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.