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Aviator90 Episode 6

Host: [0:31] Welcome to another episode of Aviator 90 from Angle of Attack. You have
just finished the first five episodes of Aviator 90 which was the intro to flight. [0:42]
Now we move on to the next five episodes which we call the basics of flight.
We will now learn more about actual flight techniques. The sections you will learn are:
[0:47] ground ops, take off, power management, turns and pitch. We'll be showing
techniques within the aircraft to assist you in learning how to use better control.
[1:04] So we start with the first lesson, this episode, which is ground ops. Now in the real
world, you don't get to load up a flight and start mid-air near your favorite world
landmark. Nope, not that easy.
[1:17] As a virtual pilot, it is important to know how to do ground operations. Things like
taxiing, ground communications, airport signage and other things to watch out for. We
will be learning some of these techniques in this episode. Later we'll dedicate a whole
episode on just starting up the aircraft. So we won't be doing that for now.
[1:36] First, lets start out after having just barely starting up the airplane and turned on
the avionics.
[1:42] Now here we are sitting on the ramp and you'll notice the beautiful Pacific
Northwest scenery from Orbix. We're going to go through several things while we're
sitting here so I'll list them now and then we'll burn through them.
[1:53] We'll first give the traffic frequency a call and get a radio check, listen to the
weather observations, and then we'll power up for a short taxi to the runway.
[2:03] In the run-up area of the runway, we'll be going through a couple of pre flight
checks. I'll be doing the run-up this time and next time we'll actually just go through the
take off. So, you guys won't have to worry about learning the run-up this time. So at that
point the lesson will end.
[2:19] At non-controlled airports, which are common, we talk on what is called a
C.T.A.F. which stands for common-traffic-advisory-frequency. In short, it's a frequency
that all pilots in the area use to make position reports and so on. It can also be used for
radio checks and other necessary things needed for flight purposes or aircraft operations.
[2:41] It is up to us virtual pilots to report our position and intentions so everyone in the
area can build a picture in their head of where we are, what we're doing, and if there is a
potential conflict with what they are doing. You'll see what I mean later.

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[2:57] Now before taxiing out we need to make sure our radios work and that we're on
the right frequency so others will hear our radio calls. Do this by addressing the C.T.A.F.
Say your tell number then ask for a radio check. It's as simple as this.
[3:15] Sesna Six-Eight-Two-Eight-Kilo radio check please.
If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with making radio calls, I want to you say it out
loud right now to yourself. I know this may be kind of silly so in this order: [3:19]
airport, aircraft, radio check. That easy.
[3:35] If a friendly voice is in the area, they'll return with a "loud and clear", or "five by
five." This means that you are good to go.
[3:43] Alright, it's now time to check the weather. I simply hit the tilde key which is the
top left button on the main area of the keyboard. And then I hit the number of frequency I
want to tune to so, in this case, we want to tune to the eighties. You may chose to
manually dial the frequency which adds a bit of realism as well.
So, regardless of how you chose to tune, the voice will come up and give you a long list
of information. I don't expect you know everything for now. So for now, just listen for
two things: [4:01] the wind direction and speed, and the altimeter setting.
Man 1: [4:20] Sierra-Four-Seven, automated weather observation.
Two-Three-One-Zero-Zulu. Wind: Zero-Niner-Four at seven. Visibility One-Zero. Sky
condition: clear. Temperature: Two-Four-Celsius. Dew Point: Two-Two-Celsius.
Altimeter: Two-Eight-Seven-Zero-Sierra.
Host: [4:44] We'll now use the wind direction and speed of 094 and seven knots to
determine the runway we'll use. Because the wind is coming from 094 at seven knots,
we'll use runway 13 for our main runway. This is the closest match to that runway
heading of roughly 130, which is actually how they get those runway numbers. [5:05] If
ATC gives you a different runway to control the airport, you can always ask for a
different runway. They may not give it to you, but you can always ask.
[5:13] Now, take the altimeter setting, in this case, 28.70, and place it in the Kollsman
window here on the altimeter. This means we're now tuning the altimeter to a pressure of
28.70 inches of mercury. This should match the field elevation, but don't worry about that
for this flight.
[5:34] Now that we know the runway we need to taxi to and we have our altimeter set,
we'll now announce our intentions, and then you can follow along with me as we taxi to
the runway. I'm familiar with the airport and know where to go, so if you want to simply
watch the first time, no problem with that at all. I'll make the radio call this time.
[5:53] Tillmook traffic Cessna, 6828 Kilo, taxi from self serve fuel to Runway 13.
[5:59] Notice I address the area, said who I am, where I am, where I'm going, and you
can also say how you're going to get there, if you're using a specific taxi way. Confused
yet? Maybe or maybe not, but no worries for now. You'll pick it up along the way.

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[6:19] Push the throttle forward to get about 1000 rpm on the tachometer. This setting
will get us rolling.
[6:27] Give a quick tap on the brakes right after you start moving to make sure they are
operable and not mushy. We don't want to get up to taxi speed before we realize the
brakes won't work.
[6:38] With feet on the pedals, tap the toes of your right foot, and the toes of your left
foot, checking the brakes. All right, all good, let's taxi on.
[6:45] Directional control during the taxi is done with a linkage of the rudder pedals at
your feet to the nose wheel and the rudder on the aircraft. Pushing your right heel will
turn the aircraft right, and pushing your left heel will turn the aircraft left. Pretty simple,
isn't it?
[7:00] Now, I recommend rudder pedals and Fly Sim, if you don't already have some. It
makes the taxi part of the flight very enjoyable and adds a ton of realism.
[7:09] Before we forget about our power, let's make sure that we keep our speed
anywhere from 10 to 20 knots in the straightaways, and 10 knots or less in turns. At this
point, you'll probably have to bring the power down, if you haven't already done so.
[7:24] Also, remember to always have central line pride. Stay right on that center line,
and don't deviate from it. This will take practice with the rudder pedals. And you can also
think of this as aim small, miss small.
[7:37] The key here is to keep the aircraft under control to where you can pretty much
stop immediately if needed. Go above 20 knots and that becomes an issue. Get all
squirrely with your steering and the speed works against you.
[7:49] You've got to find the happy balance with foot movement to keep that center line,
and also power management to keep the speed in check.
[7:57] If you're taxiing on your own right now, do your best to keep that center line and
maintain a safe speed. Don't worry about being perfect the first time, your skills will get
better with practice and experience. That's just the way it is.
[8:41] We're now coming to the run up area for this runway, and where we'll do our
engine tests and other things. I'll actually perform them this time as I mentioned before.
[8:50] So, get as close to the end of the pavement as you can, put some pressure on the
right brake and right rudder pressure, so we can turn on a dime, and add some power. All
right, keep bringing it around until we can face into the wind.
[9:05] We're facing into the wind now, so bring the power back and smoothly apply the
brakes. Bring the rudder neutral and come to a stop.
[9:12] All right, that does it for this episode, great job on the radios and the controls. This
time around I'll handle the runup and checks, as I said, and we'll meet next time when

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we're ready to taxi onto the runway and take off. So, for now, you don't have to worry
about the boring stuff.
[9:28] Until next time, throttle on.
Transcription by CastingWords