Question:

I bought my Cirrus SR22 a year ago and went through the factory training. Yesterday, I went around from the flare when I thought I saw an airplane about to enter the runway. It didn’t—but I was shocked how much forward pressure and right rudder it took to keep control. I don’t remember it being so hard in training. Any clue what happened there?

Answer:

A go-around during the flare or a rejected landing can be a difficult maneuver. Slow airspeed and high power creates the greatest amount of left-turning tendencies. Further, adding the power causes a pitching up moment which if not corrected can cause the nose to rise quickly and the aircraft could stall. Both of these things need to be corrected promptly. This is why it is so important to include training on these maneuvers into initial and recurrent training. We want to know our skills are sharp in this area so we will never be reluctant to go around if necessary.

First the pitch up. Since the airplane is normally trimmed for the proper approach speed and at low power, when we add full power the nose will pitch up significantly. We need to be prepared to counter this with forward elevator. If you add the power smoothly while watching the nose in relation to the horizon by looking out at the 10:30 to 11:00 position of the windscreen, you can keep that nose from climbing more than it should.

Then you can begin to get the aircraft slowly back in trim. Follow your POH regarding clean up, but be careful not to move flaps or gear until you have good control of the aircraft and then only one thing at a time and re-trim between steps.

Some pilots trim nose up during the flare. Doing this will complicate the out-oftrim condition if a go-around is required.

Now for the left-turning problems. As you mention, these are at their worst at this time because of the high nose attitude. P-factor is at its greatest. So, we need to anticipate a need for lots of right rudder as we are adding power.

Again, you will have to watch out the left side of the engine cowling and keep that cowling aligned with the left side of the runway. Another clue to proper rudder control is to check the ailerons. If you are holding a lot of right aileron, you need more right rudder.

When executing a rejected landing there is no reason to add the power quickly, usually just a little power and a slight pitch up will keep you in the air. So add the power positively but only at a rate that allows you to maintain control of the aircraft.

Tip of the Week Courtesy PilotWorkshop

Brian’s after-thought:

You might think to yourself, well, the person asking the question bought a Cirrus and that’s a much different aircraft compared to what I fly, and I don’t think that really applies to me. Actually, you might be really surprised that a Cessna 150, a Kitfox, or any other airplane will react in much the same manner.

While you might not experience significant P-factor, have flaps or retractable landing gear to contend with, if you’ve trimmed your aircraft for a smooth landing approach, you’ll probably get a pronounced pitch up when power is applied for a rejected landing. Loss of control is one of the most common causes of accidents when go-arounds are attempted.

In the Cessna 150, the pitch-up is definitely there and easily compensated for. But, in the Cessna 195, it takes much more forward pressure to prevent the aircraft from ballooning up into a low altitude stall. Pitch-up on a go-around carries much more force than you’d expect and can catch you very much off guard if you’re not expecting it. I trim so that I need to be applying a little back pressure on the controls during final approach. That way, if I need to apply a lot power suddenly, the airplane is more closely attuned to that pitch up maneuver without a lot of correction.

In the 195, my procedure is to add forward pressure as I increase the power. Only after I have full power, I then start moving the trim to reduce forward pressure while maintaining level flight. Once the forward pressure is reduced I close the carb heat so I’m developing full power and begin my climb.

I also have to contend with the P-factor. With the heavy, 8-foot diameter prop, there is a lot of torque generated. I really notice it when I do touch and goes. I’ve had a few instances when I reacted too slowly with the rudder and the edge of the runway came too close for my comfort. I’ve certainly learned to keep my feet very active on the rudder to stay out of the ditch.

Get to know your aircraft. As an exercise, climb to a safe height, pick an altitude several hundred feet below and simulate a landing approach to that altitude. Trim you aircraft into landing approach configuration and then do a simulated go-around. Feel and watch how the aircraft reacts and learn how to anticipate and react to the forces. You’ll be a better, safer and more confident pilot.