After doing "abbreviated patterns" for ten landings at my airport in less than 40 minutes, I went for a break. Another Master CFI came by the coffee shop and dropped a book on the table. Said he was watching my 250 ft. patterns and techniques and wondered if I had read CONTACT FLYING or not.
I learned in the Luscombe 8A in 1971 and shortly left the Mexican border for Nome. Can't really remember how my instructor phrased things back then... too long ago. But it must have been similar to Dulin and the way he relates his Cobra time in the war and crop dusting at low altitude to energy managment and contact flying. Since Nome, I have had the good fortune to be in the left seat many places in the world. Have met countless FAA types and CFI's from all necks of the woods. Most fall squarely into the doctrines currently in print and approved by the FAA. Granted, these techniques make good jet jockeys and commercial load haulers in IFR environments. Seems like the places our members fly here fall into decidedly different categories. Just the first hour of reading was so refreshing, so invigorating that I feel compelled to write a review. I searched here under the title and also author's name, but came up blank. If I am posting a redundant topic, my apologies.
I most sincerely suggest that any backcountry airplane driver find this book... grab some coffee or whiskey depending on the time of day... and get ready for some really really GOOD advice. These few paragraphs will most likely save your life some day. I am serious. And living for another great day with family and airplane is what it is all about. So get out there and shop for a book for Christmas. God Bless you all... God Bless America.... and God Bless our freedom and rights to the sky above us.

I just ordered a copy from Amazon.......
Do you feel the pressure to be right?.......

lc

You will enjoy the book, with the flying in the canyon country.... there will be lessons to apply.
Now... being right, being wrong. Well, alive... happy... and enjoying family-good enough for me.

I ordered direct from Mr Dulin, he'll sign the book for you.
I enjoyed it very much and have loaned it to several other pilots friends.
I just need to get back in the air and try some of the techiques.
Good flying to all

The first ten page sample on my iPad grabbed me, just ordered a whole digital copy via B&N...good read!

The book intro on Amazon:

Unlike conventional aviation authors and instructors I do not teach primary flying, crop dusting, pipeline patrol flying, bush flying, helicopter medical evacuation flying, and air to ground gunnery using instruments inside the aircraft as the primary situational awareness tool. Rather I teach Dutch rolls, slow flight and stalls over the runway, the energy management turns, use of ground effect on all takeoffs, the brisk walk apparent rate of closure approach, hover taxi in fixed wing aircraft, and low level low power mountain flying using sights, sounds, smells, and kinetics. Sight is used 99.9% of the time looking at the ground. Airspeed, nor any other instrument is used in takeoff or landing. This text teaches the art of flying in the old style at low level using ground references.

I also love the comments on Amazon.... I wonder what Mr Dulin would have to say about reserve lift indicators!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Flying-Ji ... Descending

Gump

pic1083 wrote:I ordered direct from Mr Dulin, he'll sign the book for you.
I enjoyed it very much and have loaned it to several other pilots friends.
I just need to get back in the air and try some of the techiques.
Good flying to all

What's his website? How do you order direct.

Sounds Like a man that has his way of doing things and it works for him, and he is trying to share a little knowledge that might save your but sometime??!!
For you I pad guys and gals, it's $9.99 and takes about 30 seconds to download.
Have fun.
GT

ordering it now. I am the company instructor and the first thing I do with new pilots (new to the company, they may already have 5000+ hours) is cover the airspeed indicator. It gets their heads out of the instruments and looking at the mountains and terrain and learning the aircraft, I also don't let them use the GPS for the local village flights the first 50 or so hours. Can't wait to read this book.

Search Barnstormers

Has a place to send request and a phone number.

Headoutadaplane---- glad to see you have priorities right. When I was the lead pilot getting Capstone synthetic vision certified, my big fear was the "color TV in the cockpit" syndrome.
Many many times, I turned and saw up to five people in the cockpit of test aircraft all staring at the screens.... nobody paying the least bit of attention to the real world. Don't get me wrong, I love the technology. It is the balance that is hard to master. (the twin commander that hit the peak just east of Phoenix night before Thanksgiving, could have been saved with low cost terrain warning)
The guy in the left seat was a friend. Purchased the plane a week before and it was destined to be a lead attack fire fighter in the summer. Why they did not at least have a portable Garmin to see the dangers, I don't know. So, the black boxes have a role. But eyes out... brain computing the energy management issues, dynamics of a contstantly changing environment... that is required. This author is far from a polished writer. Typos, spelling etc. would have been caught by a big publishing house. But I doubt the feds would put up with his commentary in AOPA or mainstream sources of flying advice. I gleaned a number of good tips and weeded out some I don't believe in, but all in all a good book. Stay warm up there...

flightlogic wrote:....I gleaned a number of good tips and weeded out some I don't believe in, but all in all a good book.....

Even tips you don't believe in can be a good thing, if they make you think about alternatives to the way you do things.

Now I know why my first instructor in the 70's was so big on Dutch Rolls. And here I just thought he had a thing for Dutch women on bicycles... all those years ago.

flightlogic wrote:Now I know why my first instructor in the 70's was so big on Dutch Rolls. And here I just thought he had a thing for Dutch women on bicycles... all those years ago.

Dutch rolls were one of the most valuable flying exercises I was taught, and wasn't introduced to them until after I'd completed my private, by a mountain flying/tailwheel/aerobatics instructor. If I was a primary CFI, it's the first thing I would teach my students when they were in the seat.

Zane wrote:

flightlogic wrote:Now I know why my first instructor in the 70's was so big on Dutch Rolls. And here I just thought he had a thing for Dutch women on bicycles... all those years ago.

Dutch rolls were one of the most valuable flying exercises I was taught, and wasn't introduced to them until after I'd completed my private, by a mountain flying/tailwheel/aerobatics instructor. If I was a primary CFI, it's the first thing I would teach my students when they were in the seat.

Funny, they were the very first thing I was ever taught to do in an airplane. By a 737 captain. Another good control exercise is tracing a square with the spinner of the airplane while flying along. Heidi Ruess introduced that one to me.

-DP

I just ordered this book directly from the author. I am tired of books I need electricity to read.
I red some reviews on Amazon. Some are not too favorable. Several say it is bably written, I can deal with that. Others says it won't make sense unless I read stick and rudder, so I just bought that too. One review claims it is dangerous information.

I can't wait until the book comes to find out, what is hover taxiing in a 172? I see helicopters do it, but a fixed wing? Is it just slow flight in ground effect?

If so, I have done that before on the 13,000 foot runway at MWH when forgot to land really long and the place I was going was at the other end. I was suprised at how slow I was able to go in ground effect. I had it down to 40 MPH or so and still had quite a bit of control left and was not using that much power. Not sure I would try it (at this point in my experience) where I didn't have a mile and a half more of 150 foot wide runway to play with if it didn't work out.

I think you will get some good tips from the book. Some of his theories might be a stretch. For example, he claims you won't get slammed into the ground by a massive downdraft since the wind will bounce off the ground and you can ride it out if you get low enough. I think we have seen enough accidents to know you can indeed be pushed right into those rugged hills if you stay in badly sinking air long enough. Nothwithstanding the loose writing style (or is that lose !?!?!?) it is worth looking at. I was out this afternoon playing with Dutch rolls, low level rudder only obstacle avoidance turns and some more fun stuff he writes about. I think the locals at the un-named uncontrolled airport I was at were a bit suspiscious. Let 'em wonder

DavidB. wrote:what is hover taxiing in a 172? I see helicopters do it, but a fixed wing? Is it just slow flight in ground effect?

If so, I have done that before on the 13,000 foot runway at MWH when forgot to land really long and the place I was going was at the other end. I was suprised at how slow I was able to go in ground effect. I had it down to 40 MPH or so and still had quite a bit of control left and was not using that much power. Not sure I would try it (at this point in my experience) where I didn't have a mile and a half more of 150 foot wide runway to play with if it didn't work out.

Precisely. Our hanger was at the far end of the prevailing strip at Kelso (32? I forget). I would always do a full pattern, set up my approach for the numbers then fly the length of the runway in ground effect. Works great.

Just my $.02 as I just read the book, cover to cover.
I can't disagree with anything in the book as there are a few things I have not tried or done!
But as to being a book to read, I think it is #2 to Stick & Rudder.
As he keeps saying watch your ass when practicing because you need to do it right!
Talked to a fellow quite a few years ago who flew a Bonanza on an early check run in the midwest, He always flew at the bottom of the thunderstorms for the very same reason as it always blew sideways at the ground.
I think if more people would look at what he is trying to tell you instead of arguing with the way he is giving you some very important wisdom, you would realize the value of his words.
Great book, should be required reading for every 250 hour instructor out there!!
One of the best things in there is the flat turn to get around something with the nose pointed at it as the is the narrowest part of the plane!
Oh yes, Just a thought, learn how to use the rudder!!
Smilin, GT