I have seen rudder pedals and access to the parking/hand-brake in a PA28 enough to be used for PPL training in an ATO, it should do just fine for IR.
well that’s exactly right what-next, I would do it the same way. However, the guys have decided to ask the LBA now. God only knows what’s going to come out of that exercise. I expect nothing good.
I was a passenger on a flight in a PA28 with a guy who just got his license.
During landing on a wet grass runway he panicked and braked so hard that the aircraft slipped away and we did a couple of 360’s. Fortunately we didn’t hit anything and there was no damage.
I was in the RHS and there were brakes on my side. It happened in the blink of an eye.
It’s nice to have brakes on the right side but in this situation it didn’t make any difference. Only an ABS system would have worked here :)
Apparently the pilot had the same brake accident before during his training so it must be something between his ears. There was no reason to break at all as the runway was long.
lenthamen wrote:
Apparently the pilot had the same brake accident before during his training so it must be something between his ears.
I have experienced what you describe (but never with that result, just some flat spot on a tire instead) with students. Usually it is because they place their feet wrongly on the pedals. They don’t want to brake but steer instead, only that they press the wrong end of the pedal. It happens on takeoff as well sometimes.
My first PPL lesson in my tailwheel aircraft involved taxiing around for an hour, inducing mild ground loops and recovering from them. This was because the instructor had no brakes on his side. Also, the aircraft heel brake pedal geometry is such that with my long legs I have to use an unusual technique to actuate them, on the runway I typically use them normally but for sharp turns with full rudder at slow speed I use left heel on right brake and vice versa. Within the first couple of hours all that got worked out by my instructor and I and it continues to work fine 15 years later. We didn’t think it was a big deal either then or now, just getting adapted to the situation and getting the job done.
Naturally during my early takeoffs and landings the instructor was watching and covering the stick and rudder very closely. It’s not a new issue: they built about 6000 of that type, mostly without right side brakes, and many of them were used for primary flight training.
P.S. Actually my first lesson was learning to hand prop to start the engine, but since we never moved the plane I’m not sure that counts!
