Right rudder

I am beginning to enjoy my preflight inspection. It has become a true ritual; a slow methodical pouring over of every inch of the aircraft. It is satisfying to get to know your plane, cataloguing every little scuff, flap actuator pin, rudder cable etc... On the third day I practiced liftoffs. Clean (no flaps) liftoff speed for the Cessna 172 is around 60 knots. Basically after you announce your takeoff intentions, you firewall the throttle (take about three seconds to go from open an 1/8" to full), and head down the runway. Pull back on the yoke to rotate (means pull nose up). You have to use a firm pressure on the yoke at the initial liftoff, shortly into the ascent the pressure breaks on the yoke and you can let it forward a bit. I learned that you have to jam the right rudder basically the whole time during the takeoff. "Why?" I asked. American made propellors turn clockwise from the perspective of the cockpit. The downswing of the propellor produces more thrust than the upswing which pulls the aircraft to the right. In order to keep a straight course you have to balance your thrust so having the right rudder out creates a yawing force to the opposite side  equalizing the increased thrust. Interestingly, British aircraft have propellors that turn in the opposite direction, so if you step on the right rudder during takeoff in one of these planes you will taxi off the runway.

I practiced takeoffs, straight and level flight, ascent, ascent while turning, constant speed descents and descents while turning. I have a tendency to watch the gauges (heading and vertical speed indicator) a little too much, and should use the horizon and engine noise to determine my power, pitch, and attitude. I'm just trying to get the feel of what happens to the gauges when I do pull back throttle, decrease angle of attack etc... 

After takeoff or when you want to land you have to fly the pattern. This consists flying in a circle composed of roughly of four legs. Depending on the winds all traffic usually goes through the runway with a particular directional orientation. Poplar grove has two runways 27 and 30 for 270 and 300 degrees (orientation of the runway). Airport runways are laid out so that the most frequent winds are head-on to the runway. This is determined by a wind rose. Check it out, here is the wind rose for  One always wants to takeoff and and land into the wind, but cruise with a tailwind. 

This shows the strength and frequency of the winds on an annual basis, so it makes sense for airports to consult this when picking an orientation for the runways. Anyway you can google this for the details but basically the faster winds are toward the ends of the radials, and the larger the bar the more frequently the winds are out of that direction (a southernly wind means that its coming from the south, NOT heading south). 

So back to the pattern- you takeoff into the headwind and turn left (normally most patterns are left turning, it is easier for the pilot to see when turning to the side that he's sitting on). After you turn left you are on the crosswind leg, then turn left again and you are parallel with the runway but heading downwind (meaning you have a tailwind). Next you make a left and this the base leg. If you make another left you've come full circle and are now on the approach leg heading upwind toward the runway. It is customary to enter the pattern on the downwind leg, and depart the pattern from the upwind. You have to enter the pattern at the proper altitude as well because you don't want to come in on top of someone, pattern altitude at Poplar Grove is a thousand feet above ground. Or 1,858 feet on the altimeter, because poplar grove is at an altitude of 858' above sea level. Announce you entry and final approach. 

Finally, there are different types of aviation gasoline (AVGAS). They are normally color coded by octane. You can go up in performance but never put a lower rated fuel into your engine because lower rated fuels combust at lower pressures and this could cause inefficient combustion and excessive engine heating. The C-172 takes 100LL (low lead). As of this entry, the cost of fuel is $3.85 a gallon, and we go through about 6 gallons during an hour of flight. 

Takeoff is cool, but for me I will not be happy until I can land the thing myself. Because from my current vantage point I can see that anyone can takeoff but landing is the proper closure, is more of an art and requires skill.