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Landings: How-To: HOW TO FLY A J-3 CUB

HOW TO FLY A J-3 CUB
by Dagley Reeves

[Introduction][The TAXI][The TAKEOFF][Common Mistakes]
[Air Work][Landing][Crosswinds][Emergencies]
[Conclusion][NTSB Accidents]

SOME AIR WORK

Head on out to the practice area and do some turns, keep that ball in the middle (try to keep the ball in the middle). Relax and have some fun. Enough fun, your instructor wants to do a stall (They always want to do that. What is it with instructors? What's the big deal with a stall? I don't like stalls) Let's face it, stalls are about as much fun as a certified letter from your x-wife.

I hear you, the big deal with a stall is that it can turn into a spin. I am not going to go into my full stall spin lecture but a few things are worth reviewing as they apply to the Cub. The Cub will spin! The Cub has a narrow speed band. In other words, you don't have a large window between stall speed and cruise speed. The Cub does not have some of the inherent stability or stall dampening characteristics of later modern trainers. A lot of people have been killed in J-3 Cubs in stalls and spins. I knew a few.

Your instructor knows that if you don't stall you can't spin. He also knows that you have been trained in stall recognition and recovery. He knows you have been trained to avoid stalls. He also watched the airspeed get down to 45 mph on your takeoff with the ball off to one side. Humor him, it's for your own good. Here's how to make your instructor happy and avoid spending the rest of the day practicing something that you don't like (and scares you...just a little bit) . Pick a point on the horizon that you can see with the nose up. A mountain or perhaps a nice cloud. Check to make sure your not dragging a wing, wings level. Center that ball, I say again, center that ball because this is the main thing he's looking for. As you increase your angle of attack keep the nose on the point you picked with the rudder. If it strays off to one side, bring it back and keep it there. If you have done all this, the airplane should stall pretty much straight ahead and your instructor is so happy you move on to other things more fun. If the nose breaks a little to one side, use the rudder to bring it back in conjunction with your normal recovery. Happy instructor. If you use the ailerons to try to steer the nose back get ready for a long lecture and more stalls.

Realistically, most accidental stalls do not occur in the manner that we practice them. The wings are probably not level, the ball is not centered and the power may not be at idle, and of course if you stalled by accident, your not ready for it. Personally, I like to demonstrate to the student what will happen in various stall conditions. I demonstrate a normal straight ahead stall. (No big deal). A stall from a slip (hmm, she broke over the top, that's interesting). And a stall from a skid. (Oh @#$%! What happened!) A stall from a skid, this is the one that makes you a believer in centering that ball. This is the one that helps you understand why you have been chided from day one for not centering the ball. This is why it is important. This is the one that will get you into a spin. In short, this is the killer. Now, a word of caution: A stall from a skid is what I call and approach to a spin. A lot of people have been killed in Cubs practicing spins. If you have confidence in your instructor then ask him to show you this one. It will certainly make a believer out of you. If your instructor is your brother in law Vern, who said he flew a Cub once you shouldn't be there in the first place. Know your instructor. The FAA removed spin training from the curriculum a long time ago (because too many people were getting killed in spins). Instructors are required to demonstrate a series of spin entries and recoveries to get their ticket but that may also have been a long time ago and in a different kind of trainer. Spins can go bad for a variety of reasons. In short, don't screw around with this yourself and if you want to see it ask somebody who is well respected and documented to show it to you. Remember the most dangerous words in aviation "Watch this". One of my acquaintances was going to show his girlfriend what a hot pilot he was by spinning a J-3. Killed them both. Enough said, keep that ball centered and the nose straight on the stall and everybody is happy.

One of the keys to being a good pilot is being able to coordinate the controls and make nice smooth turns. Student pilots spend much time and effort trying to please their instructors by synchronizing the ailerons and rudders. This is as it should be. But, one of the keys of being a good pilot is being able to use the controls independently when required. In a tail dragger this becomes more of an issue. The two following maneuvers will help you learn to use the controls independently. Progress made here will be a valuable asset overall but especially helpful when we start dealing with crosswinds.

DUTCH ROLL

DRAWING A BOX

SLIPS

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