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As you become experienced in performing turns around a point and have a good understanding of the effects of wind drift and varying of the bank angle and wind correction angle, as required, entry into the maneuver may be from any point. When entering this maneuver at any point, the radius of the turn must be carefully selected, taking into account the wind velocity and groundspeed, so that an excessive bank is not required later on to maintain the proper ground track.
COMMON ERRORS DURING GROUND REFERENCE MANEUVERS
1 Faulty entry technique.
2 Poor planning, orientation, or division of attention.
3 Uncoordinated flight control application.
4 Improper correction for wind drift.
1 An unsymmetrical ground track during S-turns across a road.
2 Failure to maintain selected altitude or airspeed.
3 Selection of a ground reference where there is no suitable emergency landing site.
FLIGHT AT SLOW AIRSPEEDS
The purpose of maneuvering during slow flight is to help you develop a feel for controlling the gyroplane at slow airspeeds, as well as gain an understanding of how load factor, pitch attitude, airspeed, and altitude control relate to each other.
Like airplanes, gyroplanes have a specific amount of power that is required for flight at various airspeeds, and a fixed amount of power available from the engine. This data can be charted in a graph format. [Figure 20-13] The lowest point of the power required curve represents the speed at which the gyroplane will fly in level flight while using the least amount of power. To fly faster than this speed, or slower, requires more power. While practicing slow flight in a gyroplane, you will likely be operating in the performance realm on the chart that is left of the minimum power required speed. This is often referred to as the “backside of the power curve,” or flying “behind the power curve.” At these speeds, as pitch is increased to slow the gyroplane, more and more power is required to maintain level flight. At the point where maximum power available is being used, no further reduction in airspeed is possible without initiating a descent. This speed is referred to as the minimum level flight speed. Because there is no excess power available for acceleration, recovery from minimum level flight speed requires lowering the nose of the gyroplane and using altitude to regain airspeed. For this reason, it is essential to practice slow flight at altitudes that allow sufficient height for a safe recovery. Unintentionally flying a gyroplane on the backside of the power curve during approach and landing can be extremely hazardous. Should a go-around become necessary, sufficient altitude to regain airspeed and initiate a climb may not be available, and ground contact may be unavoidable.
Flight at slow airspeeds is usually conducted at airspeeds 5 to 10 m.p.h. above the minimum level flight airspeed. When flying at slow airspeeds, it is important that your control inputs be smooth and slow to prevent a rapid loss of airspeed due to the high drag increases with small changes in pitch attitude. In addition, turns should be limited to shallow bank angles. In order to prevent losing altitude during turns, power must be added. Directional control remains very good while flying at slow airspeeds, because of the high velocity slipstream produced by the increased engine power.
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