Last night I did my 2nd and final night flight. This was a cross-country trip to Salisbury. It was a nice night for it - calm winds, reported overcast at 6000 but it appeared broken, and a balmy 40 degrees for a December night.
We took off into really smooth air and proceeded on course. I had an easier time picking up landmarks, but I still struggled to manage paper and frequencies and navigation and aviation all at once. I handled all of the radio work, uneventfully except for when I checked in with the tower at Salisbury - I gave them the wrong location. But I called back and fixed that.
The night was so clear that we spotted the airport more than 20 miles out and we were even nearly lined up with the runway, so I guess you could say I had a 20-mile final approach. We did 5 stop-and-goes and returned home.
Overall this flight was much easier than my other night flight. The calm winds and good visibility helped. The landings were OK, no bounces or dropping it in.
I'm cleared for solo cross country work now.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Lesson 23
After cancellations because of weather and a scheduling mixup, I finally got the first of two night flights in yesterday. The weather briefer went on about icing, but the conditions were actually quite good for November, light breeze, temperature around 40, occasional stars visible through a high broken layer.
We took off through a few bumps from a very quiet airport. I couldn't have navigated to Easton on my own - the landmarks were hard to pick out and a very strong tailwind was pushing us along a lot faster than I've seen before. When we arrived in the airport area, I had a very hard time picking up the runway lights. The air was smooth above 1000 feet but in the Easton pattern I struggled with wind and even seeing the runway so I didn't fly the rectangular pattern well at all. We did five stop-and-goes. Actually we landed, stopped, back-taxied, and took off again. There was no one else in the pattern so we had it to ourselves. The landings were pretty ugly because I had a hard time judging height in the flare.
We departed for the return flight and this time it was easier to find landmarks, but I would have gotten lost in the big dark area near the airport if I had been alone. We entered the pattern and I struggled with altitude, getting too low, until established on final. The last landing was the worst, with two bounces, and I don't know how much was me and how much was the instructor fighting me on the controls. He said everyone has trouble in the dark there because of the lack of lights in the airport area.
So I'm glad that's done. The next flight should be a dual cross-country at night.
We took off through a few bumps from a very quiet airport. I couldn't have navigated to Easton on my own - the landmarks were hard to pick out and a very strong tailwind was pushing us along a lot faster than I've seen before. When we arrived in the airport area, I had a very hard time picking up the runway lights. The air was smooth above 1000 feet but in the Easton pattern I struggled with wind and even seeing the runway so I didn't fly the rectangular pattern well at all. We did five stop-and-goes. Actually we landed, stopped, back-taxied, and took off again. There was no one else in the pattern so we had it to ourselves. The landings were pretty ugly because I had a hard time judging height in the flare.
We departed for the return flight and this time it was easier to find landmarks, but I would have gotten lost in the big dark area near the airport if I had been alone. We entered the pattern and I struggled with altitude, getting too low, until established on final. The last landing was the worst, with two bounces, and I don't know how much was me and how much was the instructor fighting me on the controls. He said everyone has trouble in the dark there because of the lack of lights in the airport area.
So I'm glad that's done. The next flight should be a dual cross-country at night.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Lesson 22
Long layoff from flying, nearly a month, and I was rusty. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduled to go to Salisbury for my first cross country. We got out to the airport on a beautiful day, only to find that the airport was fogged in.
So two weeks later, we got the flight in. Boy did the weather change. It was gusting for the whole flight, except for the time above 2000. And the crosswind from the north was making it hard for me to fly my course. The weather at Salisbury was significantly worse, with a lower ceiling, gusting wind, and even some rain.
I was navigating OK until we reached the Eastern Shore, where I got confused because of the combination of rivers, wind blowing me off course, and the directional gyro drift that I didn't notice. I was following a VOR so I was steadily heading toward the destination, but there were some S turns in there.
Eventually we approached the airport, I contacted the tower, and we received clearance to land, left base for runway 05. I totally misjudged the placement of the base leg and found myself and another aircraft both ready to turn final 3 miles out. SO I did a 360 to let the other plane get in front and then I followed it in. There was a displaced threshold that was very odd - sandbags on 1000 feet of runway that made it hard to pick the threshold up until we were close.
We did a series of touch and goes and departed for an uneventful return flight. Uneventful save for constantly fighting to stay on course.
I was pleased with the landings that I did, all four in gusting wind. I was disappointed that I had such a hard time staying on course, but I guess it was to be expected to some extent because it was my first time.
So two weeks later, we got the flight in. Boy did the weather change. It was gusting for the whole flight, except for the time above 2000. And the crosswind from the north was making it hard for me to fly my course. The weather at Salisbury was significantly worse, with a lower ceiling, gusting wind, and even some rain.
I was navigating OK until we reached the Eastern Shore, where I got confused because of the combination of rivers, wind blowing me off course, and the directional gyro drift that I didn't notice. I was following a VOR so I was steadily heading toward the destination, but there were some S turns in there.
Eventually we approached the airport, I contacted the tower, and we received clearance to land, left base for runway 05. I totally misjudged the placement of the base leg and found myself and another aircraft both ready to turn final 3 miles out. SO I did a 360 to let the other plane get in front and then I followed it in. There was a displaced threshold that was very odd - sandbags on 1000 feet of runway that made it hard to pick the threshold up until we were close.
We did a series of touch and goes and departed for an uneventful return flight. Uneventful save for constantly fighting to stay on course.
I was pleased with the landings that I did, all four in gusting wind. I was disappointed that I had such a hard time staying on course, but I guess it was to be expected to some extent because it was my first time.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Solo 2
We're having a beautiful weekend here as Summer comes to a close. I was looking forward to a nice, calm trip out to the practice area. I reserved a different plane, and I had a time with the radio. I never did get the second radio working and I wound up just using the first radio to pick up the AWOS. The wind at ground level was calm, but I definitely felt it when I cleared the trees. It was cool, about 65 degrees, when I departed and the airplane climbed a whole lot better than I was used to.
I went around the pattern once, just to get a sense of the visibility, wind, and airplane performance. I landed, taxied back, took off, and departed the area. When I switched to the ATC frequency and called in, the controller asked me what transponder code I was using. After I told him, he asked me whether that was the assigned code. I said it was after double-checking what I wrote when I got it on the phone. He asked me to ident, I did, and then he told me that my transponder was observed and sent me on course. Very peculiar.
I proceeded out to the bay, turned south, and promptly arrived in the practice area. I did my clearing turns, followed by a figure 8 medium bank turn, followed by a series of steep turns. It was very smooth, but I had a hard time holding altitude and lost more than I liked. I then did some slow flight, with shallow turns. When I'd had enough, I went back, landed, and went once more around the pattern.
Some firsts on this flight: first time solo away from the airport, first time solo practicing maneuvers, first time solo finding my way to the practice area and back to the airport, and finally, first time dealing with ATC solo.
I went around the pattern once, just to get a sense of the visibility, wind, and airplane performance. I landed, taxied back, took off, and departed the area. When I switched to the ATC frequency and called in, the controller asked me what transponder code I was using. After I told him, he asked me whether that was the assigned code. I said it was after double-checking what I wrote when I got it on the phone. He asked me to ident, I did, and then he told me that my transponder was observed and sent me on course. Very peculiar.
I proceeded out to the bay, turned south, and promptly arrived in the practice area. I did my clearing turns, followed by a figure 8 medium bank turn, followed by a series of steep turns. It was very smooth, but I had a hard time holding altitude and lost more than I liked. I then did some slow flight, with shallow turns. When I'd had enough, I went back, landed, and went once more around the pattern.
Some firsts on this flight: first time solo away from the airport, first time solo practicing maneuvers, first time solo finding my way to the practice area and back to the airport, and finally, first time dealing with ATC solo.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Solo 1
I'm calling this solo number 1 because this was my first time flying without the instructor present. He wasn't even at the airport. I never left the pattern, but that's fine - it was fun anyway.
I did 6 trips around the pattern, bounced it on 2 of the landings, and managed only one really nice nose high landing, with the other three so-so. The wind at ground level was 3-6 knots but variable, and mostly along the runway. But the wind was gusting a lot at pattern altitude and lifted a wing now and then, but I was able to handle it easily. I might have gone around a couple more times, but at the end of the hour, there were some low clouds lingering over the field and even though I stayed well clear, they were close enough to bother me.
Oh and by the way, even though it was just a pattern flight, it felt really good doing it all by myself.
I did 6 trips around the pattern, bounced it on 2 of the landings, and managed only one really nice nose high landing, with the other three so-so. The wind at ground level was 3-6 knots but variable, and mostly along the runway. But the wind was gusting a lot at pattern altitude and lifted a wing now and then, but I was able to handle it easily. I might have gone around a couple more times, but at the end of the hour, there were some low clouds lingering over the field and even though I stayed well clear, they were close enough to bother me.
Oh and by the way, even though it was just a pattern flight, it felt really good doing it all by myself.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Lesson 21
The chief instructor wanted me to fly once more with my regular instructor before going out on my own. So that's what we did today. The remnants of Hurricane Gustav blew through yesterday, soaking the whole area and with some significant winds that left me without power for a couple of hours. But today was beautifully clear, with light winds.
I told the instructor about the things I had struggled with on the stage check, so we did a couple of engine out approaches, including my first ever approach back to the departure end of the runway. The landings weren't pretty, but they were better than that awful first one I did on my phase check. Then the instructor got out and I went around five more times by myself. The wind picked up, became variable, and made the approaches kind of challenging. I was getting tossed around a lot in the pattern and found myself having to work pretty hard to hold altitude.
The pattern got really busy for a while and I had to take care to maintain spacing. One guy on downwind heard me announce my downwind leg and he called out wondering where I was until I assured him that I had him in sight and there was plenty of space between us. Another pilot was entering the pattern, saw the airplane ahead of me, then announced a 360 degree turn for spacing. He finished, rolled wings level, and was on a converging course with me, so he announced another 360 and I thanked him.
I bounced it once, on the second to last trip around. I couldn't end the day with such a bad landing, so I made one more trip around, fought the wind in the flare, had to dip a wing to keep from drifting sideways, and landed smoothly on the upwind wheel first, so that's how I ended it.
So now I've flown solo three times in the pattern. Next time I'll fly completely alone, no babysitter for the first few times around. Then I can start working on my cross country flights.
I told the instructor about the things I had struggled with on the stage check, so we did a couple of engine out approaches, including my first ever approach back to the departure end of the runway. The landings weren't pretty, but they were better than that awful first one I did on my phase check. Then the instructor got out and I went around five more times by myself. The wind picked up, became variable, and made the approaches kind of challenging. I was getting tossed around a lot in the pattern and found myself having to work pretty hard to hold altitude.
The pattern got really busy for a while and I had to take care to maintain spacing. One guy on downwind heard me announce my downwind leg and he called out wondering where I was until I assured him that I had him in sight and there was plenty of space between us. Another pilot was entering the pattern, saw the airplane ahead of me, then announced a 360 degree turn for spacing. He finished, rolled wings level, and was on a converging course with me, so he announced another 360 and I thanked him.
I bounced it once, on the second to last trip around. I couldn't end the day with such a bad landing, so I made one more trip around, fought the wind in the flare, had to dip a wing to keep from drifting sideways, and landed smoothly on the upwind wheel first, so that's how I ended it.
So now I've flown solo three times in the pattern. Next time I'll fly completely alone, no babysitter for the first few times around. Then I can start working on my cross country flights.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Stage 1 Check
Today I flew with the chief CFI for the club. It was hot, but the humidity was way down, so visibility was quite good.
We took off and I navigated to the practice area where we did the usual steep turns, stalls, slow flight, and unusual attitudes. He didn't say much. I guess he was evaluating. After uneventful maneuvers, we returned to the airport and this is where things went south. He had me establish on downwind well away from the airport, which completely screwed my pattern up. I wound up coming in on final way too fast, floated, bounced, and basically showed him my worst landing in a while. We went back around and this time it was far better. Once more around and this time we did a simulated engine out. I always struggle with these, especially with speed control. Best glide in that airplane is 60, but I frequently wind up going too fast, no matter how much nose up trim I manage to dial in. I also learned something on this particular approach. He told me to keep the nose down and it looked like we'd come up short and land in the grass, but we came into the ground effect and floated and made the runway after all.
So I botched that first landing. He kindly called it "poor." He (rightfully) criticized my technique. I reverted to my previous problems of overcorrecting in the flare, and he called it "double clutching", where I alternate between pushing forward and pulling back. On the second one I had a nice touchdown and I thought I had done it pretty well, with me pulling back on the yoke pretty hard, just about has hard as I could, holding it off, and even keeping it back to bleed off speed on the ground, but he told me that I relaxed at the end. I sure didn't feel relaxed. Also, at one point while taxiing, I got confused about which way to turn the ailerons, and of course got it backwards.
We talked a bit more after the lesson and it's clear to me that I need my regular instructor to throw in a few unexpected things to deal with as I go forward in my training. He was so reserved during and after the lesson that I wasn't even sure that I passed until I got home and saw the message that he sent to my regular instructor. It wasn't pretty, but I passed.
It's clear that my first landing or two each day is pretty rough around the edges. Clearly I'll still need to have the instructor along for the first couple of trips around the pattern.
We took off and I navigated to the practice area where we did the usual steep turns, stalls, slow flight, and unusual attitudes. He didn't say much. I guess he was evaluating. After uneventful maneuvers, we returned to the airport and this is where things went south. He had me establish on downwind well away from the airport, which completely screwed my pattern up. I wound up coming in on final way too fast, floated, bounced, and basically showed him my worst landing in a while. We went back around and this time it was far better. Once more around and this time we did a simulated engine out. I always struggle with these, especially with speed control. Best glide in that airplane is 60, but I frequently wind up going too fast, no matter how much nose up trim I manage to dial in. I also learned something on this particular approach. He told me to keep the nose down and it looked like we'd come up short and land in the grass, but we came into the ground effect and floated and made the runway after all.
So I botched that first landing. He kindly called it "poor." He (rightfully) criticized my technique. I reverted to my previous problems of overcorrecting in the flare, and he called it "double clutching", where I alternate between pushing forward and pulling back. On the second one I had a nice touchdown and I thought I had done it pretty well, with me pulling back on the yoke pretty hard, just about has hard as I could, holding it off, and even keeping it back to bleed off speed on the ground, but he told me that I relaxed at the end. I sure didn't feel relaxed. Also, at one point while taxiing, I got confused about which way to turn the ailerons, and of course got it backwards.
We talked a bit more after the lesson and it's clear to me that I need my regular instructor to throw in a few unexpected things to deal with as I go forward in my training. He was so reserved during and after the lesson that I wasn't even sure that I passed until I got home and saw the message that he sent to my regular instructor. It wasn't pretty, but I passed.
It's clear that my first landing or two each day is pretty rough around the edges. Clearly I'll still need to have the instructor along for the first couple of trips around the pattern.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Lesson 20
I had a long layoff from flying because I went on vacation. I was afraid I'd be very rusty, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too bad.
We went out to Deale to practice air work to prepare for my stage check. The lowest level of clouds was 2200 feet and we normally practice at around 3000. We use 3000 to stay below the 3500 foot class B shelf. I mention this because it's the first time I had to dodge clouds. Once we got out over the Chesapeake Bay the clouds were no factor. I did steep turns, slow flight, power on and off stalls, and unusual attitude recovery. On one of the stalls, I must have been holding too much rudder and we had a nasty break to the right. We tried again and it was a much smoother recovery.
We returned to the airport, where we did a series of takeoffs and landings, with a couple of touch and goes in the mix. It wasn't as brutally hot and humid today as it usually is this time of year so the flying was pretty pleasant. The line for fuel was long, so the instructor suggested that we do a few more trips around the pattern. I asked to go by myself, so he got out and I went around three times. At one point I had two airplanes ahead of me in the pattern so I was careful to extend downwind for spacing. Once I came around on base and heard an announcement that an aircraft was going to position and hold. As I rolled wings level on final, I saw two aircraft on the runway at the arrival end, one parked, and the other just starting its takeoff roll. I thought I'd need to go around, but both aircraft were gone by the time I was on short final. As I recall, I ballooned the first landing pretty badly, added a little power to smooth it out, ballooned it again, and eventually had a landing that was OK, but a little harder than I like. And I still made the midfield turnoff. The second landing was nice and smooth, with the stall horn sounding as I set it down. The instructor radioed that he was not going to watch any longer and he walked away, so he didn't see my last landing, which was OK (both the landing and him not watching).
Because he walked away, I had my first experience refueling the plane by myself, then I taxied over to the parking area and parked it by myself. After I got the plane tied down, I found the instructor in the club trailer, getting ready for his next student.
So, overall it's just turning into a nice routine. It even seems like I'm getting through everything so quickly that it leaves me wondering, "Is that it? Did I forget something?" Of course the checklists back me up to ensure that I don't forget anything. What once seemed like a long laundry list of things to do now seem so undaunting, just a routine now. I'm finding myself already correcting mistakes before the instructor can point them out. Or maybe he's just waiting to see if I do correct mistakes. Frequently he mentions something that I need to fix after I've already started the control inputs to fix it, like airspeed, or altitude, or heading. And even in the pattern, after that initial power reduction on downwind, I find myself automatically adjusting power and just flying what feels right.
Talking on the radio can be a little unnerving. I was quite hesitant the first few times I tried it, and then after I got the hang of making my radio calls in the pattern, I had the same unconfident feeling again talking to ATC. But now even that's routine. I'm even throwing in the odd "Good day" to the controllers when I switch frequencies.
But I still make mistakes. I found myself rolling out on base-to-final without the flaps at the proper setting. I quickly added them. But even though that was a bonehead move, I'm confident I would have landed safely even without full flaps.
OK, I've rambled enough. My stage check is next week. After that, I hope to go out by myself to Deale. So overall, I'm over the hump with my landings (although I still need to work hard to improve them) and I'm looking forward to the longer trips away from the local area as I get my cross-country work done.
We went out to Deale to practice air work to prepare for my stage check. The lowest level of clouds was 2200 feet and we normally practice at around 3000. We use 3000 to stay below the 3500 foot class B shelf. I mention this because it's the first time I had to dodge clouds. Once we got out over the Chesapeake Bay the clouds were no factor. I did steep turns, slow flight, power on and off stalls, and unusual attitude recovery. On one of the stalls, I must have been holding too much rudder and we had a nasty break to the right. We tried again and it was a much smoother recovery.
We returned to the airport, where we did a series of takeoffs and landings, with a couple of touch and goes in the mix. It wasn't as brutally hot and humid today as it usually is this time of year so the flying was pretty pleasant. The line for fuel was long, so the instructor suggested that we do a few more trips around the pattern. I asked to go by myself, so he got out and I went around three times. At one point I had two airplanes ahead of me in the pattern so I was careful to extend downwind for spacing. Once I came around on base and heard an announcement that an aircraft was going to position and hold. As I rolled wings level on final, I saw two aircraft on the runway at the arrival end, one parked, and the other just starting its takeoff roll. I thought I'd need to go around, but both aircraft were gone by the time I was on short final. As I recall, I ballooned the first landing pretty badly, added a little power to smooth it out, ballooned it again, and eventually had a landing that was OK, but a little harder than I like. And I still made the midfield turnoff. The second landing was nice and smooth, with the stall horn sounding as I set it down. The instructor radioed that he was not going to watch any longer and he walked away, so he didn't see my last landing, which was OK (both the landing and him not watching).
Because he walked away, I had my first experience refueling the plane by myself, then I taxied over to the parking area and parked it by myself. After I got the plane tied down, I found the instructor in the club trailer, getting ready for his next student.
So, overall it's just turning into a nice routine. It even seems like I'm getting through everything so quickly that it leaves me wondering, "Is that it? Did I forget something?" Of course the checklists back me up to ensure that I don't forget anything. What once seemed like a long laundry list of things to do now seem so undaunting, just a routine now. I'm finding myself already correcting mistakes before the instructor can point them out. Or maybe he's just waiting to see if I do correct mistakes. Frequently he mentions something that I need to fix after I've already started the control inputs to fix it, like airspeed, or altitude, or heading. And even in the pattern, after that initial power reduction on downwind, I find myself automatically adjusting power and just flying what feels right.
Talking on the radio can be a little unnerving. I was quite hesitant the first few times I tried it, and then after I got the hang of making my radio calls in the pattern, I had the same unconfident feeling again talking to ATC. But now even that's routine. I'm even throwing in the odd "Good day" to the controllers when I switch frequencies.
But I still make mistakes. I found myself rolling out on base-to-final without the flaps at the proper setting. I quickly added them. But even though that was a bonehead move, I'm confident I would have landed safely even without full flaps.
OK, I've rambled enough. My stage check is next week. After that, I hope to go out by myself to Deale. So overall, I'm over the hump with my landings (although I still need to work hard to improve them) and I'm looking forward to the longer trips away from the local area as I get my cross-country work done.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Solo
I did it.
The visibility was poor when I arrived at the airport early this morning, with mist in the trees nearby. I figured it would burn off as the sun came up. When I filed my flight plan and got my weather briefing, the briefer kept emphasizing that the AWOS reported IFR and he said the VFR flight was not recommended. I politely listened and hung up.
When I called for my transponder code, the controller didn't have my flight plan on file. I had to go back to the club to call again. The briefer said that he found my flight plan after all and sent me on my way. By this time the mist was gone and it was partly cloudy with very high ceilings. And it was relatively cool.
We did 3 trips around the pattern. The wind was calm, with the wind sock hanging limp. I expected we'd do several more circuits and maybe I'd get to fly by myself. But after 3, the instructor asked me to park it on the ramp. He asked me if I was ready, I said I was, we shut the engine down, he endorsed my logbook, got out, and sent me on my way.
It's common practice to shut the radios off before shutting the engine down. This airplane, which I've seldom flown, has no radio master. He shut the radios down before I cut the engine, and as I was taxiing out I turned them all back on. I could hear, but I couldn't transmit. I stopped in the runup area for a few minutes to try to get it to work. I finally gave up and taxied back to the instructor, where he showed me the knob that had eluded me.
I went back to the end of the runway, added power, and took off. It was easy. The airplane climbed well without the instructor's weight inside. The cool temperature helped too. I brought it around on final, flared, and landed. A little fast, but smooth. Second time, same thing, but even smoother, although as I taxied back the instructor flagged me down to scold me for letting the yoke forward as soon as I touched down. Last time around - I got the only turbulence bumps of the day in the pattern as it started to heat up. I brought it around on final again, let it settle down, and bounced it, probably because I was trying to hold that yoke back, and came in a little too fast again. I haven't figured out how to come in on short final at 65 knots and yet hold it off the runway to bleed off speed all the way down to stall speed in the 40s.
It seemed too easy, probably because of the lack of wind. But I'll take it.
I did it. I flew an airplane solo.
The visibility was poor when I arrived at the airport early this morning, with mist in the trees nearby. I figured it would burn off as the sun came up. When I filed my flight plan and got my weather briefing, the briefer kept emphasizing that the AWOS reported IFR and he said the VFR flight was not recommended. I politely listened and hung up.
When I called for my transponder code, the controller didn't have my flight plan on file. I had to go back to the club to call again. The briefer said that he found my flight plan after all and sent me on my way. By this time the mist was gone and it was partly cloudy with very high ceilings. And it was relatively cool.
We did 3 trips around the pattern. The wind was calm, with the wind sock hanging limp. I expected we'd do several more circuits and maybe I'd get to fly by myself. But after 3, the instructor asked me to park it on the ramp. He asked me if I was ready, I said I was, we shut the engine down, he endorsed my logbook, got out, and sent me on my way.
It's common practice to shut the radios off before shutting the engine down. This airplane, which I've seldom flown, has no radio master. He shut the radios down before I cut the engine, and as I was taxiing out I turned them all back on. I could hear, but I couldn't transmit. I stopped in the runup area for a few minutes to try to get it to work. I finally gave up and taxied back to the instructor, where he showed me the knob that had eluded me.
I went back to the end of the runway, added power, and took off. It was easy. The airplane climbed well without the instructor's weight inside. The cool temperature helped too. I brought it around on final, flared, and landed. A little fast, but smooth. Second time, same thing, but even smoother, although as I taxied back the instructor flagged me down to scold me for letting the yoke forward as soon as I touched down. Last time around - I got the only turbulence bumps of the day in the pattern as it started to heat up. I brought it around on final again, let it settle down, and bounced it, probably because I was trying to hold that yoke back, and came in a little too fast again. I haven't figured out how to come in on short final at 65 knots and yet hold it off the runway to bleed off speed all the way down to stall speed in the 40s.
It seemed too easy, probably because of the lack of wind. But I'll take it.
I did it. I flew an airplane solo.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Lesson 18
He warned me...
Wind 190 at 11 gusting to 14. At least that's what the AWOS reported. I think the gusts were stronger. That was a direct crosswind, far stronger than any crosswind I'd dealt with before. The instructor was afraid I'd get frustrated and lose confidence after all of those adequate landings I did last time. But I wanted to go because I know that I need to learn to handle crosswind landings. Oh, and it was hot; I had sweat dripping onto my sunglasses as we shut the doors and got ready to start up. With that wind, it was even hard to taxi straight when we were on the ground.
So off we went. Of course that heat always means we get a pathetic climb rate with the Cessna 152. The poor climb rate meant we went way farther on upwind than usual. And the crab angle was enormous. I felt like I was looking out the side window instead of the windshield. It was easier to get lined up to land than I expected, but with the lack of a headwind and the extra speed we carried for the gust factor, it seemed like we were screaming down past the arrival end of the runway.
So I definitely had help on these landings. He said I did well, that experienced pilots struggle with that kind of wind. It was pretty challenging. No way I'm ready to land in crosswinds.
Wind 190 at 11 gusting to 14. At least that's what the AWOS reported. I think the gusts were stronger. That was a direct crosswind, far stronger than any crosswind I'd dealt with before. The instructor was afraid I'd get frustrated and lose confidence after all of those adequate landings I did last time. But I wanted to go because I know that I need to learn to handle crosswind landings. Oh, and it was hot; I had sweat dripping onto my sunglasses as we shut the doors and got ready to start up. With that wind, it was even hard to taxi straight when we were on the ground.
So off we went. Of course that heat always means we get a pathetic climb rate with the Cessna 152. The poor climb rate meant we went way farther on upwind than usual. And the crab angle was enormous. I felt like I was looking out the side window instead of the windshield. It was easier to get lined up to land than I expected, but with the lack of a headwind and the extra speed we carried for the gust factor, it seemed like we were screaming down past the arrival end of the runway.
So I definitely had help on these landings. He said I did well, that experienced pilots struggle with that kind of wind. It was pretty challenging. No way I'm ready to land in crosswinds.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Lesson 17
I wanted to try to string a few lessons together close in time to try to get over the landing hump. So we went out on a weekday. I was worried that we wouldn't get to go because a line of storms went through overnight and the METAR showed IFR first thing in the morning. It even showed IFR when I arrived at the field, even though the sky was mostly blue. It was at least 20 degrees cooler than for my last few flights.
I filed the flight plan and asked for a weather briefing, only to have the briefer seem incredulous that I wanted a briefing for a flight in the pattern. I was really only interested in whether there were any other storms coming along and I wanted something to back up my opinion that the METAR was wrong. I got my briefing, preflighted the plan, and got the transponder code, all before the instructor arrived.
We went round and round, logging 8 landings. But that was because we lost count. The GPS track that I plotted when I got home showed 11 landings. The plane climbed a whole lot better because of the cooler temperature. And visibility was actually pretty good. We hadn't done any go-arounds, ever, so I wanted to try it. We did one. And we did a few simulated engine out landings. I had a tough time holding the right airspeed and the nose up pitch attitude without flaps on landing just seemed odd.
I had one bounced landing that was pretty ugly. But other than that, I was consistently setting it down smoothly, no drop-ins or side loads. When we finished, the instructor said that he didn't help me on any of the landings, not once on the yoke or rudder. But even more importantly, he said that all of them were safe, even the ugly one.
I filed the flight plan and asked for a weather briefing, only to have the briefer seem incredulous that I wanted a briefing for a flight in the pattern. I was really only interested in whether there were any other storms coming along and I wanted something to back up my opinion that the METAR was wrong. I got my briefing, preflighted the plan, and got the transponder code, all before the instructor arrived.
We went round and round, logging 8 landings. But that was because we lost count. The GPS track that I plotted when I got home showed 11 landings. The plane climbed a whole lot better because of the cooler temperature. And visibility was actually pretty good. We hadn't done any go-arounds, ever, so I wanted to try it. We did one. And we did a few simulated engine out landings. I had a tough time holding the right airspeed and the nose up pitch attitude without flaps on landing just seemed odd.
I had one bounced landing that was pretty ugly. But other than that, I was consistently setting it down smoothly, no drop-ins or side loads. When we finished, the instructor said that he didn't help me on any of the landings, not once on the yoke or rudder. But even more importantly, he said that all of them were safe, even the ugly one.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Reflections on the last lesson
I've had a day to think about that last flight. It occurs to me that I neglected to mention that I'm now making power adjustments in the pattern without thinking about it, especially on base and final. It just feels right. I still pay a lot of attention to the airspeed indicator, at least until short final. I'm making the right corrections, but I still have a tendency to overcorrect in the flare.
So I still feel like I'm making lots of mistakes, mostly minor, but overall I feel a lot more comfortable with most all phases of flight.
So I still feel like I'm making lots of mistakes, mostly minor, but overall I feel a lot more comfortable with most all phases of flight.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Lesson 16
Today I wanted to go back to Easton, so we did. I wanted to get out of the pattern or practice area, and going to Easton required me to file the ADIZ exit and entry flight plans, talk with ATC, navigate by visual reference to landmarks, and to set up for landing. I like doing landings at Easton because the runway is so much wider and longer than at the home field. And it makes for much more comfortable touch-and-goes when it's hot.
Speaking of hot, boy was it. The thermometer in the car read 100 degrees F on the way to the airport. The AWOS reported density altitude at 2200 feet, where the field elevation is closer to 150. But at least the humidity was down. Visibility was far better than last week. But just like last week, the plane had a pathetic climb rate.
I came to the lesson today determined to be prepared. I looked up the route on the map, I wrote down the frequencies I expected to need, and I completed the preflight checks long before the instructor arrived. I mostly got the radios set up by myself. I think part of the problem for me with the radios is that they differ from plane to plane.
We taxied out of the ramp area, only to find a veritable traffic jam caused by pilots who failed to make sure the taxiway was clear before driving on. At one point we had four aircraft converging. The runup went well, I lined up for a short-field takeoff (much more comfortable clearing the trees when it's so hot), and off we went.
We climbed out, turned on course, and I called ATC. I was able to spot most of the landmarks pretty well. Twice I saw shadows of other aircraft on the ground, shadows that were going the opposite way. We only spotted one of them, a low-wing single that passed below and left, although closer than I care for. We climbed (slowly) to 3000 feet, crossed the Chesapeake Bay, and proceeded toward Easton. I had a hell of a time locating the airport until we were close, even though the instructor kept pointing it out to me. I called the tower and got into the pattern, only to hear the tower controller say that he now had two aircraft, us and another, very close and he wanted to know who was ahead. We immediately saw the other airplane, a half-mile ahead. It was slower than our 152 (imagine that), so the controller asked the other pilot to do a 360, which he did. We came in to land and proceeded to do a few touch-and-goes. In my weather briefing the briefer told me that the PAPI was out, and I found that to be accurate. I was surprised at how easy it was to judge my path without it. The landings weren't great, and I overcorrected badly on at least one of them, but they were uneventful. There was a lot of traffic, including a helicopter that did a 360 to avoid us.
We flew back to Tipton, I set up to land, and brought it in. The instructor was coaching me as I set it down, and it might have been my best landing yet. He was pretty excited. I had a hard time accepting the idea that I had done it, mostly because of the coaching. I'd like to get to a point where I'm consistently setting it down without his commentary; I want him to be a quiet passenger because if he's quiet, he's not correcting my mistakes, meaning I'm not making any.
I handled most of the radio work today, although at times it was difficult to understand ATC. I still feel like a dunce on the radio, but today it went smoothly nevertheless.
But the biggest development is that when I suggested that we could go for a cross-country flight next time, he said it's time for me to do my phase check. That means the next step, presuming I don't botch the phase check, is the solo.
I'll confess that I'm not satisfied with my landings, not completely confident that I can avoid dropping it in, or putting side loads on the gear. I'm convinced I can bring it in and I'll be able to walk away, but whether I can do it without bending the airplane, that's what I'm worried about. The instructor seems more confident than I am.
I'm noticing a pattern - the first few landings of the day are usually ugly. After I get a few done, I seem to settle down. Maybe that's why every description of solo flights that I've seen seems to begin with a few trips around the pattern with the instructor.
Speaking of hot, boy was it. The thermometer in the car read 100 degrees F on the way to the airport. The AWOS reported density altitude at 2200 feet, where the field elevation is closer to 150. But at least the humidity was down. Visibility was far better than last week. But just like last week, the plane had a pathetic climb rate.
I came to the lesson today determined to be prepared. I looked up the route on the map, I wrote down the frequencies I expected to need, and I completed the preflight checks long before the instructor arrived. I mostly got the radios set up by myself. I think part of the problem for me with the radios is that they differ from plane to plane.
We taxied out of the ramp area, only to find a veritable traffic jam caused by pilots who failed to make sure the taxiway was clear before driving on. At one point we had four aircraft converging. The runup went well, I lined up for a short-field takeoff (much more comfortable clearing the trees when it's so hot), and off we went.
We climbed out, turned on course, and I called ATC. I was able to spot most of the landmarks pretty well. Twice I saw shadows of other aircraft on the ground, shadows that were going the opposite way. We only spotted one of them, a low-wing single that passed below and left, although closer than I care for. We climbed (slowly) to 3000 feet, crossed the Chesapeake Bay, and proceeded toward Easton. I had a hell of a time locating the airport until we were close, even though the instructor kept pointing it out to me. I called the tower and got into the pattern, only to hear the tower controller say that he now had two aircraft, us and another, very close and he wanted to know who was ahead. We immediately saw the other airplane, a half-mile ahead. It was slower than our 152 (imagine that), so the controller asked the other pilot to do a 360, which he did. We came in to land and proceeded to do a few touch-and-goes. In my weather briefing the briefer told me that the PAPI was out, and I found that to be accurate. I was surprised at how easy it was to judge my path without it. The landings weren't great, and I overcorrected badly on at least one of them, but they were uneventful. There was a lot of traffic, including a helicopter that did a 360 to avoid us.
We flew back to Tipton, I set up to land, and brought it in. The instructor was coaching me as I set it down, and it might have been my best landing yet. He was pretty excited. I had a hard time accepting the idea that I had done it, mostly because of the coaching. I'd like to get to a point where I'm consistently setting it down without his commentary; I want him to be a quiet passenger because if he's quiet, he's not correcting my mistakes, meaning I'm not making any.
I handled most of the radio work today, although at times it was difficult to understand ATC. I still feel like a dunce on the radio, but today it went smoothly nevertheless.
But the biggest development is that when I suggested that we could go for a cross-country flight next time, he said it's time for me to do my phase check. That means the next step, presuming I don't botch the phase check, is the solo.
I'll confess that I'm not satisfied with my landings, not completely confident that I can avoid dropping it in, or putting side loads on the gear. I'm convinced I can bring it in and I'll be able to walk away, but whether I can do it without bending the airplane, that's what I'm worried about. The instructor seems more confident than I am.
I'm noticing a pattern - the first few landings of the day are usually ugly. After I get a few done, I seem to settle down. Maybe that's why every description of solo flights that I've seen seems to begin with a few trips around the pattern with the instructor.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Lesson 15
I was unable to fly for a few weeks because of an out-of-town trip. But I got back into it today. It was hot and humid, with a nearly-direct crosswind, but at least it was only at 6 knots. I was pleased to notice that the preflight checks were still routine, although the radio stack still confuses me.
We took off and turned on course for the practice area. The airplane had a pitiful climb rate today, barely able to manage 250 feet per minute at full throttle and 80 knots. And it had an annoying tendency to turn right all day, regardless of power setting or direction. Visibility was awful; from the west side of the bay we could barely see the eastern shore. We got to the practice area and did stalls, slow flight, and steep turns. I had to break one turn off and level the wings because I suddenly observed another airplane ahead of us and continuing the turn would have put us on a collision course. Just as I was rolling wings level ATC called to warn us about traffic dead ahead, one mile away, and converging.
Then the fun began - my first hood work. First we did unusual attitudes, which I recovered from without any trouble. Then the instructor just gave me headings and altitudes to maintain. I had a tough time holding a heading; I would look at the directional gyro and then the attitude indicator would tell me that I was in a turn. I'd level the wings, only to find myself on the wrong heading. I imagined I must have S-turned all the way. So I chased the heading for the whole trip back to the airport. More than once I thought I was flying wings level, and then discover I was banked over 20 degrees. And I kept climbing. And climbing. I'd push the nose down to try to fly wings level and then we picked up a lot of speed, even flying level. The speed just felt really weird, especially without the ground reference.
So I got out from under the hood close to the airport. We entered downwind, and I set up to land. I was trying so hard to put that upwind wing down to handle the crosswind. I seemed to have it all set up, got into the flare, and the wind died. I pulled back to compensate, and we ballooned. I instinctively added a bit of power, saved the landing, and set it down. I thought it was an ugly landing, the the instructor complemented me on how I handled it and he said he didn't help me with it. So there's my first real crosswind landing.
So I feel good about this lesson. I handled the maneuvers, albeit not perfectly. I struggled with the hood work, but at least I got about 30 minutes in. And I managed the crosswind without a hard landing or side loads.
We took off and turned on course for the practice area. The airplane had a pitiful climb rate today, barely able to manage 250 feet per minute at full throttle and 80 knots. And it had an annoying tendency to turn right all day, regardless of power setting or direction. Visibility was awful; from the west side of the bay we could barely see the eastern shore. We got to the practice area and did stalls, slow flight, and steep turns. I had to break one turn off and level the wings because I suddenly observed another airplane ahead of us and continuing the turn would have put us on a collision course. Just as I was rolling wings level ATC called to warn us about traffic dead ahead, one mile away, and converging.
Then the fun began - my first hood work. First we did unusual attitudes, which I recovered from without any trouble. Then the instructor just gave me headings and altitudes to maintain. I had a tough time holding a heading; I would look at the directional gyro and then the attitude indicator would tell me that I was in a turn. I'd level the wings, only to find myself on the wrong heading. I imagined I must have S-turned all the way. So I chased the heading for the whole trip back to the airport. More than once I thought I was flying wings level, and then discover I was banked over 20 degrees. And I kept climbing. And climbing. I'd push the nose down to try to fly wings level and then we picked up a lot of speed, even flying level. The speed just felt really weird, especially without the ground reference.
So I got out from under the hood close to the airport. We entered downwind, and I set up to land. I was trying so hard to put that upwind wing down to handle the crosswind. I seemed to have it all set up, got into the flare, and the wind died. I pulled back to compensate, and we ballooned. I instinctively added a bit of power, saved the landing, and set it down. I thought it was an ugly landing, the the instructor complemented me on how I handled it and he said he didn't help me with it. So there's my first real crosswind landing.
So I feel good about this lesson. I handled the maneuvers, albeit not perfectly. I struggled with the hood work, but at least I got about 30 minutes in. And I managed the crosswind without a hard landing or side loads.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Lesson 14
Wow, 14 lessons, 12 flights. I find it hard to believe that I've reached the point where the flights are routine and the pattern is boring. Well, boring until short final. Then it's too interesting. As I write this, it's evening, cooling off, and thunder occasionally sounds. We're in a pattern of daily thunderstorms. When I got a weather briefing today, the briefer warned of storms approaching, but they were 2 hours away. So we went for more trips around the pattern. I told the instructor that I wanted to make him a spectator on at least one of my landings today. He's been telling me that I've done some of my landings on my own already, but it always seems like I can feel him on the yoke or rudder.
So in the hot, mostly clear, tolerably humid weather, we got started. Winds were light, mostly down the runway. We were in a different plane - the one from last week was still grounded because of the transponder, and the other one that I've flown had radio problems last time and the instructor wanted to avoid that one. The club has 3 152s, so we took the only one that I hadn't flown. Each one is slightly different inside and out. In addition to a slightly different panel layout, the seats were an awful red. When we started the engine, I could hear the radio but not the instructor. We switched jacks, then he couldn't hear me. We eventually discovered that this was the only club 152 with passenger isolation on the intercom. Then we got no response during the radio check. We tried transmitting with both radios. We eventually got a response, but the other aircraft said our transmission was weak. Then we figured out that we could use the microphone to transmit. So the instructor made the radio calls to allow me to concentrate on flying.
Early on, I managed a landing on my own. Really. And I'm convinced that I did it on my own because I saw that his hands were off the yoke and he said he wasn't on the rudder. It wasn't a great landing, but I got it on the ground.
We did a few more landings. I'm flaring mostly at the right time now, but coming in too fast and floating, and while floating I'm overcorrecting. So my thing to work on next time is to make smaller corrections while floating and trying to hold it off the runway. Also, I'm picking a point on the ground to turn toward, but I have a bad habit of turning more than 90 degrees on crosswind. Oh, one other thing - when it's this hot - the plane doesn't climb so well. I did a couple of normal takeoffs and we didn't have a great margin of altitude over the trees at the departure end of the runway. We did the rest as short field takeoffs and I felt a lot more comfortable with those. From now on, when it's this hot, I'm opting for short field takeoffs.
So in the hot, mostly clear, tolerably humid weather, we got started. Winds were light, mostly down the runway. We were in a different plane - the one from last week was still grounded because of the transponder, and the other one that I've flown had radio problems last time and the instructor wanted to avoid that one. The club has 3 152s, so we took the only one that I hadn't flown. Each one is slightly different inside and out. In addition to a slightly different panel layout, the seats were an awful red. When we started the engine, I could hear the radio but not the instructor. We switched jacks, then he couldn't hear me. We eventually discovered that this was the only club 152 with passenger isolation on the intercom. Then we got no response during the radio check. We tried transmitting with both radios. We eventually got a response, but the other aircraft said our transmission was weak. Then we figured out that we could use the microphone to transmit. So the instructor made the radio calls to allow me to concentrate on flying.
Early on, I managed a landing on my own. Really. And I'm convinced that I did it on my own because I saw that his hands were off the yoke and he said he wasn't on the rudder. It wasn't a great landing, but I got it on the ground.
We did a few more landings. I'm flaring mostly at the right time now, but coming in too fast and floating, and while floating I'm overcorrecting. So my thing to work on next time is to make smaller corrections while floating and trying to hold it off the runway. Also, I'm picking a point on the ground to turn toward, but I have a bad habit of turning more than 90 degrees on crosswind. Oh, one other thing - when it's this hot - the plane doesn't climb so well. I did a couple of normal takeoffs and we didn't have a great margin of altitude over the trees at the departure end of the runway. We did the rest as short field takeoffs and I felt a lot more comfortable with those. From now on, when it's this hot, I'm opting for short field takeoffs.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Reflections on the last lesson
I recorded the last lesson. When I listened to it today, I picked up on a lot of stuff that I didn't remember because I was busy flying. I feel like a dunce on the radio because I'm doing a bad job of remembering the details of what I should say. I should write more stuff down, but I'm busy flying. I know that a lot of flying is gradually learning to deal with the increased workload.
But the main message here is that recording the lessons is a good idea. It helps to be able to review what was said in flight. I'm using a splitter cable that I bought from Aircraft Spruce. I plug one end of the splitter cable into the intercom, another into my headset, and the last, small cable into my digital audio recorder. The sound levels come out kind of low but I was able to amplify it and come up with decent quality. I find it odd that the audio from the radio comes in louder than the audio from the intercom.
But the main message here is that recording the lessons is a good idea. It helps to be able to review what was said in flight. I'm using a splitter cable that I bought from Aircraft Spruce. I plug one end of the splitter cable into the intercom, another into my headset, and the last, small cable into my digital audio recorder. The sound levels come out kind of low but I was able to amplify it and come up with decent quality. I find it odd that the audio from the radio comes in louder than the audio from the intercom.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Lesson 13
We flew to Easton (KESN) today. This was my first trip out of the ADIZ in quite a while, and the first one where I filed the flight plans - one for exit, one for entry.
We took off uneventfully, departed Tipton to the southeast, exited the ADIZ through the PALEO gate, and had a nice trip over the Chesapeake Bay to Easton. Visibility was good, but a bit hazy, and we had to keep to about 2500 feet to avoid scattered clouds. It was hot, close to 90 degrees, so we had a fair amount of thermal activity. It was a smooth ride above 2000 feet, but a bit bumpy lower. I had to really put the nose down when we went through a thermal that was pushing us up to the bottom of the shelf of the BWI airspace. The plane didn't want to sink.
This was also my first time talking to ATC. I talked to Potomac Approach and then to Easton tower, then to Approach again on the way back. We did a few touch-and-goes at Easton. The runway is pleasantly wide and 1000 feet longer so I found that to be easier to deal with.
I had a tendency to turn too early base-to-final and wound up rounding off the pattern badly on a couple of approaches. Otherwise it was pretty uneventful at Easton.
Our return trip was eventful. As we approached the ADIZ boundary just beyond Kent Island, I contacted Potomac Approach. They couldn't see our transponder. I wound up doing the most enjoyable flying of the day as I aimlessly wandered along the western shore of the island waiting for the instructor to troubleshoot the transponder. We were on the verge of picking an airport to land at outside the ADIZ when ATC called and told us that our transponder was observed. I turned inbound, we approached Tipton, and landed. And that airplane is now grounded.
Landings are still rough; I'm flaring too high and floating along.
We took off uneventfully, departed Tipton to the southeast, exited the ADIZ through the PALEO gate, and had a nice trip over the Chesapeake Bay to Easton. Visibility was good, but a bit hazy, and we had to keep to about 2500 feet to avoid scattered clouds. It was hot, close to 90 degrees, so we had a fair amount of thermal activity. It was a smooth ride above 2000 feet, but a bit bumpy lower. I had to really put the nose down when we went through a thermal that was pushing us up to the bottom of the shelf of the BWI airspace. The plane didn't want to sink.
This was also my first time talking to ATC. I talked to Potomac Approach and then to Easton tower, then to Approach again on the way back. We did a few touch-and-goes at Easton. The runway is pleasantly wide and 1000 feet longer so I found that to be easier to deal with.
I had a tendency to turn too early base-to-final and wound up rounding off the pattern badly on a couple of approaches. Otherwise it was pretty uneventful at Easton.
Our return trip was eventful. As we approached the ADIZ boundary just beyond Kent Island, I contacted Potomac Approach. They couldn't see our transponder. I wound up doing the most enjoyable flying of the day as I aimlessly wandered along the western shore of the island waiting for the instructor to troubleshoot the transponder. We were on the verge of picking an airport to land at outside the ADIZ when ATC called and told us that our transponder was observed. I turned inbound, we approached Tipton, and landed. And that airplane is now grounded.
Landings are still rough; I'm flaring too high and floating along.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Lesson 12
And this time... More pattern work.
It was hot. Damn hot. How hot was it? In the 90s, 70% humidity. The field elevation is 150, the density altitude was about 2100. And boy did I notice it - the plane's climb performance was not what I was used to. The fuel vents were steadily dripping with the expanding fuel. I kept getting dripped on. And I did not want to close those doors to start up (the cabin was stifling), but we had an uneventful startup and runup. Uneventful, except for one radio that sounded awful and the other that seemed not to work. But the winds were calm to 4 knots, blowing right down the runway.
OK, so we did more trips around the field. Because it was so hot, we made each takeoff a short-field takeoff, with 10 degrees of flaps, and no touch-and-goes. So we checked the manual for the takeoff performance beforehand, found out that it should require about 1400 feet, and concluded that we should be airborne by midfield. And we were. Each time.
The good - I seem to have finally managed to master the takeoff. I'm pulling back at the right time, smoothly climbing out, staying over the runway (although with no crosswind it's not that hard). I've finally developed the habit of looking for a target to aim for once we climb over the tree line. It seemed odd to climb out at 54 (well, I was usually closer to 60) instead of 67 (well, I'm usually closer to 70). The other thing I've struggled with is turning the right amount on crosswind. I've finally developed the habit of looking for a target to aim for before beginning my turn. I also made a conscious effort to make more gentle turns - 20 degrees of bank. I was mostly able to manage that. And this time I was pretty consistently able to hit my altitude target (650) base-to-final. So at least I was able to come in to short final on glide path, on speed. One other thing that I've struggled with - I'm supposed to shift my focus from the near end of the runway to the far end just as I enter the flare. I'm finally doing that.
The bad - I'm still not setting it down smoothly.
All-in-all - this was a pretty productive lesson.
It was hot. Damn hot. How hot was it? In the 90s, 70% humidity. The field elevation is 150, the density altitude was about 2100. And boy did I notice it - the plane's climb performance was not what I was used to. The fuel vents were steadily dripping with the expanding fuel. I kept getting dripped on. And I did not want to close those doors to start up (the cabin was stifling), but we had an uneventful startup and runup. Uneventful, except for one radio that sounded awful and the other that seemed not to work. But the winds were calm to 4 knots, blowing right down the runway.
OK, so we did more trips around the field. Because it was so hot, we made each takeoff a short-field takeoff, with 10 degrees of flaps, and no touch-and-goes. So we checked the manual for the takeoff performance beforehand, found out that it should require about 1400 feet, and concluded that we should be airborne by midfield. And we were. Each time.
The good - I seem to have finally managed to master the takeoff. I'm pulling back at the right time, smoothly climbing out, staying over the runway (although with no crosswind it's not that hard). I've finally developed the habit of looking for a target to aim for once we climb over the tree line. It seemed odd to climb out at 54 (well, I was usually closer to 60) instead of 67 (well, I'm usually closer to 70). The other thing I've struggled with is turning the right amount on crosswind. I've finally developed the habit of looking for a target to aim for before beginning my turn. I also made a conscious effort to make more gentle turns - 20 degrees of bank. I was mostly able to manage that. And this time I was pretty consistently able to hit my altitude target (650) base-to-final. So at least I was able to come in to short final on glide path, on speed. One other thing that I've struggled with - I'm supposed to shift my focus from the near end of the runway to the far end just as I enter the flare. I'm finally doing that.
The bad - I'm still not setting it down smoothly.
All-in-all - this was a pretty productive lesson.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Lesson 11
Yet more pattern work.
Winds were calm to variable, up to about 4 knots. It was a beautiful, low-humidity day with visibility unlimited. At one point the instructor even pointed out the Washington Monument off in the distance.
Boy was I rusty. The first time around, I was awful, landing long, basically just trying to get the hang of things again. The next few times around were better, but I kept coming in high, which meant I carried more speed on final, which made for longer landings. I tried to turn final a little lower, but that was weird because the ground seemed so much closer.
Over the runway, I'm flaring at the right time, but pulling too much and balooning it. Then we float along and eventually slam it down. There was one landing where we bounced twice. So I need a softer touch in the flare.
Winds were calm to variable, up to about 4 knots. It was a beautiful, low-humidity day with visibility unlimited. At one point the instructor even pointed out the Washington Monument off in the distance.
Boy was I rusty. The first time around, I was awful, landing long, basically just trying to get the hang of things again. The next few times around were better, but I kept coming in high, which meant I carried more speed on final, which made for longer landings. I tried to turn final a little lower, but that was weird because the ground seemed so much closer.
Over the runway, I'm flaring at the right time, but pulling too much and balooning it. Then we float along and eventually slam it down. There was one landing where we bounced twice. So I need a softer touch in the flare.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Lesson 10
More pattern work...
Yesterday, temperatures in the 70s, variable crosswind, ceiling reported at 1200 (but the AWOS is known to be unreliable), and visibility less than 5 miles. But we were staying in the pattern so we decided to fly. I seem to be getting the hang of the whole process on the ground, the preflight checks, the engine start, and the run-up checks. I filed the ADIZ flight plan and got the weather briefing and transponder code.
As soon as we left the ground, we got blown around and, as usual, I had a hard time staying over the runway on climb out. We immediately weather-vaned and all lesson long the instructor was admonishing me that I was turning and straying off course when I was just trying to steer straight. In retrospect I think I need to focus on steering toward landmarks. The low visibility made it impossible to see the horizon, so I was looking down a lot. But my biggest challenge was speed control - we got too slow several times. Nowhere near stall speed, but on base and final I slipped below 60 knots, which is definitely not what I want.
On final, I seemed to be all over the place trying to keep on the glide path, lined up with the runway, and keeping my speed under control. More than once I had to drag it in with power because I got too low.
I guess the only real new development is that I managed to bring it in a few times with the stall horn chirping just as we touched down. The last landing was pretty good so I said I'd had enough and we called it a day.
This time I remembered to bring my hiking GPS receiver with me. I turned it on and threw it in the back before we started the plane. The track looks pretty cool in Google Earth.
Yesterday, temperatures in the 70s, variable crosswind, ceiling reported at 1200 (but the AWOS is known to be unreliable), and visibility less than 5 miles. But we were staying in the pattern so we decided to fly. I seem to be getting the hang of the whole process on the ground, the preflight checks, the engine start, and the run-up checks. I filed the ADIZ flight plan and got the weather briefing and transponder code.
As soon as we left the ground, we got blown around and, as usual, I had a hard time staying over the runway on climb out. We immediately weather-vaned and all lesson long the instructor was admonishing me that I was turning and straying off course when I was just trying to steer straight. In retrospect I think I need to focus on steering toward landmarks. The low visibility made it impossible to see the horizon, so I was looking down a lot. But my biggest challenge was speed control - we got too slow several times. Nowhere near stall speed, but on base and final I slipped below 60 knots, which is definitely not what I want.
On final, I seemed to be all over the place trying to keep on the glide path, lined up with the runway, and keeping my speed under control. More than once I had to drag it in with power because I got too low.
I guess the only real new development is that I managed to bring it in a few times with the stall horn chirping just as we touched down. The last landing was pretty good so I said I'd had enough and we called it a day.
This time I remembered to bring my hiking GPS receiver with me. I turned it on and threw it in the back before we started the plane. The track looks pretty cool in Google Earth.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Lesson 9
More pattern work...
Winds were calm at the surface, a little choppy at pattern altitude. I couldn't see the horizon to the south because of bad weather off in the distance, but the weather was fine at the airport. I think I'm doing things mostly right, but I'm having trouble now with knowing when to turn on final, and I consistently came in too high. We got several landings in, and the last few seconds floating along in the flare seem to be giving me fits. The wind blows the plane around and I have a hard time keeping the nose aligned with the runway.
On the ground, I had a tendency to have too heavy a touch on the rudder pedals. With any real speed, the plane really reacts to the lightest pressure and I found I was oversteering, with the plane making uncomfortable veers left and right as I tried to steer.
Another thing - the instructor kept telling me to keep the ball centered. I found it really weird to be holding right rudder while turning left on the crosswind leg. It felt like the rudder was keeping the plane from turning.
So things that I really have to work on is just smoothing things out on landings, looking down the runway (because I'm looking too close in), trim adjustments in the pattern, and a lighter touch on the rudder pedals while there's still a lot of speed on.
I guess I'm making progress, but it sure doesn't feel like i.
Winds were calm at the surface, a little choppy at pattern altitude. I couldn't see the horizon to the south because of bad weather off in the distance, but the weather was fine at the airport. I think I'm doing things mostly right, but I'm having trouble now with knowing when to turn on final, and I consistently came in too high. We got several landings in, and the last few seconds floating along in the flare seem to be giving me fits. The wind blows the plane around and I have a hard time keeping the nose aligned with the runway.
On the ground, I had a tendency to have too heavy a touch on the rudder pedals. With any real speed, the plane really reacts to the lightest pressure and I found I was oversteering, with the plane making uncomfortable veers left and right as I tried to steer.
Another thing - the instructor kept telling me to keep the ball centered. I found it really weird to be holding right rudder while turning left on the crosswind leg. It felt like the rudder was keeping the plane from turning.
So things that I really have to work on is just smoothing things out on landings, looking down the runway (because I'm looking too close in), trim adjustments in the pattern, and a lighter touch on the rudder pedals while there's still a lot of speed on.
I guess I'm making progress, but it sure doesn't feel like i.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Lesson 8
More pattern work. I'm getting the hang of preflighting the plane and filing the ADIZ flight plan. The weather briefing also seems routine now. No news there.
So this time we did 8 landings. This time I think I mostly made the radio calls at the right times, mostly turned when I was supposed to, and didn't overshoot the climb to pattern altitude too terribly often. So I feel like I've got the procedures down, and I'm mostly managing to do the right things at the right times.
But all hell breaks loose when I reach short final. Maybe that's too strong. But I was consistently high, requiring me to pull the throttle to idle and put in full flaps, then we would really sink and then I had a tough time judging the right time to add power back to avoid sinking right through the glide path. Over the runway threshold I had a terrible time trying to keep the airplane on the center line. And just like last time, I felt like we were screaming right down to the runway and I was pulling the yoke back too early, levelling off too high.
So clearly I need to figure out how to use the rudder for alignment and ailerons for left/right drift. And I have to let the plane descend more before I pull back on the yoke.
I tried my first soft field takeoff - it was weird. We lifted off, I didn't push forward on the yoke enough to keep it in ground effect, we even chirped a tire again before finally getting to climb speed.
We did 2 simulated engine-out landings. Those were strange, delaying the flap extension, having to pay really close attention to airspeed. And on a couple of landings, I was way too high, so the instructor did forward slips. Boy was that a sinking feeling, and it seemed like the bank angle was enormous.
Oh, I almost forgot. During one takeoff, at a couple hundred feet off the deck, there was a big bird right in our path. I didn't get a good look at it, but I'm guessing it was a hawk. The instructor grabbed the yoke and turned us before I could react (I had been glancing at the altimeter for a moment to see if we were high enough to retract takeoff flaps). I'm guessing a bird strike would not have been pretty.
So this time we did 8 landings. This time I think I mostly made the radio calls at the right times, mostly turned when I was supposed to, and didn't overshoot the climb to pattern altitude too terribly often. So I feel like I've got the procedures down, and I'm mostly managing to do the right things at the right times.
But all hell breaks loose when I reach short final. Maybe that's too strong. But I was consistently high, requiring me to pull the throttle to idle and put in full flaps, then we would really sink and then I had a tough time judging the right time to add power back to avoid sinking right through the glide path. Over the runway threshold I had a terrible time trying to keep the airplane on the center line. And just like last time, I felt like we were screaming right down to the runway and I was pulling the yoke back too early, levelling off too high.
So clearly I need to figure out how to use the rudder for alignment and ailerons for left/right drift. And I have to let the plane descend more before I pull back on the yoke.
I tried my first soft field takeoff - it was weird. We lifted off, I didn't push forward on the yoke enough to keep it in ground effect, we even chirped a tire again before finally getting to climb speed.
We did 2 simulated engine-out landings. Those were strange, delaying the flap extension, having to pay really close attention to airspeed. And on a couple of landings, I was way too high, so the instructor did forward slips. Boy was that a sinking feeling, and it seemed like the bank angle was enormous.
Oh, I almost forgot. During one takeoff, at a couple hundred feet off the deck, there was a big bird right in our path. I didn't get a good look at it, but I'm guessing it was a hawk. The instructor grabbed the yoke and turned us before I could react (I had been glancing at the altimeter for a moment to see if we were high enough to retract takeoff flaps). I'm guessing a bird strike would not have been pretty.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Lesson 7
Finally - pattern work. Everything seemed to happen really fast. I had a hard time turning the right amount; it always seemed that I was not managing to turn 90 degrees. I would roll into a turn, then realize that I need more rudder, apply it, then the turn would happen really fast and I would overbank. In the turn to crosswind I had a tendency to stop the climb. And sometimes at the beginning of the downwind leg I would find the airspeed really high because I hadn't pulled the power back enough. And I seemed to always pull up too soon as we approached the runway, usually resulting in a baloon. And I often either forgot the radio calls or botched them. One other event - a plane came straight in on final as I was turning base, putting us on a converging course that was uncomfortable. I reacted by rolling wings level, putting us on a course that placed us well behind that other plane. That pattern was more house-shaped than rectangular.
So here's the sequence - line up on the runway, full throttle, hold the center line with the pedals, rotate at about 50 knots, fly off. Climb at Vx (54) until clear of the trees, thereafter at Vy (67). In reality I think I just climbed out at about 70 every time. At 500 MSL, I would pull the flaps in (if they were out, at 10 degrees, which they were for our touch and gos. At 650 MSL, I turned right, leveled the wings only long enough to look for traffic, then turned right again. At 1000 MSL I pulled the power back to about 2200 RPM and leveled off for a few seconds. Then at midfield it was time for carb heat, then abeam the numbers power back to about 1600, hold altitude as the speed bleeds off, then 10 degrees of flaps once the airspeed drops into the white arc. Then pitch down to hold 70 knots, turn right when the numbers are 45 degrees behind us, hold 70 knots, extend flaps to 20 degrees, and get ready to turn right once again. Turn to get lined up with the runway (and I frequently turned too soon), and use pitch and power to control airspeed and rate of descent. When established on the stabilized descent, last notch of flaps, power to idle, bring it in over the numbers at 60 knots, flare, hold it off, let it settle. Then power to full and off we go (instructor pushed in carb heat and pulled the flaps in to 10 degrees). And around and around.
I got too slow a few times. And sometimes when I needed to speed up I had a tendency to increase my pitch attitude when I should have reduced it.
In summary, a lot was happening, it seemed to happen really fast, I need a lot more practice with this stuff, and I had a lot of fun.
So here's the sequence - line up on the runway, full throttle, hold the center line with the pedals, rotate at about 50 knots, fly off. Climb at Vx (54) until clear of the trees, thereafter at Vy (67). In reality I think I just climbed out at about 70 every time. At 500 MSL, I would pull the flaps in (if they were out, at 10 degrees, which they were for our touch and gos. At 650 MSL, I turned right, leveled the wings only long enough to look for traffic, then turned right again. At 1000 MSL I pulled the power back to about 2200 RPM and leveled off for a few seconds. Then at midfield it was time for carb heat, then abeam the numbers power back to about 1600, hold altitude as the speed bleeds off, then 10 degrees of flaps once the airspeed drops into the white arc. Then pitch down to hold 70 knots, turn right when the numbers are 45 degrees behind us, hold 70 knots, extend flaps to 20 degrees, and get ready to turn right once again. Turn to get lined up with the runway (and I frequently turned too soon), and use pitch and power to control airspeed and rate of descent. When established on the stabilized descent, last notch of flaps, power to idle, bring it in over the numbers at 60 knots, flare, hold it off, let it settle. Then power to full and off we go (instructor pushed in carb heat and pulled the flaps in to 10 degrees). And around and around.
I got too slow a few times. And sometimes when I needed to speed up I had a tendency to increase my pitch attitude when I should have reduced it.
In summary, a lot was happening, it seemed to happen really fast, I need a lot more practice with this stuff, and I had a lot of fun.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Lesson 6
Too windy. I went for a lesson today, only to find that the gusts were pretty bad, over 20 knots. The airplanes were all getting rocked around and pulled against the tie-downs and chocks. I asked the instructor whether I'd be able to learn anything useful in our planned pattern work today. He said that he'd wind up doing most of the work because of the high winds, so at that point we cancelled the flight. We did a little ground instruction and left.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Lesson 5
Today I had a good time. It was chilly - 30 degrees, and sky conditions were clear. I met my new instructor, we dispatched the airplane, a Cessna 152, and I called to file an ADIZ flight plan and at the same time I got a weather briefing.
The preflight checks were a bit different because previously I had flown a Warrior. While I worked on checking the airplane, the instructor went back to the trailer to get the transponder code. Then we had to preheat the engine, and finally we started up and I taxied (badly) out to the runway.
I made the announcement on the radio (my first radio call), and we took the active runway and took off. I have a hard time telling how much the instructor was on the controls, but I think I mostly did all three takeoffs today on my own. We took off to the west, turned in the pattern, then departed to the southeast for the Chesapeake Bay. We came out over the water near the mouth of the South River. We turned south and proceeded to work on some maneuvers near the Deale intersection.
I did a 30 degree turn to the left and then to the right; both were complete circles. On the second turn, I hit my own wake turbulence, which was kind of cool. We did some slow flight, and a couple of stalls. I botched the power off stall, not putting nearly enough rudder, so the instructor bailed me out on that one because it broke hard to the right. Then we did a couple of unusual attitudes. I recovered OK, but the procedure that I used wasn't quite right. We turned north and followed the coast line for a bit. I could see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge ahead and to the right. The instructor showed me the chart and asked if I could figure out where we were, but I botched that too.
Then we flew back to Tipton, entered the pattern, and landed. I struggled with control, trying to fly the right speed. There was a right crosswind. On short final, I was supposed to put the right wing down, put in left rudder, and bring it in gently, but I flared too soon, went too fast, and floated a lot. The instructor did most of the work and we landed well in spite of me.
So we did three landings at the end, taxied in after the last one to refuel, then put the plane away.
Now for some impressions... The rudder is a lot more effective than I remembered with the Warrior. I tried to be conscious about using the rudder when I was supposed to, but didn't use it enough. And that airplane is very responsive to aileron inputs - the roll rate was faster than I expected. Going forward, I'm going to have a challenge keeping below the class B airspace for BWI. I made a few of the radio calls, but there were lots of them. I found them to be overwhelming. Next up - more pattern work.
The preflight checks were a bit different because previously I had flown a Warrior. While I worked on checking the airplane, the instructor went back to the trailer to get the transponder code. Then we had to preheat the engine, and finally we started up and I taxied (badly) out to the runway.
I made the announcement on the radio (my first radio call), and we took the active runway and took off. I have a hard time telling how much the instructor was on the controls, but I think I mostly did all three takeoffs today on my own. We took off to the west, turned in the pattern, then departed to the southeast for the Chesapeake Bay. We came out over the water near the mouth of the South River. We turned south and proceeded to work on some maneuvers near the Deale intersection.
I did a 30 degree turn to the left and then to the right; both were complete circles. On the second turn, I hit my own wake turbulence, which was kind of cool. We did some slow flight, and a couple of stalls. I botched the power off stall, not putting nearly enough rudder, so the instructor bailed me out on that one because it broke hard to the right. Then we did a couple of unusual attitudes. I recovered OK, but the procedure that I used wasn't quite right. We turned north and followed the coast line for a bit. I could see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge ahead and to the right. The instructor showed me the chart and asked if I could figure out where we were, but I botched that too.
Then we flew back to Tipton, entered the pattern, and landed. I struggled with control, trying to fly the right speed. There was a right crosswind. On short final, I was supposed to put the right wing down, put in left rudder, and bring it in gently, but I flared too soon, went too fast, and floated a lot. The instructor did most of the work and we landed well in spite of me.
So we did three landings at the end, taxied in after the last one to refuel, then put the plane away.
Now for some impressions... The rudder is a lot more effective than I remembered with the Warrior. I tried to be conscious about using the rudder when I was supposed to, but didn't use it enough. And that airplane is very responsive to aileron inputs - the roll rate was faster than I expected. Going forward, I'm going to have a challenge keeping below the class B airspace for BWI. I made a few of the radio calls, but there were lots of them. I found them to be overwhelming. Next up - more pattern work.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Long Wait Between Flights
It wasn't working out for me at the flying club that I joined last year. It was too hard to get an instructor on the weekends. So I finally gave up on that club and found another. The new one is in Maryland at Tipton airport. The monthly dues are lower, the rates per hour are lower, and the club has more aircraft and instructors available. The down side - it's farther away from home.
But now I have an instructor and a lesson this weekend. Now if only the weather will cooperate.
But now I have an instructor and a lesson this weekend. Now if only the weather will cooperate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)