Page 20 - October21T_REV

30 Seconds Over Delaware
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but students handle all of the takeoffs and landings under the close scrutiny of Kipp or one of the other experienced flight instructors.
“Once we’re airborne, it’s off to the practice area to give the students a chance to get a feel for the airplane,” she said. “Gentle turns followed by increasing degrees of bank and ending with steep turns. You have to feel the differences in control forces and the effect of torque.”
Speaking of control forces, Kipp said that one thing that catches students is how unbalanced the bomber’s controls are. The ailerons are very heavy, so it takes two hands to make turns. On the other side, the elevators and rudders are light.
“On top of that, you have the torque of those two big radial engines pulling you one way or another,” she continued. “The stick and rudder part is very challenging for anyone who
has never f lown radial engines, but it’s a lot of fun.”
After a few turns, students get the whole stall sequence, culminating with a simulated single-engine go-around. A word on stalls is appropriate here.
“It’s dramatically different from anything you’ve ever f lown before,” Kelley said. “Its stall characteristics are dramatic – not much fun – and certainly not like any Cessna. Put it into a full stall, and you’re upside down in a heartbeat. This is serious stuff.”
The requisite need to sharpen or re-learn your stick-and-rudder skills is one benefit that every pilot takes away from the B-25 program.
“They are benefits no matter what you f ly,” he added. “The more you f ly an airplane like this the better you will fly any other airplane. That’s why all kinds of pilots come here. They all leave as better pilots.”
Back in the cockpit, along with other air work, students also practice f ly- ing steeper than normal approaches.
Because of the need for precise energy management, the B-25’s approaches are f lown higher and steeper than the standard three-degree slope we are all used to.
“You have to master energy man- agement during the approach,” Kipp explained. “You can’t drag a B-25 in low and slow. It takes too much power to get f lying again.”
“Once we demonstrate what the airplane can and cannot do, we fly to another airport that has wider, longer runways for students to do their take- offs and landings,” she added. “I can tell you that the students and instruc- tors are worn out at the end of the day. But, still, everyone comes away saying it is one of the best experiences of their flying career.”
“All the flight training through the recommendation ride and the check ride is done in-house,” Kelley said. “Along with our three highly-qualified CFIs, we also have Paul Nuwer, an FAA examiner on staff. It’s important that we have a turn-key operation.”
18 • TWIN & TURBINE / October 2021
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