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FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL       37

Fifteen or twenty minutes practice, with pauses for rest, should serve to accomplish this. Actual turning practice may then be started. During this exercise the following points should be emphasized:

Never swing the ship from bank to bank but change its attitude from level to bank, bank to level and so on with a slight pause at the termination of each phase. This pause allows the airplane to free itself from the effects of any misuse of the controls and assures a correct start for the next phase.

Relax all efforts on the controls as soon as the bank is established and when recovery is completed. Allow the airplane to hold the new attitude for a few seconds before changing it again. This will demonstrate the normal stability of the airplane and show the student that there is no necessity for "fighting the controls."

Fly straight and level properly before attempting another bank. In addition to freeing the ship from the effect of any misuse of the controls, this gives the student practice in assuming straight and level flight and increases his perceptions of the factors involved in its proper performance.

Establish the desired degree of bank by visual checks to the reference points previously discussed. Require the student to actually check rather than guess. This will divert his concentration from the nose and afford an opportunity for him to develop all flying perceptions at a faster rate.

Vary and shade the efforts used on the controls and have the student note the corresponding responses of the aircraft.

During these exercises, impress on the student the idea of pressure, rather than movement, by having him feel or weigh the resistance of the controls to varying pressures on them.

Explain that part of the "feel" of the airplane consists of a conception of the attitude or tendencies of the aircraft through the resistance offered by the controls to varying pressures exerted by the pilot. Point out that with practice he will learn to anticipate the approximate attitude the airplane will assume as a result of the amount, duration, and direction of pressures he applies to the controls. As this experience and conception is developed, vision is used more and more as a causal check to verify the actual attitude rather than as a means of attaining it.

Compel the student to use the rudder freely. Skidding in this phase indicates positive coordination and may be easily corrected later. At this stage of his training, too little rudder, or rudder in the wrong direction, indicates lack of a proper conception of coordination or the necessity for it and may indicate the presence of timidity, tension or apprehension to the extent that the student's comprehension of instruction or his physical functioning is seriously affected.

The simplest rules for the use of the rudder in turns are:

1. Continue pressure on the rudder as long as pressure is exerted on the ailerons. Never relax or exert pressure on one without corresponding pressure or relaxation on the other.

2. Press on the rudder until you are through with it and then stop pressing. Do not attempt to redress the rudder by pushing on the opposite pedal but merely relax the effort being used. Relaxing the pressure allows the rudder to streamline itself to the flight path of the airplane. The principles involved may be illustrated by circles showing