Unusual Attitudes in Flight
Climbing While Accelerating
Climbing While Accelerating
With your eyes closed, the instructor pilot maintains approach airspeed in a straight-and-level attitude for several seconds, then accelerates while maintaining straight-and-level attitude. The usual illusion during this maneuver, without visual references, is that the aircraft is climbing.
Climbing While Turning
With your eyes still closed and the aircraft in a straight-and-level attitude, the instructor pilot now executes, with a relatively slow entry, a well coordinated turn of about 1.5 positive G (approximately 50° bank) for 90°. While in the turn, without outside visual references and under the effect of the slight positive G, the usual illusion produced is that of a climb. Upon sensing the climb, you should immediately open your eyes to see that a slowly established, coordinated turn produces the same sensation as a climb.
Diving While Turning
Repeating the previous procedure, except your eyes should be kept closed until recovery from the turn is approximately one-half completed, can create the illusion of diving while turning.
While in a straight-and-level attitude, with your eyes closed, the instructor pilot executes a moderate or slight skid to the left with wings level. This creates the illusion of the body being tilted to the right.
This illusion demonstrates any of the three planes of motion. While straight and level, with the your eyes closed, the instructor pilot smoothly and positively rolls the aircraft to approximately 45° bank attitude while maintaining heading and pitch attitude. This creates the illusion of a strong sense of rotation in the opposite direction. After this illusion is noted, you should open your eyes and observe that the aircraft is in a banked attitude.
This maneuver may produce extreme disorientation. While in straight-and-level flight, you should sit normally, either with eyes closed or gaze lowered to the floor. The instructor pilot starts a positive, coordinated roll toward a 30° or 40° angle of bank. As this is in progress, you tilt your head forward, look to the right or left, then immediately returns his or her head to an upright position. The instructor pilot should time the maneuver so the roll is stopped as you return your head upright. An intense disorientation is usually produced by this maneuver, and you experiences the sensation of falling downward into the direction of the roll. After a short time, you will become disoriented and the instructor pilot then tells the pilot to look up and recover.
The benefit of this exercise is that the pilot experiences the disorientation while flying the aircraft.
In the descriptions of these maneuvers, the instructor pilot is doing the flying, but having you do the flying can also be a very effective demonstration. You should close your eyes and tilt the head to one side. The instructor pilot tells you what control inputs to perform. The pilot then attempts to establish the correct attitude or control input with eyes closed and head tilted. While it is clear you have no idea of the actual attitude, you will react to what the senses are saying.
This makes you experience your actual sensations to the unusual attitude your instructor created and made it possible to see what the actual attitude your plane was flying.
