the clouds, the understanding and use of both of the aforementioned instruments is critical. The AI shows any momentary change in the plane’s attitude while the altimeter shows trends over time. For instance, when the pilot initially pulls back on the yoke, the AI will show that a climb has been initiated. However, the altimeter will only show a climb as the plane’s altitude actually increases. (Interestingly, at slow airspeeds, it is possible to be in a climbing attitude while actually losing altitude.)
One way pilots describe how these two instruments interact is to characterize the attitude indicator as a control instrument and the altimeter as a performance instrument. In other words, when initiating a climb or descent solely by reference to instruments, you would control the attitude with the attitude indicator and determine the performance of that climb or descent with the altimeter.
What’s this got to do with endurance training?
Think about the discussion above, but replace ‘attitude indicator’ with power meter and ‘altimeter’ with heart rate monitor. The power meter is a control instrument showing how much force is being applied to the pedal at any time. The heart rate monitor is a performance instrument giving you feedback from your control inputs. Just not necessarily instantaneously.
(And, similarly to how a pilot sets altitude limits and follows them on the altimeter, one would also set heart rate limits).
One last point, it is a common refrain in flight training for the instructor to tell the student to ‘get his head outside the cockpit’. In other words, stop focusing on the instruments and fly the plane by looking outside. Once you can do that, then learn how to control the airplane by instruments. I believe the same holds true for all the technology available to today’s endurance athletes.
Happy landings,
More advanced flying makes extensive use of the various instruments in the plane. For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on two instruments: the altimeter and the attitude indicator.
Altimeter
The altimeter shows the plane’s altitude above sea level. It is simply a barometer designed on the idea that changes in air pressure are a result of climbing or descending.
Attitude Indicator
The attitude indicator (AI) is also known as the artificial horizon. It depicts the plane’s attitude (whether it’s banked, climbing, descending, or level). In the attached picture, the plane is wings-level, in a slight climb. This instrument is based around a gyroscope which is sensitive to any changes in the plane’s attitude.
Using both instruments together
If you are flying in the clouds with no external references, it is quite easy to be disoriented. (In fact, this is a major cause of small plane crashes – untrained pilots flying into the clouds and becoming disoriented). Therefore, it is necessary to fly solely by reference to instruments. (As an aside, the first pilot to do this was Gen. Jimmy Doolittle. Although he is best remembered for leading the Tokyo raid in WWII, it is his instrument flying which is perhaps his greatest contribution).
When flying in the clouds, the understanding and use of both of the aforementioned instruments is critical. The AI shows any momentary change in the plane’s attitude while the altimeter shows trends over time. For instance, when the pilot initially pulls back on the yoke, the AI will show that a climb has been initiated. However, the altimeter will only show a climb as the plane’s altitude actually increases. (Interestingly, at slow airspeeds, it is possible to be in a climbing attitude while actually losing altitude.)
One way pilots describe how these two instruments interact is to characterize the attitude indicator as a control instrument and the altimeter as a performance instrument. In other words, when initiating a climb or descent solely by reference to instruments, you would control the attitude with the attitude indicator and determine the performance of that climb or descent with the altimeter.
What’s this got to do with endurance training?
Think about the discussion above, but replace ‘attitude indicator’ with power meter and ‘altimeter’ with heart rate monitor. The power meter is a control instrument showing how much force is being applied to the pedal at any time. The heart rate monitor is a performance instrument giving you feedback from your control inputs. Just not necessarily instantaneously.
(And, similarly to how a pilot sets altitude limits and follows them on the altimeter, one would also set heart rate limits).
One last point, it is a common refrain in flight training for the instructor to tell the student to ‘get his head outside the cockpit’. In other words, stop focusing on the instruments and fly the plane by looking outside. Once you can do that, then learn how to control the airplane by instruments. I believe the same holds true for all the technology available to today’s endurance athletes.
Happy landings,
Sam
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