While the majority of my flying is with pilots that fly Bonanzas, most of them have never been through the BPPP program. Almost all of them are members of the American Bonanza Society, and as an ambassador of the organization, I try to show the value of the membership through the BPPP program. As much as I fly with many of these pilots, I sense apprehension in signing up for the program and think part of it may be due to the lack of understanding of what to expect. In attempt to expose some of the elements of the program further, we will give an overview of the process and review two of my favorite BPPP maneuvers.
The BPPP program is divided into two segments: Ground and Flight. The ground portion can be done online at the ABS Online Learning Center in the comfort of your home or office. Much effort has been put into the creation of the online learning system to make it interesting and relevant. I know many pilots that completed the online training with very positive reports on the value of the content provided and that there were new concepts learned from the experience. The flight portion is done in your aircraft and typically takes about 4 hours, which include a little over an hour dedicated to pre-flight and post-flight discussion. The actual time in the aircraft varies, but can push beyond 3 hours, depending on whether you need an IPC or BFR (or both) out of the experience. You and your instructor will review the requirements to meet the objectives for the day so you know what to expect. For example, if this is your first BPPP check out, you will see that emergency gear extension is a required item. You can find this documentation on the ABS website in the “training” section. There are no surprises on the flight portion of the BPPP Program, especially if you take the time to review the list of maneuvers beforehand.
You will notice that the flight portion of the program looks similar to what is required on a Private Pilot Flight Test. While most of the maneuvers may look familiar to you, there may be some differences to what you have experienced while preparing for a check ride. Additionally, you will find items that aren’t typically covered in your basic syllabus, such as a door unexpectedly opening on takeoff.
Two of my favorite maneuvers might sound routine, but I picked these two because they highlight some of the adverse characteristics of the airplane in various configurations that, if left unchecked, can leave the pilot in a dangerous position with an outcome they didn’t expect. They are the Forced Landing and the Spiral demonstration.
Forced Landing
Forced landings are practiced during flight reviews, aircraft checkouts and in preparation for various pilot licenses. The Private Pilot syllabus has completion standards for emergency landings and the Commercial Pilot syllabus goes a step further, requiring a precision 180 degree, engine out landing. The BPPP Forced Landing is a maneuver that simulates an engine failure at a specific spot above an airport and is designed to demonstrate negative characteristics of aircraft configuration and required planning that can lead to a successful outcome. Since the Bonanza is a single engine aircraft, it only makes sense to make sure we understand these characteristics when training for an off-airport landing.
The maneuver starts from a position called High Key. This position is considered “upwind” to the landing runway, abeam the numbers. (See the BPPP Diagram to the right). Before starting the maneuver, it is advisable to reduce power to a low-speed cruise setting in order to cool the engine, which can be done as the pilot descends to the starting altitude of the maneuver – 2500 feet above ground. Once at the High Key position, the instructor will simulate an engine failure by gradually reducing the power. Sometimes, I will ask the pilot to perform the power reduction if they appear anxious about the maneuver.Best Glide airspeed is established by the pilot and the aircraft is configured as follows:
- Manifold Pressure: 10-11 Inches
- Propeller: High RPM
- Gear: Down
- Vertical Speed: Approximately 700 fpm to simulate glide
As the pilot makes the turn to crosswind and then downwind, the pilot should vary the bank angle to compensate for the wind and drift. Once on the downwind segment, the aircraft should be descending through about 1500 feet AGL and will have gone through at least the memory items for an emergency landing. Throughout the maneuver, the pilot should be constantly judging distance from the runway and the remaining altitude for the maneuver. I will typically point out the sink rate, which will seem unusually high to a pilot transitioning from a smaller, non-complex aircraft. As the pilot turns base, it becomes clear whether we are going to make the field. I always brief the maneuver with the pilot beforehand to make sure they know that power should be added if it appears they aren’t going to make the field. Touchdown should be normal with proper crosswind control deflection techniques as required.
Because this is intended to be a controlled instructional session, there are certain limitations we set in the BPPP program to add a margin of safety, such as the following:
- Only paved runways
- Runway at least 4000 ft.
- Gear down throughout the whole maneuver
- Propeller High RPM
While some of these configurations may be contrary to what you may do in a real-life engine failure, remember that this is a demonstration of the negative characteristics of the aircraft in certain configurations. That being said, if the pilot doesn’t make the airfield, it doesn’t constitute a failure of the maneuver. Pilots new to Bonanzas are surprised at the high sink rate of the aircraft and the tremendous disadvantage of drag. I make sure to brief the pilot on methods to limit drag and to properly plan in order to increase the chances of making the field. I especially enjoy this maneuver, because some of the best conversations come out of performing this maneuver - It gets pilots thinking about how to anticipate aircraft performance in this situation and how to properly plan crosswind, downwind, base and final.
Spiral Demonstration
The Spiral Demonstration is a maneuver designed to show how the slightly negative roll characteristics of the aircraft can develop into an aggressive descending spiral and techniques for recovering from the maneuver properly.
The Spiral Demonstration starts at least 3000 ft. AGL or higher, preferably in smooth air. In Bonanzas, we slow the aircraft down to about 100 KIAS. I have the pilot set the power to maintain 100 KIAS and trim the aircraft for level flight. I will demonstrate how a push on the yoke will cause the aircraft to pitch down, but after a few oscillations will generally return to level flight. I will do the same with the rudder much in the same way I did with the yoke.
To demonstrate the negative stability characteristics in roll, I will ask the student to let go of the yoke and allow the aircraft to eventually enter a bank. Sometimes I will put a little pressure on one of the rudders to help accelerate the maneuver. I explain how a distracted pilot can let a bank that goes unchecked to accelerate into a rapidly descending spiral. As per BPPP standards, we terminate the maneuver once the aircraft approaches 60 degrees of bank or maneuvering speed.
Recovery from the maneuver is demonstrated by leveling the wings and starting a slight pitch up, being mindful of the G-force induced by doing so. Many pilot’s natural reaction is to pull on the yoke when they see the extreme nose-down attitude, when in-fact the control pressures will require you to push on the yoke to prevent the aircraft from pitching up aggressively and inducing a high G-load. As you might suspect, a better recovery to this situation would be to reduce power so that the extreme pitch up and subsequent G-forces are less. I enjoy doing both demonstrations during the BPPP Flight portion of the program so that the pilot can see the differences in control pressures and technique.
The BPPP Program is a great way to get to know your aircraft better and to practice situations you don’t normally encounter. If you haven’t taken the BPPP course yet, I encourage you to go to the ABS Website and review some of the materials under the Training Section so you can see what it is all about. Review the list of BPPP instructors and find one that is convenient for you, or one that specializes in equipment installed in your aircraft. I guarantee that you will have fun, learn more about your aircraft, and maybe even make a friend in the process.