Second Lesson: Steep Turns, and Slow Flight Glides

When I arrived for today's lesson the first thing I noticed was that my plane wasn't in its usual spot, sure enough someone had it out. No problem though, I was a bit early anyway. Once the plane came back I filled out I was given a binder which contained the checklist for the plane, the keys, and a log of who had the plane and what the planes tach and hobbs meter read.

With the check list in hand, I made my way around the plane visually inspecting the plane according to my CFI's input. Last lesson I followed him around while he told me what I was looking for, but today he followed me around and helped me find what I was looking for. The plane needed fuel, so we made the call and waited for the truck to arrive. 

Once we were fueled up, we started up the plane, taxi'd to the runway, and eventually took off...each of these steps had its own checklist which needed to be followed. I also learned the basics of how to talk on the radio. You want to first state who you are calling (tower), who you are (plane number), where you are, and why you are calling...so that's how it works!

Once in the air it was time for today's lesson: steep turns. The turns I practiced were made at 45 degrees of bank, which felt a lot different then the turns we made at 30 degrees of bank. I found these a little more difficult to control, and they felt a lot sketchier, as I could feel the g force while doing these turns...although I did catch myself going closer to 60 degrees of bank instead of 45 at times. Some turns went better than others. I did notice that when I would glance down at my instruments to make sure I wasn't losing altitude, I would look up to find the planes pitch not where I wanted it to me. 

After a few steep turns we practiced slow flight glides, these were difficult too. Man, I didn't think flying was going to be tough until I was in a few lessons, but sure enough its lesson 2 and I am finding it difficult. The slow flight glides were tricky because when your at such a slow speed your controls react differently. For example I was using throttle to maintain altitude, and pitch to maintain airspeed...the opposite of how you would control the plane at normal speeds. 

And with a couple slow flight glides under my belt we were headed back. That flight went by fast! I made the final approach to the runway, and my CFI made the landing. I was in control of taxing the plane once we landed though, and even maintained control once we got near other planes and buildings...this was definitely the sketchiest part of the day. The last thing I wanted was to bump into another airplane...that reminds me, I am going to sign up for renters insurance as soon as I post this blog entry.

Well that's it, another 1.1 hours added to the log book! Paid my CFI for 1.6 hours of his time, and paid 1.1 hours for the plane rental, a grand total of $171. Next lesson is Monday. 

Checklist for the Cessna 152

My rental

Another entry to the logbook