Single-engine Class B - En Route and Descent — Page 327, Lesson 398

Right, we’re moving into the landing chapter now, but before we do, I want to close out the en-route and descent work with the range graph, because it’s the natural partner to the endurance graph we just used. So, Figure 9.7 is the typical range graph for a light single-engine aeroplane. It works in exactly the same way as the endurance graph — same layout, same method of entering with your power setting and reading across — except for one crucial difference. Instead of working out airborne time, the vertical scale shows distance flown. So where the endurance graph gave you hours in the air, this one gives you nautical miles covered. Now, here’s the operational point I want you to hold onto. These range and endurance figures are only achievable if you follow the techniques described in the flight manual — and the big one is correctly leaning the mixture. If you don’t lean properly, you burn more fuel than the graph assumes, and your actual range and endurance will fall short of what you planned. So the graph is only as good as your technique. That closes the en-route and descent phase. Now we start Chapter 10: Single-engine Class B — Landing. And I want to give you the map of what this chapter covers, because it’s a structured sequence. We begin with the landing requirement itself, then a worked example of that requirement. After that, we look at the factors to be accounted for, and then the correction factors that adjust the basic figures. Next come the despatch rules — the operational constraints you must satisfy before you can send the aeroplane off. Then we define the reference landing speed, which is VREF — that’s the speed you aim to cross the threshold at. After that, we cover the presentation of landing data and how to use the graphs. And finally, the chapter closes with practice questions and their answers. So the spine of this chapter is: establish the landing requirement, apply the factors and corrections, respect the despatch rules, know your VREF, and then read the graphs correctly. Let’s start with the landing requirement itself.