All of a sudden I’m having issues with gaining altitude in the practice mission solo flight while taking off. I turn on the throttle all the way and aim the nose a few inches above the horizon but the plane stops rising at some point. I get a beeping sound and if I continue, I get rumble in my controller. I know this is a basic question but what am I doing wrong?
The beeping noise and rumbling, is the indicaton of the stall warning. So, obviously you are stalling out, so the wings will not generate any lift anymore.
- Which aircraft are you flying in this lesson?
- What is the airport elevation?
- If available, did you set your mixture to rich and your RPM to max. RPM?
Check to see if your flaps are out, they’ll help give you lift for takeoff and initial start of climb. Also, as EpicPrimus said, check to make sure your mixture is set properly for best engine performance at the elevation the airport is at. That and just make sure you are not pitching up too strongly.
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Make sure you’re not climbing too steep. That will cause you to stall. 5-7º of attitude is what you need wiht the 152 in order to climb.
Also, it’s easier to fly from within the cockpit and use instruments than the basic instruments you get from external view. Not sure if you’re flying in or out of the cockpit, but flying inside helps a lot.
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It’s the Cessna 152. I don’t think it has to do with the mixture. Should I set the trim level or that is not appropriate?
A lean / too rich mixture (depending on the altitude) will prevent your engine from running on its full potential!
The 152 doesn’t have an adjustable prop, so this can’t be the problem.
Also, as mentioned above, check that your flaps are in T/O config. Check, that they aren’t deployed fully, because they will create too much drag.
I haven’t done the training mission, but are you retracting your flaps after your plane starts to climb or are you leaving them extended, you shouldnt have to trim until you reach level fight (but check before take off that you actually have up trim).
If your flaps are down you will very quickly loose air speed, crash, then burn. Good Luck.
Also I presume you have excluded more obvious reasons such as icing. This one gave me lots of trouble in my King Air 350, until I figured out I have to repeat that single surface de-icing cycle every now and then.
In the 152, take off with no flaps, full power, full mixture. Pitch up (rotate) at 65 knots and try and hold 75 knots in the climb. It’s an underpowered airplane, so you should try and be as precise as you can with your airspeed in the climb. If you’ve got the nose up too high, speed and thus climb performance can drop off pretty quickly, and you can wind up without enough power for what you’re asking the plane to do (aka “behind the power curve”).
If that doesn’t work there’s something else at play. But I can’t imagine they set up the training flights in locations where you would need to lean for takeoff, for example.
I’m curious as to which controller you’re using that gives rumble feedback on a stall. I’m using a joystick. I didn’t realise there are controllers that give that kind of feedback.
XBox controller will.
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If you are flying out of Sedona (KSEZ) that is at nearly 5,000 feet. Full Rich mixture - especially in this software - will not work well. Before takeoff set the parking brake and push the throttle to get 1800 rpm. Pull the mixture back slowly until you get maximum rpm. That’s the only way you can set the mixture in a 152 not equipped with an EGT gauge.
FLAPS: In the 152 I used to do my takeoff roll up to about 60+ knots indicated and then drop 10 degrees flaps. It was like hitting the UP button on the express elevator… but only for about ten seconds. Before I lost that bit of help from the flaps I would level out and retract the flaps, holding my altitude without any climb at all until I got past 75 knots. Then, and only then, I would gently pull back on the yoke to climb at 75 knots indicated. On a hot day at 5,000 feet MSL you may not even get 500 feet per minute in a 152.
Hope that helps! 
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Climbing is stunted by fuel load and weight of passengers and stuff.
Give yourself as much runway as possible. Set 10 degs flaps. Elevator trim middle. Open the throttle and hold the airplane on the wheel brakes. When at full revs, release the brakes. Expect a swing to the left.
Rotate ( lift the nose ) at 55 kts. Climb at 2 to 3 degs on the attitude indicator. Accelerate to 90 kts and raise the flaps. Expect a dip. Compensate with the stick.
To make takeoff easier, carry the amount of fuel to complete the trip with enough to get to an alternative field if the planned landing is denied.
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