Well I should be flying solo more, but its very difficult with my work schedule. Up until this point I had reserved a plane and instructor from 4:30-6:30 and flew after work. The problem I am facing now is that the school closes at 5:00, so if I don't have an instructor with me than no one is at the school...thus, I cant fly that late. With this predicament I decided just to book another lesson with Kam...its not solo time, but its better than not flying at all.
The lesson was real quick. I did some flying under the hood, and then some ground reference maneuvers. It felt like ages since I had last had to do these maneuvers, but somehow, against all odds, I managed to nail them.
And just like that the lesson was over, 1.0 on the hobbs. Kam wants me to go fly solo a few times before we have another lesson. I guess I will have to try to sneak out of work at lunch, or maybe leave an hour early to get some flying time in before I have to leave on my vacation back to Boston in June. Wish me luck.
P.S. Sorry if the blog is getting boring, the lessons at the moment are just about repetition, review, and building confidence. Once I get past this stage its on to some night flying, and cross countries...then I will have something to write about!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Lesson 13: VOR navigation
It seems like all i have been doing lately is flying in the pattern, and practicing takeoffs and landings, so it was nice to get away from the airport and head to the practice area for some review. We reviewed steep turns, and some stalls. It seems like its been forever since I last did these maneuvers.
After some review, Kam taught me how to use VOR to navigate. It was actually a great day to use it too, since the sky was very hazy, and visibility was not too good. I found the explanation on how to use the VOR a little confusing, but once you actually go through the process, its quite simple. We followed the VOR to the coast, and then called the tower for permission to enter back into class D airspace. Kam landed the airplane, since there was a pretty large jet on our tail.
For my next time out, Kam wants me to take the plane to the practice area solo, but I think I will have Kam show me one more time how to get there properly, since I am a little unsure about what altitudes I should be at when practicing maneuvers out there. Kam also wants me to get the written test out of the way as soon as possible. I have been trying to read along according to the Jeppesen syllabus to prepare myself for this, but I still feel completely unprepared. I guess for the next couple of weeks I will be watching my Sporty's DVD until my eyes bleed, and taking online practice tests. In addition to flying, I have been studying for the police officers exam, which I will be taking in June. There is a lot of information going into this head, but I am not sure how much is actually sticking.
I have friends from out of town staying with me this Memorial day weekend, and then I am flying back to Boston the week after, so I am going to have to try and squeeze in some flying wherever I can these next two weeks...cant let myself get rusty now!
Today's lesson was 1.3 hours on the hobbs, and 1.4 ours of instruction...a total of $180.
After some review, Kam taught me how to use VOR to navigate. It was actually a great day to use it too, since the sky was very hazy, and visibility was not too good. I found the explanation on how to use the VOR a little confusing, but once you actually go through the process, its quite simple. We followed the VOR to the coast, and then called the tower for permission to enter back into class D airspace. Kam landed the airplane, since there was a pretty large jet on our tail.
For my next time out, Kam wants me to take the plane to the practice area solo, but I think I will have Kam show me one more time how to get there properly, since I am a little unsure about what altitudes I should be at when practicing maneuvers out there. Kam also wants me to get the written test out of the way as soon as possible. I have been trying to read along according to the Jeppesen syllabus to prepare myself for this, but I still feel completely unprepared. I guess for the next couple of weeks I will be watching my Sporty's DVD until my eyes bleed, and taking online practice tests. In addition to flying, I have been studying for the police officers exam, which I will be taking in June. There is a lot of information going into this head, but I am not sure how much is actually sticking.
I have friends from out of town staying with me this Memorial day weekend, and then I am flying back to Boston the week after, so I am going to have to try and squeeze in some flying wherever I can these next two weeks...cant let myself get rusty now!
Today's lesson was 1.3 hours on the hobbs, and 1.4 ours of instruction...a total of $180.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
I can't stop laughing!
My cousin who is an experienced skydiver posted this picture, and now I cant stop laughing.
Solo: I think the tower is messing with me?
So today was my first day entirely on my own. It was such a weird feeling getting into that plane, and not having someone next to me while I checked the ATIS, or did my runup...but it was nice too...I felt comfortable.
The plan today was to practice my landings. I have the flair down pretty well, but my approaches are all over the place...very frustrating! When I asked tower for permission to takeoff, I added that I was a student pilot...I am not sure if this helped me or hurt me, and you'll see why.
I only made 4 landings today, and in these 4 landings the tower made me:
The plan today was to practice my landings. I have the flair down pretty well, but my approaches are all over the place...very frustrating! When I asked tower for permission to takeoff, I added that I was a student pilot...I am not sure if this helped me or hurt me, and you'll see why.
I only made 4 landings today, and in these 4 landings the tower made me:
- Extend downwind to follow traffic twice
- Extend my departure leg
- Fly a left traffic pattern twice (at a right pattern airport)
- Perform a go around to allow a helicopter to land
So, the question is...did the tower do this to mess with me because I am a student? I doubt it, but it was definitely odd. I am glad it happened though, because it was great practice. Now I have no what ifs to worry about for the next time I solo in the traffic pattern, because I have just about done it all now. Oh, and my approaches are starting to click. I made the point to focus outside the airplane more, and not so much at the instruments...this made my landings much easier, and more consistent. It was a great day!
I only got to spend 0.8 hours in the airplane, which cost me $72...much more affordable then my typical lessons with an instructor. I think I am going to like this!
And with that, the first page of my logbook is filled out
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Lesson 12: Soft/ short field takeoffs and landings
Today we practiced short field takeoffs and landings, soft field takeoffs and landings, and even gave precision landings a try.
Both the short field, and soft field takeoffs were pretty fun. The short field takeoff requires you to put the throttle all the way in, while you hold on the brakes. Once the engine is at full power you can let go of the brakes. The goal is to have the plane get up to climbing speed as soon as possible. Soft field takeoffs require that you do not stop between taxing and taking off...you want to keep the plane rolling. Also required in soft field takeoffs is that you keep the nose wheel off the ground until the plane lifts off the ground, and once the plane lifts off the ground you want to keep it in ground effect until you have enough airspeed to start your climb.
The landings on the other hand were not as fun. My landings need a lot of work as it is, so adding more rules to the mix didn't help. Soft field landings require that you can nail your glide path and airspeed, something I cant do very well yet. Soft field landings are a little more forgiving however, all you need to do different here is keep the nose wheel off the ground, and add a little power once the main wheels touch down...this prevents your airplane from sinking into a soft runway.
We also squeezed in a precision landing today...and boy was it a disaster. The goal here is that you set power to idle, and set the perfect glide path once abeam your touch down spot. You are suppose to be able to land your airplane perfectly without having to add any power. Obviously I failed miserable at this. I came up well short of the runway and had to add power. Once over the runway I dropped my power, and with it my airplane. We dropped about ten feet onto the runway....ouch!
Well that was it for the day. Now I have more things I can practice in the pattern...although for now I think I will just work on normal landings, and takeoffs. I booked the plane for my first full solo flight on Wednesday...if you don't see any updates after this, than that means I am probably dead...but don't let my death discourage you from continuing your training...you'll probably be fine!
Today we spent 1.4 hours in the plane for a total of $198 for the rental and instruction.
Don't you just feel like this some days?
Both the short field, and soft field takeoffs were pretty fun. The short field takeoff requires you to put the throttle all the way in, while you hold on the brakes. Once the engine is at full power you can let go of the brakes. The goal is to have the plane get up to climbing speed as soon as possible. Soft field takeoffs require that you do not stop between taxing and taking off...you want to keep the plane rolling. Also required in soft field takeoffs is that you keep the nose wheel off the ground until the plane lifts off the ground, and once the plane lifts off the ground you want to keep it in ground effect until you have enough airspeed to start your climb.
The landings on the other hand were not as fun. My landings need a lot of work as it is, so adding more rules to the mix didn't help. Soft field landings require that you can nail your glide path and airspeed, something I cant do very well yet. Soft field landings are a little more forgiving however, all you need to do different here is keep the nose wheel off the ground, and add a little power once the main wheels touch down...this prevents your airplane from sinking into a soft runway.
We also squeezed in a precision landing today...and boy was it a disaster. The goal here is that you set power to idle, and set the perfect glide path once abeam your touch down spot. You are suppose to be able to land your airplane perfectly without having to add any power. Obviously I failed miserable at this. I came up well short of the runway and had to add power. Once over the runway I dropped my power, and with it my airplane. We dropped about ten feet onto the runway....ouch!
Well that was it for the day. Now I have more things I can practice in the pattern...although for now I think I will just work on normal landings, and takeoffs. I booked the plane for my first full solo flight on Wednesday...if you don't see any updates after this, than that means I am probably dead...but don't let my death discourage you from continuing your training...you'll probably be fine!
Today we spent 1.4 hours in the plane for a total of $198 for the rental and instruction.
Don't you just feel like this some days?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Lesson 11: Solo!
Well today was the day...today I soloed!
The day started with my preflight inspection. The plane had just come back from its 100 hour maintenance and it had a new propeller, new tires, new brakes and rotors...sweet!
The winds were calm today, and there wasn't a lot of traffic in the area...the only thing I had going against me was some overcast off the departing end of the runway. All in all the conditions were good.
I did three takeoffs and landings with my instructor before he asked me how I felt about soloing the plane right now...this time I said I was ready. We pulled over to the transient parking, he endorsed my logbook and my student certificate, and told me to make three full stop landings, and then meet him back at the flight school.
Upon taking off, I noticed that the airplane really wanted to climb! I had to keep the airplane from climbing too steep by pressing forward on the controls...I thought about adjusting the trim, but I had it right where I wanted it for my glide speed when landing. I had to make my crosswind turn earlier than normal in order to stay out of the overcast. The visibility on departure and crosswind was pretty bad, and a little nerve wracking...but once I turned downwind it was clear skies. On my first approach I was way too high, I considered a go around, but decided against it since I had plenty of runway. I probably landed just after the first 1/3 of the runway...not how I wanted my first solo landing to go. While taxing off the runway I put my flaps up, and then discovered I never turned the carb heat on. Whoops! I told myself I couldn't make that mistake again!
My second landing was similar to my first, although this time I remembered my carb heat. I tried to make sure I didn't turn base so soon, but somehow I still ended up high, with a short final. There was traffic on my third landing, and I was forced to extend my downwind, this was probably a good thing since I was coming in high and short on my other landings. My approach looked good until I got about 20-30 feet from my runway and realized I needed power if I was going to make it. I added a little power, and had a pretty decent landing...except for one thing...CARB HEAT! I forgot to turn it on again. I was so mad at myself for making the same mistake, and not following the check list. I was so focused on the checklist while on the ground, but once I got in the air, and things were happening I totally forgot about it!
With my final landing complete, I taxied back to the flight school where I was greeted by my instructor and a pair of scissors. He shook my hand, and clipped a good chunk of my shirt off...then, out of nowhere, the school's office guy came out with a bucket of water and dumped it on my head...an old Navy tradition I guess? (former school owner was in the Navy). My CFI and I took a picture in front of the plane, and then we signed, and dated my patch of shirt...both will be hanging on the schools wall along with everyone else they have soloed. What a great moment!
Today's lesson was 1.4 hours, for a total of $189.
The day started with my preflight inspection. The plane had just come back from its 100 hour maintenance and it had a new propeller, new tires, new brakes and rotors...sweet!
The winds were calm today, and there wasn't a lot of traffic in the area...the only thing I had going against me was some overcast off the departing end of the runway. All in all the conditions were good.
I did three takeoffs and landings with my instructor before he asked me how I felt about soloing the plane right now...this time I said I was ready. We pulled over to the transient parking, he endorsed my logbook and my student certificate, and told me to make three full stop landings, and then meet him back at the flight school.
Upon taking off, I noticed that the airplane really wanted to climb! I had to keep the airplane from climbing too steep by pressing forward on the controls...I thought about adjusting the trim, but I had it right where I wanted it for my glide speed when landing. I had to make my crosswind turn earlier than normal in order to stay out of the overcast. The visibility on departure and crosswind was pretty bad, and a little nerve wracking...but once I turned downwind it was clear skies. On my first approach I was way too high, I considered a go around, but decided against it since I had plenty of runway. I probably landed just after the first 1/3 of the runway...not how I wanted my first solo landing to go. While taxing off the runway I put my flaps up, and then discovered I never turned the carb heat on. Whoops! I told myself I couldn't make that mistake again!
My second landing was similar to my first, although this time I remembered my carb heat. I tried to make sure I didn't turn base so soon, but somehow I still ended up high, with a short final. There was traffic on my third landing, and I was forced to extend my downwind, this was probably a good thing since I was coming in high and short on my other landings. My approach looked good until I got about 20-30 feet from my runway and realized I needed power if I was going to make it. I added a little power, and had a pretty decent landing...except for one thing...CARB HEAT! I forgot to turn it on again. I was so mad at myself for making the same mistake, and not following the check list. I was so focused on the checklist while on the ground, but once I got in the air, and things were happening I totally forgot about it!
With my final landing complete, I taxied back to the flight school where I was greeted by my instructor and a pair of scissors. He shook my hand, and clipped a good chunk of my shirt off...then, out of nowhere, the school's office guy came out with a bucket of water and dumped it on my head...an old Navy tradition I guess? (former school owner was in the Navy). My CFI and I took a picture in front of the plane, and then we signed, and dated my patch of shirt...both will be hanging on the schools wall along with everyone else they have soloed. What a great moment!
Today's lesson was 1.4 hours, for a total of $189.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Lesson ten: Solo?
Well I spent the week filling out my presolo exam, which started off easy, but by the end I was beginning to struggle a bit. A lot of the questions on the test I hadn't had any real exposure to. Had I watched more of the King Flight School videos that I have, I would have had a much easier time with the test, unfortunately I didn't realize this until after passing in the exam.
After spending the week working on my test, and keeping myself awake at night thinking about having to solo, Saturday finally came. I slept in as late as I could so I wouldn't have to think too much about what was going to happen, unfortunately it didn't work...I just did my thinking in bed.
I arrived at the airport, and my instructor went over my exam as I looked on. A couple of times he stopped and would give his opinion on some of the answers the FAA wants to hear, and a couple times he stopped to ask me a question directly from the test. My instructor said I did well on the exam, and so it was off to fly. We were running behind schedule at this point, so my instructor helped me with the preflight, something he hasn't done since the first couple of lessons. We preflighted quickly, and were off in the pattern doing touch and goes.
My flare out, and landings are actually pretty good, but I am having a bit of trouble doing things consistently in the pattern, which makes each landing a guessing game for me. I don't know until the last 10 seconds if I am in a good position to land or not, but I manage to touch down pretty smoothly regardless it seems.
After a few landings my instructor asked me how I felt about flying the airplane alone, and all I could answer was "I don't know". I knew I could fly the airplane myself, but I don't think I really wanted to. There was a tiny bit of turbulence in the air, and ATC had made me extend my downwind twice, and made me fly a left traffic pattern (typically right at my airport) already. Had it been a perfectly calm day, with no other traffic, I think I would have been ready, but today I just didn't feel it.
We did a couple more landings until making a full stop. At this point I still wasn't sure if this was the moment he was going to get out and tell me "good luck". That moment never came though, and I am fine with that. I had put too much pressure on myself about soloing today, and my nerves were off the charts. Now that today is over, and I didn't solo, my nerves are gone. I know I will be soloing soon, but for some reason the nerves have disappeared.
Today's lesson was a quick one, with just 0.9 hours on the hobbs ($81.00), and an additional 0.6 hours of ground instruction from my CFI ($67.50 for 1.5 hours).
After spending the week working on my test, and keeping myself awake at night thinking about having to solo, Saturday finally came. I slept in as late as I could so I wouldn't have to think too much about what was going to happen, unfortunately it didn't work...I just did my thinking in bed.
I arrived at the airport, and my instructor went over my exam as I looked on. A couple of times he stopped and would give his opinion on some of the answers the FAA wants to hear, and a couple times he stopped to ask me a question directly from the test. My instructor said I did well on the exam, and so it was off to fly. We were running behind schedule at this point, so my instructor helped me with the preflight, something he hasn't done since the first couple of lessons. We preflighted quickly, and were off in the pattern doing touch and goes.
My flare out, and landings are actually pretty good, but I am having a bit of trouble doing things consistently in the pattern, which makes each landing a guessing game for me. I don't know until the last 10 seconds if I am in a good position to land or not, but I manage to touch down pretty smoothly regardless it seems.
After a few landings my instructor asked me how I felt about flying the airplane alone, and all I could answer was "I don't know". I knew I could fly the airplane myself, but I don't think I really wanted to. There was a tiny bit of turbulence in the air, and ATC had made me extend my downwind twice, and made me fly a left traffic pattern (typically right at my airport) already. Had it been a perfectly calm day, with no other traffic, I think I would have been ready, but today I just didn't feel it.
We did a couple more landings until making a full stop. At this point I still wasn't sure if this was the moment he was going to get out and tell me "good luck". That moment never came though, and I am fine with that. I had put too much pressure on myself about soloing today, and my nerves were off the charts. Now that today is over, and I didn't solo, my nerves are gone. I know I will be soloing soon, but for some reason the nerves have disappeared.
Today's lesson was a quick one, with just 0.9 hours on the hobbs ($81.00), and an additional 0.6 hours of ground instruction from my CFI ($67.50 for 1.5 hours).
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Lesson nine: Good and bad news...
We continued practicing takeoffs and landings during today's lesson. The airport seemed like a ghost town today compared to Saturday's madness...we virtually had the place to ourselves to practice touch and go's.
We did a total of eight landings, and most of them felt great, I even got a "good landing" from my instructor. The hardest part of landing for me is flying the pattern, and keeping the right distance and altitude...the actually landing and flaring seems to clicking okay. After seven landings my instructor asked me if I wanted to make the next one a full stop, I said "sure, might as well quit while we are ahead". Sure enough, I overshot my next landing. Although we touched down pretty smoothly, we landed well after the first one third of the runway, and missed our taxi exit. Oh well I guess.
After the lesson my instructor said "I have some good and bad news. The good news is your close to your solo, the bad news is that if you wear a nice shirt, its going to get ruined". He sent me away with a smile on my face, butterflies in my stomach, and a presolo exam to complete. I have a feeling I wont be sleeping very well this week, knowing that I am most likely going to be soloing on Saturday. I am not sure how ready I feel. I know I can land the airplane, but I am worried about messing up on the radio, or screwing up if the tower makes me do something unusual in the pattern. I guess I gotta just go for it.
Today's lesson lasted 1.3 hours, a cost of $117 for the airplane, and $58.50 for instruction.
We did a total of eight landings, and most of them felt great, I even got a "good landing" from my instructor. The hardest part of landing for me is flying the pattern, and keeping the right distance and altitude...the actually landing and flaring seems to clicking okay. After seven landings my instructor asked me if I wanted to make the next one a full stop, I said "sure, might as well quit while we are ahead". Sure enough, I overshot my next landing. Although we touched down pretty smoothly, we landed well after the first one third of the runway, and missed our taxi exit. Oh well I guess.
After the lesson my instructor said "I have some good and bad news. The good news is your close to your solo, the bad news is that if you wear a nice shirt, its going to get ruined". He sent me away with a smile on my face, butterflies in my stomach, and a presolo exam to complete. I have a feeling I wont be sleeping very well this week, knowing that I am most likely going to be soloing on Saturday. I am not sure how ready I feel. I know I can land the airplane, but I am worried about messing up on the radio, or screwing up if the tower makes me do something unusual in the pattern. I guess I gotta just go for it.
Today's lesson lasted 1.3 hours, a cost of $117 for the airplane, and $58.50 for instruction.
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