Matt: series verses parallel yaw dampeners??

Parallel = Y/D system moves the same gears/wires/linkage that your pedals move and thus your pedals move also.Series = Y/D is after your pedals and you won't feel your pedals moving as everything is behind the scenes except for the little Y/D indicator on the instrument panel.I don't really like the name convention, but that's what they use.With the planes I've flown, you can't move the pedals when the Y/D is on if it's a parallel system. Either you're moving the rudder or the Y/D is moving the rudder. You'll normally turn it ON after takeoff and OFF before landing. With series, it's always on unless it's busted. Your pedals and rudder trim override the Y/D.Each has it's own goofy points. Parallel with an engine failure: trim the plane up, kick on the Y/D, and it stays ball centered. Don't touch the pedals or the rudder trim until you get ready to land. That's nice. But sometimes you can forget to click it off on a normal landing, and you can't get the plane to steer down the runway after landing. Ooops - CLICK.Series, it's always on but it's not as much help in an engine out situation in my opinion. You're trimming the rudder every time you make a power change. There's something that simmers may not realize: With the A/P on, the yoke deflects left or right if you're out of trim on a swept wing plane but you use the rudder trim to straighten it out. The 737 even needs a little rudder trim once you level off in cruise.I think the aileron trim on the 737 is for display purpose only. Heck, they may be dummy switches for all I know. ;)

Real world, you'd wouldn't do a slip to lose altitude. My technique when I'm hosed: T/Ls to idle & drop the gear add flaps and keep the nose high until you get to Ref+5 to Ref+15 and let the thing fall out of the sky until you get back on slope. It isn't only the sim that gives slam dunk approaches.Boeings have Series Yaw Dampers, so you don't need to kick the Y/D off for landing (or to go un-coordinated) like you do on most turboprops (which have Parallel Y/Ds).

Thanks, I'll try that. I've been slam dunked a ton in real life as well. I won't name any specific facilities, but getting a six seater out of the air in a hurry isn't nearly as hard as doing it with a heavy.

Thanks, I'll try that. I've been slam dunked a ton in real life as well. I won't name any specific facilities, but getting a six seater out of the air in a hurry isn't nearly as hard as doing it with a heavy.

In the sim you may need to watch out for the speeds. In the jet you can just keep trimming up until you get to Vref+15 and then almost let go of the yoke. The nose will pitch over on its own. I don't think it'll be as easy on FS9 to get the control response.Airlines have a stabilized approach criteria that you probably want to aim for. Don't have more the 1000fpm descent rate below 1000' and at it's good to have the engines spooled up by 500'. You'd be amazed how much of a correction you can make in a few miles. It looks ugly at first when you're trying to lose speed, but it catches up in a hurry once you get dirty.

Matt, thanks for the clarification. Most my time is in a C-414, yaw damper? We don't need no yaw damper; hey honey why are you so green? My first engine out landing wasn't near as interesting as trying to taxi to the ramp.

It's good airmanship to always keep the plane coordinated with the rudder but in cruise flight and in normal turns in a 172 you can quite easily get away without touching the pedals at all. It has several built in features to help coordinate itself. That said it's lazy not to use the pedals and it's not good practice for when you go on to fly less forgiving planes.

Certainly in my mind one of the key reasons for keeping turns coordinated is the lower risk.If you stall the aircraft, and the aircraft is not coordinated, the risk of a spin is much higher. When you are in the traffic pattern, making turns before landing, you are going slowly (probably fairly close to the stall speed - 130% of it perhaps) and so do not have too much margin to play with before the aircraft does stall. If you start banking hard in order to correct an overshoot, for example, you're in even more trouble - the stall speed of the aircraft increases with the load factor (Gs you are pulling), and so your margin shrinks even more. You are also low and so have less altitude to recover should you stall the aircraft. A low altitude spin, which would be more likely to occur if your turns are uncoordinated, would I think be pretty undesirable and certainly a reason to hope for that ballistic parachute system!Anyway, that's my boring thoughts on the subject and why uncoordinated turns scare me!James

Like this? Honestly, this scares the hell out of me - http://www.sumo.tv/video/406768Luckily, I believe all were ok, IIRC.

I can only imagine what was going through the pilot's head after his right wingtip touched the ground!Great that they escaped - and a fantastic video example.James