Unfortunately dynamic proactive control movement works for automobile steering wheel and ailerons. Most pilots, not all, have had thousands of iterations of dynamic proactive steering wheel movement by the time they started flying. This muscle memory can be transferred to the yoke, or even the stick, unless the primary instructor insists that rudder direct our course to the target once it has been turned to.

The evils of adverse yaw can and should be avoided except when turning, and not just levelling an errant wing, is required.

Messed up second paragraph. We don't want to use coordinated turns to maintain wings level. We want to use rudder only to maintain wings level.

I was taught when starting flying (38 ago) that proper rudder coordination is “Paramount”, especially in base/final turns. You have adverse right yaw when taking off, adverse left yaw when descending. You do not have to have the “Ball” exactly centered in the lumber lines, if the ball is 50% dissected by the lubber lines, it is considered coordinated for take off or landing. Poor coordination is one the most notable things I see when flying right seat. In the X/C airplanes (currently a Piper Mirage) I’ve owned, I go so far as to bring a good 24-30" carpenters level with me and place it across the two inner seat rails, to test the airplane for level flight, against what the T/C is showing, you will be surprised on what you learn. (then swap the level end for end to see if it reads the same, that is how you test a level for accuracy, I know I know, I’m as anal as they come, carpenter by trade) In the 6 XC airplanes I’ve owned, 3 needed to have the control surfaces balanced and adjusted. A well balanced trimmed airplane is like a homing pigeon, it wants to seek it's “Groove” once you seek cruise flight. Sorry to ramble a bit.....Dave B.

Yes, coordination is paramount in turning. That is where we need both rudder and aileron. Aileron, and with it adverse yaw, is disruptive in keeping a target like the centerline between our legs. We need dynamic proactive rudder movement to fine tune that on the ground or in the air.

contactflying wrote:Unfortunately dynamic proactive control movement works for automobile steering wheel and ailerons. Most pilots, not all, have had thousands of iterations of dynamic proactive steering wheel movement by the time they started flying. This muscle memory can be transferred to the yoke...

I learned about this "Bad Mussel memory" on my first flying lesson. The first thing my instructor had me do was taxi the Cherokee. Mussel memory from turning an automobile with the steering wheel was very strong. I couldn't overpower it. I kept turning the yoke instead of pushing the rudder pedals to turn.

Muscle memory when flying a tailwheel aircraft, after years of driving a car, is very non intuitive when taking off or landing. It takes a lot of practice to steer for the ditch when she starts heading for it..

Not that dynamic proactive coordinated turns can't be done well. That is why we practice Dutch Rolls. Brian, the tailwheel journal guy, can land in a turn and do slalom turns on the runway. I'm not any good at that because I don't practice that. None of my many forced landings were to pivots, but I would have landed straight with the rows between the drive wheel tracks.

The place I've seen coordinated turns to maintain longitudinal alignment fail pilots is the slight crosswind. Using coordinated turns to keep the centerline between our legs, we will never discover the direction of the crosswind. Half of our turns will be away from the crosswind requiring more bank angle to recover. If in a crosswind from the left and we need to turn right to come back in alignment, we have a problem. The greatest problem, however, is continuing this when on the ground.

As I said, many pilots do this well. They are better pilots than me. It is harder to learn, less efficient, causes the occasional ground loop, and I refuse to use or teach the technique.

The danger of defaulting aileron, to bring a wing level, is most disruptive during slow flight or upset. Without the prop blast, received by the rudder, aileron inefficiency shows up worse in slow flight.