Posted Sunday, December 27, 2015 @ 10:18 PM
Don't laugh, but for the first time in thirteen years, and despite wearing sweat-absorbing suede sailing gloves and curling my little finger under that 'top-hat's brim' of my stick grip as usual; half-way around a low-level slow roll during practice, my fist shot off the stick as I pushed it towards the front right corner of my cockpit.
I do know why. I was flying a super-slow roll, which requires less than full aileron, but lots more rudder and elevator to hold the nose above the horizon.
I had not used quite enough top rudder in the first quarter, which had allowed my nose to fall too low during the inverted part, so while still applying plenty of right aileron I needed a stronger-than-usual shove forward to get the nose back up before the second half.
Imagine the scene: I am just becoming upside-down at 500 feet when I punch the choke and fuel knobs while the stick, released from my grip, bounces back into the mid-position under the significant aerodynamic loads. Of course I am looking outside at the time.
It probably only took two seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime for my eyes to drag themselves inside, refocus, adjust to the darkness (inverted, remember), and establish the stick's position. Meanwhile my clenched fist is curving inwards and grabbing, grabbing, trying to reestablish contact with the stick grip.
Finally eyes and hand do their thing, the stick is grasped and pushed back firmly into the front right corner of the cockpit and the roll continues and completes without too much further loss of height.
Another lesson learned there guys.
Yes, you only need a featherlight fingertip grip on the stick, but when upside-down and pushing 2.5g, maybe a slightly tighter grip is appropriate.
G-meter reading? A little less than 3g as it happens.
Safe flying out there folks.
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Flying and displaying Fournier RF4Ds VH-HDO and G-AWGN, building replica RF6B G-RFGB and custodian of RF6B prototype F-BPXV