A C172 PLT REPORTED ENCOUNTERING WAKE TURB FROM A PRECEDING CARAVAN ON DEP THAT REQUIRED FULL CONTROL INPUT FOR RECOVERY.
Synopsis
A C172 PLT REPORTED ENCOUNTERING WAKE TURB FROM A PRECEDING CARAVAN ON DEP THAT REQUIRED FULL CONTROL INPUT FOR RECOVERY.
Narrative
AFTER ABOUT 1.5 HOURS OF PRACTICE; RETURNED TO THE ARPT FOR 'TOUCH AND GOES'. TFC AT THE ARPT WAS LIGHT; AND THE WINDS WERE RPTED AS 290 AT 5 KTS. ON THE FIRST TOUCH AND GO (RWY 31R); TOWER CLEARED A CARAVAN TO TAKE OFF IN FRONT OF ME. THIS IS COMMON AT THIS ARPT; SO I DID NOT THINK ANYTHING OF IT AS I HAVE TAKEN OFF AND LANDED BEHIND CARAVANS ON MANY OCCASIONS. AFTER THE TOUCH AND GO; I BEGAN TO CLB. AT ABOUT 400 FT; MY ACFT ENTERED AN UNCOMMANDED APPROX 45 DEG BANK TO THE R. I RECOVERED USING ALL FLT CTLS; PARTICULARLY FULL L RUDDER; FULL L AILERON AND LOWERED NOSE TO REDUCE ANGLE OF ATTACK. UPON RECOVERY I CALLED TOWER TO ASK IF ANY JETS/HEAVIES HAD TAKEN OFF RECENTLY. THEY SAID NONE HAD AND I RPTED THE EVENT TO THEM AT THAT TIME. I DECIDED TO TERMINATE MY FLT AT THAT POINT AND ASKED TO MAKE THE NEXT LNDG A FULL STOP. I AM NOT SURE; BUT I THINK THE SITUATION MAY HAVE BEEN JUST RIGHT TO CAUSE THE RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF WAKE TURBULENCE CREATED BY THE CARAVAN TO CROSS MY FLIGHT PATH. THE TRAINING MATERIAL I HAVE USED ALL PUTS THE FOCUS ON MUCH LARGER AIRPLANES COMING TO CONFLICT WITH MUCH SMALLER AIRPLANES WHEN DISCUSSING WAKE TURBULENCE (E.G. PAX JETS); HOWEVER I THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE THE TRAINING EXAMPLES DEPICT PLANES WITH A SMALLER DISPARITY IN SIZE TO SHOW THAT IT DOES NOT TAKE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE IN SIZE TO CAUSE A WAKE TURBULENCE ENCOUNTER.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.