Sorry for not posting earlier – but after recent bad experiences I have planned to fly tomorrow to Gelnhausen EDFG. They seem to have some kind of celebration in the historic downtown, though myself won’t have the time to leave the a/d grounds, given early sunset. Perhaps not the field for everyone, grass and no kind of lights or navaids, and the radio (officially) only in local language – though I am confident English will be ok, tomorrow.
Gelnhausen is one of the better grass runways in Germany. Landed there three weeks ago with the Arrow. However, it has rained a lot over the last days in this part of Germany.
Gelnhausen is also a very beautiful town and one can walk from the airfield in just over 15 minutes.
No landing fee and they will even give you a small gift during these fly-ins.
Well, I made a serious effort to get there, but had to turn back because of low cloud. Was tempted to go over them but don’t yet feel up to that, with just 132 hours solo, and not a single gyroscopic instrument.
Had a quick lunch at EDKV Dahlemer Binz where a splendid Mooney from Hangelar came in, and hurried home in (needless) fear of announced rain.
3 more hours on the logbook, and the look of the Nürburgring was worth some of it.
Good job trying, Jan!
Good call. Caught over an overcast, with no gyro instruments wouldn’t be a great place to find yourself!
Good call. Caught over an overcast, with no gyro instruments wouldn’t be a great place to find yourself!
Even if not actually caught, flying over an overcast without gyros is not a good idea as the top of the cloud deck may not be horizontal!
Yes – one cannot enter IMC at all without gyro instruments.
There is an absolute last ditch emergency procedure which works in calm air, which is to use the compass to keep the wings level (because non-level wings cause a heading change… eventually) but the first bump that comes along is going to throw you off.
The procedure works quite well if you have a gyro-based DI, even if it is not slaved, but again the first decent bump will throw you off.
And any plane will go through Vne pretty fast in a high bank angle…
Heading is an integral of the roll angle (sort of) so if something throws off the roll angle to a new value quickly, your speed will just build up and up without a heading change – until things are too far gone.
Some time ago one parachute drop pilot mentioned, he would easily go through layers of stratus or cumulus clouds during his ops and claimed he had done so without an operative vacuum pump. He mentioned the magnetic compass needle being level to the earth’s magnetic field and thus would work as an artificial horizon, showing him pitch and bank. On the question, why he wouldn’t use the TC and the ASI then (Needle, Ball & Pin – just as the gliders do), he said he couldn’t fly after just the TC. He was not instrument rated at all. I showed him this and called him a dick for playing with the lives of his passengers: 
