RCU Forums - View Single Post - How do I get heading degree feedback when I've lost orientation?
Old 08-27-2017 | 04:58 AM
  #4  
jester_s1
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From: Fort Worth, TX
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Why would you want to do this? Using an electronic device is not the best solution to every problem, despite what my middle school tech ed students think.

If you try to use a readout, you will have to look away from your plane. If you do that, chances are you'll never see it again. So all the technology will do for you is give you a general direction in which to look for the wreckage.

The way to maintain orientation is to understand the very basic principle that airplanes don't change course unless told to. If you were going away from yourself a few seconds ago, then you are still going away from yourself even if it doesn't look like it. So assume that and correct accordingly. If the issue is coming out of a maneuver and being surprised that your plane did something unexpected, the tried and true methods of giving the elevator a slight bump to see if it's upright or inverted and the commanding rudder input to see if it's going toward or away from you are the best chance you have of getting the plane back to yourself. Also, of course, learning to not fly so far away from yourself is a good habit to develop.