The side slip is our friend in a crosswind and the forward slip is our friend to help us lose altitude quickly in an airplane with no or poor flaps.

The skid, however, is considered taboo. This is unfortunate for the most sensitive and effective longitudinal alignment trim devise: the rudder or anti-torque pedals.

We have two options when making fine adjustments to put the nose, Norton bomb site, site reticle on airplane or helicopter gunship, localizer, DG, RMI, compass or turn and bank or turn coordinator on target or align the light bar or CDI or hash mark on DG, RMI, or compass. Those two options are coordinated aileron and rudder or just rudder or anti-torque pedal alone, the skid.

Aileron and rudder coordinated turns, best tuned with Dutch rolls, are for gross longitudinal alignment adjustments. Together, coordinated, they are not the best tools for fine tuning longitudinal alignment on final when the numbers are the target or the finishing touch to any EM turns to any target. If the first pair of rockets go a little right, push left rudder or anti-torque pedal a bit and release to allow the tail to streamline. Now fire the second pair. Or just wiggle the rudders or anti-torque pedals to make the pipper bracket the target a bit. Charlie can hit you just as well in small coordinated turns but you certainly will not hit him. Same with putting the nose wheel on the center line.

CFOT asked about skids in the direction of the bank in the nose down portion of the energy management turn. This is to get the nose on target more quickly, if necessary, and is certainly preferable to flying into the slope of the opposite ridge in a canyon or ridge valley system turn back down drainage.

Finally wings level rudder turns in low ground effect prevent putting a down wing into something.

We are taught in flight school that skidding causes the inboard wing to stall sooner than the outboard (A; it is flying a slower speed arc in the turn, and B; the skid makes it even slower), thereby setting up the proverbial stall/spin on base to final scenario. Obviously this can only present a danger when flying too close to the stall speed. How is the skid applied in your scenario that does not induce these stall/spin conditions?

Delta Romeo,

Their caution comes out of, and is appropriate for, a totally different orientation and indoctrination. The FAA orientation is integrated contact and instrument flight. Their indoctrination is to pull back on the stick in all turns. Given this orientation and indoctrination, it is necessary to limit bank angle. With limited bank angle, we may not be able to bring the nose onto target before putting a wing into terrain. We may be tempted to make a level skid out of ground effect.

The real solution to any stall or stall/spin problem is to not pull back on the stick. The design of the airplane is to fly. The design of the airplane is to lower its nose in any turn. The airplane, without a pilot or trim device or auto pilot or computer pulling on the stick, cannot stall. An airplane, without a pilot, makes every turn an energy management turn, every climb a zoom climb, every dive is to prevent a continuation of pitch up that would result in stall.

The real solution is to change orientation and indoctrination, other than for FAA testing. If this is too great a stretch, at least allow the nose to go down (don't pull back on the stick ) in contact turns. The bank is appropriately limited in instrument flying. Pull back on the stick there.

Your orientation and indoctrination is certainly not your fault. You are the product of standardized integrated instrument training. It is required to pass all FAA testing. It is not required outside of FAA testing. We can let the nose go down when we turn. This is legal. Once we have let the nose go down, we need not worry about skid, slip or whatever we need to do with the rudder.

So you use the pull-up part of the Energy Management Turn to give you room to drop the nose when at low level?

Yes, the pull up trades cruise airspeed that we don't want for altitude that can give us gravity thrust in the turn. If we only have minimum airspeed, at the instant we need to turn steeply, it is even more important to allow the nose to go down.

The problem is that only with practice will we get comfortable with allowing the nose to go down. If we have tremendously more iterations of level turns than energy management turns, we will automatically (muscle memory ) pull. If we commonly fly low using altitude maintaining level turns no matter what, we have to stay away from obstructions and terrain. The need to turn steeply to miss things or to stay in a canyon paired with a level turn no matter what indoctrination can lead to stall.

Vertical space evaluation and use only comes with practice. To be safe, that practice needs to happen down low over level terrain. Up high we don't evaluate and use vertical space. We have to use an altimeter to get just a fuzzy idea of vertical space.

Those who still work loaded Pawnees all day in the summer never see more than 150 feet or so, even with partial load. Yet they never attempt altitude maintaining level turns no matter what the cost. And they get thousands of iterations of energy management turns. That is not possible for most pilots. But they can practice. Eventually the energy management turn will become muscle memory. Now they are ahead of the aircraft, anticipating the need to turn in time to zoom up a bit to trade unwanted cruise speed for altitude and store gravity thrust in altitude. Not just something for nothing but two things for nothing.

Contact,
I am a true believer in the energy management turns as well as the take off in ground effect with zoom departure. I use these all the time since reading your book and reading your replies/advise on this forum. I have also added rudder turns to my everyday flying. Most of my flying is departure from a Class D airport, then flying to multiple off airport LZ's. Please address the climbing turn at take off. Example: I take off in ground effect, then zoom to gain altitude, but as I gain altitude I also need to turn for departure, perhaps left, right or 180 degrees to the opposite direction.

SkySteve,

Class D doesn't care whether you make energy management, level, climbing, or descending turns so long as you follow their standard or approved track. I expect you are asking about departure from an uncontrolled airport or the LZ.

Regardless of where you are, you don't want to hit anyone or anything. If you have enough LZ length to generate zoom reserve in the form of airspeed, make an EM turn to clear the way you want to go. In the pull up from that turn, EM turn to your chosen target. Keep in mind you are burning zoom reserve with each turn. We get lower and slower with each.

Each target must be visible before pull up. A takeoff engine failure is an emergency. We find the target (LZ) in the zoom climb. Be sure you know how every wire gets into the area and how every wire gets out of the area. Level the wings before crossing any wire.

Anytime other aircraft are in the area, keep it mild. They do not expect to see a lot of maneuverability nor will they be prepared to maneuver much. If we are low and out of their way, they won't see us and we won't bother them. We can land behind them and turn off at the first taxi way.

Contact,
I don't think I made myself clear. Let's just say I am staying in the pattern. Everyone else is taking off and climbing during the time they are flying down the runway, then at the end of the runway they continue to climb and turn crosswind, continuing to climb as they then turn downwind and finally level off when they reach pattern altitude. I, on the other hand am practicing the EM system, so I lift off at a very slow speed and stay in ground effect working my stick to keep me in ground effect while I'm gaining speed. I fly almost to the end of the runway, then zoom up trading speed for altitude. Life is good. But I'm at the end of the runway and the tower wants me to turn crosswind, especially since there is another Class D within 1/2 mile of the end of the runway. (Enter Problem #1): I'm not ready to turn, I'm still loving life in my zoom! So what do I do? (Enter Problem #2): I level off and let the nose begin to drop just a little so I won't loose too much altitude (which is what I am wanting to gain (altitude), while I do more of a rudder turn using very little aileron. I'm actually skidding in the turn. Once I've moved the nose around 90 degrees to crosswind I could continue to climb. But since I fly a tight pattern, I'm already where I should be turning down wind and need to turn again. What do I do? (Enter Problem #3): If I put the nose down again and do another EM turn, mostly with rudder, I'm again skidding and loosing altitude (when I want to gain altitude). So if I do these two EM turns I have skidded through both of them because I am trying to stay in tight and now I am below pattern altitude (Enter Problem #4) and tower is not happy. If I started my zoom earlier I can gain the needed altitude to be at pattern altitude before my first turn, but I can actually see this being somewhat of a problem when taking off from a short canyon strip and needing to do a canyon turn to get to where I want to go. I hope I haven't made this too complicated.

SkySteve,

We need to fly together. Where are you? Can you make the Reno races?

If Tower wants you to turn, go ahead and turn. Let the nose go down in turns. Don't skid in level turns to maintain altitude. Skids are for level turns in ground effect or to move the nose onto target with the nose well down.

After any EM turn you can climb using the speed gained with the nose down. We trade airspeed for altitude and altitude for airspeed. We don't zoom climb and then make a slow level turn.

Modest EM turns in the controlled pattern, but we still have to go where they ask.

So takeoff, turn crosswind allowing the nose to go down, resume climb on crosswind, turn downwind allowing the nose to go down, resume climb to pattern altitude (if possible, ) turn base allowing the nose to go down, turn final allowing the nose to go down, maintain glide angle with power and what appears to be a brisk walk with elevator, flair as necessary, if tail touches first three point, if not level to wheel.

Contact

Contact,
I wish we could fly together, but I won't be able to make Reno. But I think I've got what you said and will work on that. Your system of EM has been a great help to me off airport, but I have struggled understanding how to use it in the pattern at an airport. I'll keep working on it. Thanks for your patience and explanations. For the most part, I actually feel very comfortable using EM turns. Thanks again. During my last BFR my instructor was very impressed with the EM concept.

SkySteve,

Very good. Just remember the zoom climb portion is to slow down from cruise and to gain only the altitude given. A turn without back pressure on the stick follows the zoom. No skidding going up. No skidding while level OGE. Use section lines as targets. Pick a section line in front of the wing but perpendicular to present course. Start pull up early and the turn will be shallow. Start pull up late and the turn will be steep.

Good luck,

Contact