S-Turns help pilots master their control over the airplane through turns both into and against the wind. In this video, we teach you the procedures necessary to successfully master S-Turns. www.erau.edu
GRM i taught at the GRM real speed we used when E line Patrols. At Vglide Speed, with 10 degrees flaps. Some CFI's want almost cruise speeds and no flaps. Very Unreal. You do GRM to see small things on ground like animals. That is why so many stalls on GRM lke the so called "Moose Stall". And the many Flyover Turnback stalls and Box Canyon stalls. Turnbacks after a flyover have killed many that didnt know those GRM Flyover Turnbacks. There 2 kinds of. The Teardrop kind and the Hook Turnback" ( both are done to Turnback after a flyover).
The video says that the turn should be initiated with downwind exactly 90 degrees to the reference line (like a road) - or that is what I understood it to be . Where I train in Northern California there are only "square fields" in one direction. It would be impossible to find a road or something that is aligned exactly 90 degrees to the direction the wind is coming from. So what do you do in this case? Thanks!!
Going by your channel title and the age of your question, are you a commercial pilot now? I’m going to be doing my checkride in easy Bay Area and I had a similar thought. Im sure it doesn’t need to be 90deg on the nose but still would be nice to know where the square road intersections are so I have a preferred location in mind.
I thought about this too, for Winchester, VA. Know your local area and prevailing wind directions and plan accordingly. I've noticed that railroads and high tension powerlines usually "do their own thing" and don't always follow directions of roads, so a railroad track or powerline may be the best option.
Yeah I know, five year old post. The maneuver is about determining where your highest and lowest groundspeeds are based on wind direction and velocity then varying the bank angle to make the "S" shape as perfect as possible. It helps to have a direct tailwind, or headwind, when you start because you will be wings level perpendicular to the road. Each time you cross the road you should be wings level on a reciprocal heading. However, after almost 40 years of doing this stuff one thing I have learned is that perfect situations rarely exist and you have to deal with what mother nature is giving you. If you can, find something like another road, fence line, power lines, or whatever that intersects the reference road, or whatever you are using as a reference for you S-turns, at a 90 degree angle. Track your 90 degree reference and note the crab angle when you cross your S-Turn road. Perform the maneuver. If done correctly, as you cross your S turn road on a reciprocal heading you should be wings level with the same or very close to the same crab angle as when you started. The idea is to constantly think about what the wind is doing and is going to do to the airplane. You should be able to do this maneuver with a nice symmetrical "S" shape regardless of wind direction or speed when the maneuver is started.
You are simply just adjusting the amount of bank used throughout the turns. There is no slipping or skidding involved. Just match the appropriate amount of rudder to the bank being used.
