Don't Push the Performance Envelope
November 2011
You read about it all the time...
A pilot earns his license, then loads the airplane full of passengers and baggage and the airplane can't clear the trees off the end of the runway.
Another pilot makes her first trip to the mountains and the airplane won't climb out of ground effect.
A third tries to land an unfamiliar airplane on a short runway and runs off the end into the grass.
They're all tragic, and most of the time they could be easily avoided. There's a big difference between flying the way most of us are instructed, and the situations we can put ourselves into once we're free to act as pilot-in-command.
Think back at how your instructor taught you to fly. You started with the easy stuff, got good at it, then added more challenging work. You probably didn't learn short-field takeoffs and landings from the very beginning (unless you're one of those happy pilots who took your initial training at a little grass airstrip). Everything was done in a fairly lightly loaded airplane, with the center of gravity well inside the envelope.
Once you have your "license," however, you can legally load the airplane all the way to maximum weight, with the center of gravity in the forward, middle or aft end of the envelope. What you may not have learned from your flying lessons is that the airplane will handle and behave very differently with different loading or environmental conditions.
To safely learn the full range of the airplane's loading and performance envelope, consider nibbling away at the edges a bit at a time. For instance, don't attempt a maximum-weight takeoff at a high density altitude until you've practiced heavy takeoffs at lower density altitudes, and high density altitude takeoffs at lighter airplane weights. Then get good at short field takeoffs and landings before you try them at heavy weights or on a hot day.
If your instructor were still flying with you, they'd likely tell you to expect very different airplane handling and performance as you stray further from typical dual instruction scenarios. Since your CFI probably isn't along for the ride, however, you'll need to find out exactly how different on your own.
Avemco does not provide technical or legal advice. Content is for general information and discussion only, and is not a full analysis of the matters presented. The information provided may not be applicable in all situations, and readers should always seek specific advice from the FAA and/or appropriate technical and legal experts (including the most current applicable guidelines) before taking any action with respect to any matters discussed herein.
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