IFR approaches and wing leveler

[salty]

Finally took my first lesson for IR today. Everything went great. Dual G5’s and a GNC355 make approaches dirt simple to fly. I did pretty good with stabilized approach flying 120 until FAF and then throwing the gear out and a notch of flaps and slowing to 90 until 2 miles out then putting in a couple more notches of flaps. 
 

what I wasn’t comfortable with was the wing leveler. I hate maneuvering with it on, but man it’s nice on final. I tried with it off and on with the (film canister) and much preferred it off, but I’d rather have it on to glance at charts and stuff. Last two approaches I left it on and tried to get used to using the button to turn it off when maneuvering. I’m thinking thats what I need to learn to be comfortable with, but I didn’t like it yet .  I tend to get “Pitchy” when I’m holding the button.

just curious what others do with the wing leveler. 

Edited August 11, 2020 by salty

[Rwsavory]

I know it's easy to spend someone else's money, but if you are serious about flying IFR for travelling your goal should be to get a heading bug for your A/P to follow.

[salty]

What autopilot? The wind leveler is not an autopilot. I’m not going to put in a 50 year old piece of junk in there. If they ever certify a modern one I’ll install it. 

Edited August 11, 2020 by salty

[Rwsavory]

Just now, salty said:

What autopilot? The wind leveler is not an autopilot. I’m not going to put in a 50 year old piece of junk in there. If they ever certify a modern one I’ll install it. 

Your wing leveler is an autopilot.  You can try to find an Accuflite system to add on to it.  This will allow it to follow a heading bug.  Cheers.

[salty]

Calling the wing leveler an autopilot is like calling trim auto pilot IMO. I hunted for an Accuflight for awhile. Wasted a lot of time. Not going to waste any more time or money on that solution. I’d rather hand fly. 

[Ibra]

6 hours ago, salty said:

what I wasn’t comfortable with was the wing leveler. I hate maneuvering with it on, but man it’s nice on final. I tried with it off and on with the (film canister) and much preferred it off, but I’d rather have it on to glance at charts and stuff. Last two approaches I left it on and tried to get used to using the button to turn it off when maneuvering. I’m thinking thats what I need to learn to be comfortable with, but I didn’t like it yet .  I tend to get “Pitchy” when I’m holding the button.

just curious what others do with the wing leveler. 

I used to fly an Archer with leveler only, comes handy to relax on cruise, going for steep decent, briefing plates, doing checks, switching freq, getting clearance to intercept, vectors, direct to IAF, on intermediate segments I can even cheat using a bit of rudder on fast speeds, on final segment I am hand flying and the thing goes OFF

I did not like how it engage/disengage in bumpy & windy days, but probably not an issue on M20C as it is engaged by default unless you press something?

Make whatever you think of it but 90% of workload and mental capacity goes into keeping wings level hand flying in IMC, there is no "real skill or currency" in doing that and you will get tired after 40min..a good question if 10% workload & mental capacity is worth an investment into a good AP but if you are operating in complex airspace and close to approach system minima, that 10% workload is also very important

I once had to get my backup iPad battery from the bottom of a bag in the backseat while I was hand flying in the soup, I wished I had a wing leveler that day, it took 5min for my head/arm to resume to their normal positions and for my ear to settle on normal engine noise levels, the aircraft just felt flying all over the place, nothing dodgy on instruments just the weird feeling of losing it... 

Edited August 11, 2020 by Ibra

[carusoam]

 

+1 for having assistance while flying an approach at the end of a trip...

call it a wing leveler, AP, or the latest technical box from Big G....

Even a 10yr old flying right seat can be super helpful keeping the blue side up while you are busy with some single oddity Going on in the cabin...

Hand flying in the soup is cognitively tiring...  Try it both ways for a an hour or two each time... to sense the cognitive aspect of it...

 

The cool part of having a Brittain... you can use it, or disable it...
 

You get choices with that too...

• Broccoli rubber band
• Film canister
• panel mounted electric valve 

If you are holding the valve down with your hand.... it will be an extra challenge to not be adding inputs to the yoke without recognizing it... the yoke is really that sensitive...

Train for precision... with and without the extra systems...

 

Congrats on getting the next step started!
 

PP thoughts only, not a CFI...

Best regards,

-a-

[jaylw314]

5 minutes ago, carusoam said:

• Broccoli rubber band

You crack me up, -a- 

[carusoam]

Just now, jaylw314 said:

You crack me up, -a- 

Important things a pilot can learn by reading MS... 

My 65C had its wing leveler disabled... I never knew how good it could be...
 

It was sold a few months before MS started up....

Best regards,

-a-

[MBDiagMan]

Been waiting on the Trutrak going on three years.  I gave up and fixed the wing leveler since it was better than nothing.  It helps a bunch on approaches.  Get it slowed down and configured, set trim power and sometimes trim the turn coordinator and it will go down the funnel almost entirely on its own.

[Yetti]

27 minutes ago, MBDiagMan said:

Been waiting on the Trutrak going on three years.  I gave up and fixed the wing leveler since it was better than nothing.  It helps a bunch on approaches.  Get it slowed down and configured, set trim power and sometimes trim the turn coordinator and it will go down the funnel almost entirely on its own.

Trim it all the way in with the wing leveler.  sounds like you are not retrimming after you gear and power.  I usually grab two handfuls at the fence

[Hank]

12 hours ago, salty said:

Finally took my first lesson for IR today. Everything went great. Dual G5’s and a GNC355 make approaches dirt simple to fly. I did pretty good with stabilized approach flying 120 until FAF and then throwing the gear out and a notch of flaps and slowing to 90 until 2 miles out then putting in a couple more notches of flaps. 
 

what I wasn’t comfortable with was the wing leveler. I hate maneuvering with it on, but man it’s nice on final. I tried with it off and on with the (film canister) and much preferred it off, but I’d rather have it on to glance at charts and stuff. Last two approaches I left it on and tried to get used to using the button to turn it off when maneuvering. I’m thinking thats what I need to learn to be comfortable with, but I didn’t like it yet .  I tend to get “Pitchy” when I’m holding the button.

just curious what others do with the wing leveler. 

The PC is great! Need to review the chart, then tune the radio before you forget the freq? PC lets you do that without getting sideways or upside down. I almost never press the override button, jjst crank over on the yoke--it's made to overpower. Sure, it's a little stiff but the stiffness reminds me to not overbank in the pattern and in IMC. Maneuverability can be good, but there's something to be said for stability in IMC.

That's my 2 cents . . . .

[Browncbr1]

My 60 year old Brittain holds the localizer better than the 55x that is in the baron.  Some would say it’s just a setup issue, .....  but a brittain issue is solved with electrical tape, whereas an stec issue may or may not be solved with many amu.

[N201MKTurbo]

The first thing I did when I bought my first Mooney back in '84 was put a Klixon switch in a unused hole and hook it up to a solenoid valve I got in the aviation isle at the AutoZone to turn off the wing leaveler. That valve is probably still in there. It was when I sold it in '03. It looked real official, like a real airplane part. Made it through 19 annuals without being discovered.

[211º]

Sometimes I think about flying an approach on a bumpy day in my 150 vs the M20E. That 150 was a light flag and undulating leaf in a moderate breeze. The 20E and the pneumatic wing leveler make the ride much more solid.

One day I may end up having a new and amazing autopilot. But for now and for me the Brittain makes my flights pretty darn nice. Just enough of a hands-on requirement to never feel like a bus driver.


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[Hector]

Love my wing leveler with the Accutrack.. I have the switch in the panel to turn it on and off so I don’t have to hold down the button on the yoke. The Accutrack does amazingly well following the magenta line. On a long trip it is great. Sometimes I just use the wing leveler for short trip. I always turn it all off the last 5 miles to the runway unless I’m shooting an RNAV approach and I’m letting the Accutrack handle the course while I take care of the descent. I too am waiting for the mystical Trutrack but I’m not desperate for it and I’m quite happy with what I have. I have a brand new accuflite I never installed because I thought the Trutrack would be here soon. That was 2 years ago. I may go ahead and install it. At the pace we are going it may be another 2 years for the Trutrack.


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[Hank]

1 hour ago, Hector said:

I have a brand new accuflite I never installed because I thought the Trutrack would be here soon. That was 2 years ago. I may go ahead and install it. At the pace we are going it may be another 2 years for the Trutrack.

Optimist!