Re: Flying in a Classic Aircraft.
Posted: 29 May 2017, 16:44
Glad you had fun with the Collings boys! They're a great group.
As for the rudder pedals - it's kinda a "thing" for many commercial pilots. They're basically taught that rudder pedals are a "bad" thing and so once they're in the air, they're put in the habit of taking their feet off of them because you don't want to override the Yaw Damper or Autopilot. It gets to be a habit. However, on the B-17, it's also not a bad thing because it's a really stable platform and you can do most of your flying and the normal "gentle" turns you do while on these flights without touching the pedals anyway, so you can relax somewhat. The B-24, however, you'll see them with their feet on the rudders at all times because it needs a lot more coordination to stay "nice".
As for the rudder pedals - it's kinda a "thing" for many commercial pilots. They're basically taught that rudder pedals are a "bad" thing and so once they're in the air, they're put in the habit of taking their feet off of them because you don't want to override the Yaw Damper or Autopilot. It gets to be a habit. However, on the B-17, it's also not a bad thing because it's a really stable platform and you can do most of your flying and the normal "gentle" turns you do while on these flights without touching the pedals anyway, so you can relax somewhat. The B-24, however, you'll see them with their feet on the rudders at all times because it needs a lot more coordination to stay "nice".