Lesson 29

This was check ride prep. It was a beautiful clear Fall day.

We went over to Easton and stopped at the FBO where I'll meet my designated examiner. Then we flew south to Cambridge to be sure I can find the field and my checkpoints. Then back north, overflying Easton, coming up to Ridgley. Then we did the usual maneuvers, steep turns, slow flight, stalls. Those were uneventful. Then a little hood time with unusual attitude recoveries. The instructor used the hood time to remove my awareness of my exact location, then pulled the power on me at about 2800 feet and had me set up for an engine out landing. I could see Ridgley in the distance and I could have made it to Ridgley, but he wanted me to set up for a grass field that was closer. So I spiraled down, still wound up high, and slipped it. I still find slips unnatural and I fought to keep my airspeed up. About the time I was able to let the slip out, I was on short final and nicely lined up to land. So we put the power on again and climbed away.

Then we were going to land at Ridgley until we heard an announcement of parachute jumpers. So he had me change to Easton. But the emergency landing had me not quite sure of my relative location, so I turned west until I could gather my thoughts and figure out which direction to turn to find the airport. I eventually found landmarks that I recognized, called the tower, and turned toward the field. We made an uneventful approach and landing, taxied back for takeoff, and returned to Ft. Meade. When we departed Ft. Meade at the beginning of the flight, the wind was calm. During the flight, the wind picked up a lot. As we approached Ft. Meade I was fighting updrafts and I had the nose pitched way down to keep from climbing. I brought it in to land with a stiff headwind, got lucky with no gusts, and set it down.

This is my last lesson before attempting the check ride.