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The 720 Power Turn

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sqwkvfr

Baseball junkie
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Posts
1,673
I'm researching for a CFI lesson plan and found a maneuver in Kershner's Student Pilot Flight Manual called the 720 power turn (used for teaching steep turns)

I hadn't heard of it before, but it seems to me that doing two 360s in a steep turn might aid in a student's mastery of the steep turn for the simple fact that he/she will have more time to get comforable with the required attitude and power settings.

When I learned steep turns, they always seemed to be over with so quickly that that it was difficult to get an appreciation for what was happening.

The book in question is Kershner's eighth edition, and I understand that there is a newer version in print, but I'm wondering if this is just a little known technique or something that had been used in the past and was abandonded for whatever reason.

Does anyone know?? ...and if you have used the 720, how did it work in relation to just one 360??
 
sqwkvfr said:
...and if you have used the 720, how did it work in relation to just one 360??

seems like it took about twice as long.

actually i did this with almost all my students so they'd have more time to get a good sight picture of what pitch it takes to maintain alt, but i've never seen it called a 720 before. once or twice we even did a 1080.
 
sqwkvfr said:
When I learned steep turns, they always seemed to be over with so quickly that that it was difficult to get an appreciation for what was happening.

Too bad your instructor didn't use common sense and let you go 'round and 'round 'til you got it - that has always been my way. And most instructors - I think.

Anyway, yeah, they used to be called 720 steep turns because you went around twice and sometimes the student would lose count and go around 3 times, but the point is - we learned by repetition - immediate repetition. That's a basic teaching tool in all maneuvers.

Too many instructors are teaching ONLY the PTS maneuver in it's rigid form. Too bad.
 
The 720 turn is cool because, as people have said, it gives the kid time enough to figure out what's going. Also, by the time he recovers, not only is he likey to go around a third time, he'll often forget to reduce power, etc.

There's also the 1080 overhead approach, which few people still teach.
 
jafo20 said:
The 720 turn is cool because, as people have said, it gives the kid time enough to figure out what's going. Also, by the time he recovers, not only is he likey to go around a third time, he'll often forget to reduce power, etc.

There's also the 1080 overhead approach, which few people still teach.

I believe Obi-Wan still teaches that.
 

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