4.1.1.2 SLOW FLIGHT

Question 1

What’s the objective of this maneuver?

Answer 1

Demonstrates the characteristics and degree of controllability of an aircraft at its minimum flight speed, and the way it affects the controls at this speed

Question 2

What do you do before performing the maneuver?

Answer 2

Pick an external reference on the aircraft’s nose; this makes maintaining the heading much easir

Question 3

Once you have done this?

Answer 3

Reduce throttles to 19’’
Trim aicraft so that it does not lose altitude as it decelerates

Question 4

What do you do when speed reduces to less than 138 KIAS?

Answer 4

Select flap 10º
Trimming the acft to the new configuration

Question 5

What happens when airspeed is below 129 KIAS?

Answer 5

Lower landing gear

Question 6

And below 121 KIAS?

Answer 6

Select flap 25º

Question 7

And when it gets to 107 KIAS?

Answer 7

Select flap 40º

Question 8

What do we do once the acft is trimmed in this config with the correct heading and altitude?

Answer 8

Maintain speed of 80 KIAS
apply sufficient power to maintain it (approximately 24’’)

Question 9

When performing smooth turns if required, what’s the maximum bank you should have?

Answer 9

10º towards desired heading

Question 10

What’s the aim of this?

Answer 10

To know how the acft performs in this configuration

Question 11

How will the recovery be correct?

Answer 11

If we maintain heading and altitude

Question 12

How do you recover?

Answer 12

Increase throttles to 30’’
As acft accelerates:
- Retract flaps to 25º
- Then retract gear (make sure you do it before 107 KIAS)
- At around 100 KIAS, retract the rest of the flap and trim for the new configuration

Question 13

What happens when the acft reaches cruise speed?

Answer 13

-Reduce throttle
-Trim the acft for its final position

Question 14

At what heading and altitude should we terminate this maneouvre?

Answer 14

At our designated heading and altitude we started on

Question 15

How do you achieve this?

Answer 15

Very important to coordinate the use of rudder in the cruise changes, power and speed

Question 16

What is really important to have in mind while performing this maneouver with the PA-34?

Answer 16

In straight and level flight, the flap 40º config maneouver puts us in very high levels of drag and very small margin for increasing power.

Therefore it is important to control the altitude and speed from the 1st moment. A loss in either will make it very difficult to recover from.

Question 17

What does this manouver provide to the student?

Answer 17

Excellent way to experience and become confident with flying the acft in the:

• Landing config
• Traffic pattern

Question 18

What’s other practical use of this maneouver?

Answer 18

Provides us with a method of increasing traffic separation in the traffic pattern.
- Ability to control the acft at low speed in this situation.

Question 19

What do we do if slow flight is performed in the previous situation? (increasing traffic separation in the traffic patter)

Answer 19

It is done with flap 10º
- Minimum speed of 80 KIAS

Question 20

What are the common errors during slow flight?

Answer 20

• Not being aware of failure to maintain altitude during the transition to slow flight, the same applies to recovery back to normal flight
• Back the yoke without sufficiently reducing power, thus gaining altitude
• Not trimming adequately or incorrect use of trim
• Not maintaining heading with power changes
• Delaying pitch corrections to control speed and using power to maintain the pitch
• Not adding enough power during turns during slow flight
• Entry into a stall

Question 21

What are the tolerances in slow flight?

Answer 21

• Heading +/- 10º
• Altitude +/- 100º
• Speed +/- 5 Kt assigned speed