Due to my traveling for work and conflicting schedules with my instructor, I'm not going to be flying again until Sunday and the only way for me to stay somewhat proficient is to chair "fly". I'm sure every student does it... But I do it to the extreme! My budget is tight so I've logged more hours in a chair cockpit than in an actual airplane.
What I wanted to review on today's "flight" was my emergency engine out procedure. The first time I did this in the air... I chose a horrible place to land and couldn't handle the multi-tasking required. Not only do you have to find a place to land, but you have to maintain 65knots, troubleshoot your engine, change the radio, and change the transponder to 7700.
Luckily some genius thought of another tool to easily remember the larger amounts of information. Never have I had to remember so many mnemonic devices. As the title says.. Today's is ALERTS. I've covered this in one of my previous posts, but for my own sake, and hopefully the sake of another pre-solo student, I'm writing this. It helps when I can put my thoughts into a post like this. It helps me organize and remember my thoughts.
A - Airspeed - Maintain best glide speed. In my Cessna 172N it's 65 knots.
L - Landing site - Find one. Preferably a road without power lines or the vegetation of a farm
E - Engine troubleshoot - Pull the checklist and run through it. Once you memorize, use a flow
R - Radio - If your engine doesn't restart, tube to 121.5 and broadcast Mayday
T - Transponder - Set to 7700 to indicate an emergency
S - Seatbelts - Ensure they are secure
Like I said... The first time my instructor pulled my power, I lost 1500ft before I was able to troubleshoot my engine and I would have crashed due to a poor landing site selection. Now, after a couple tries, I'm choosing better landing spots and completing my checklist in far less an altitude loss. This is all due to chair "flying" and memorizing the important ALERTS mnemonic device. Thank you to whoever thinks up these tools to remember!
Details of my flying from day one!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Pre-Solo Stage Check
Today I went up with another instructor for my pre-solo stage check. Although not required ny the FAA at a Part 61 school, it's something that my school requires.
From what this instructor told me, it serves two purposes. One is to make sure my normal instructor hasn't forgotten anything and two, to get a second set of eyes on my flying skills. Maybe something explained to me 20 times by my regular instructor hasn't made it's point, but phrased a little differently by a new instructor... it suddenly clicks.
I can't say that there was anything dramatic taught to me today that I didn't already know, but it was a very valuable experience, and if nothing else gave me a whole lot more confidence flying out of the airport environment, to the practice area, and back again. I'm very confident that I can do that again while soloing.
With all that being said... the recommendation from this instructor is for me to do 1 or 2 more flights strictly in the pattern to get my landings more consistent. The first landing today was a disaster and the instructor beat me to a a go around. The next two were ok, but not great.
Can I land the plane if I had to? Yes. Will it be pretty? Not necessarily. I'll get there. I'm scheduled for Thursday and if everything goes well, a flight and solo on Sunday of next week.
Today's Flight: 1.2
Total Time: 31.8
From what this instructor told me, it serves two purposes. One is to make sure my normal instructor hasn't forgotten anything and two, to get a second set of eyes on my flying skills. Maybe something explained to me 20 times by my regular instructor hasn't made it's point, but phrased a little differently by a new instructor... it suddenly clicks.
I can't say that there was anything dramatic taught to me today that I didn't already know, but it was a very valuable experience, and if nothing else gave me a whole lot more confidence flying out of the airport environment, to the practice area, and back again. I'm very confident that I can do that again while soloing.
With all that being said... the recommendation from this instructor is for me to do 1 or 2 more flights strictly in the pattern to get my landings more consistent. The first landing today was a disaster and the instructor beat me to a a go around. The next two were ok, but not great.
Can I land the plane if I had to? Yes. Will it be pretty? Not necessarily. I'll get there. I'm scheduled for Thursday and if everything goes well, a flight and solo on Sunday of next week.
 |
| Full Pre-Solo Stage Check Flight |
Total Time: 31.8
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Cleared for Pre-solo Stage Check
I went up for my 12th flight with Kevin yesterday and felt very confident. Before yesterday's flight the thought of soloing really had me spooked. If I can perform like I did yesterday when I'm in the airplane by myself, I'm positive I'll make it back just fine. :)
As the title says, I've been cleared by my instructor to have my pre-solo check out with the chief flight instructor at my flight school. I'm nervous, but more excited because I've been waiting a long time to get in the air by myself. I know what I need to know to be safe by myself in the practice area, now it's all about perfecting everything.
Recap of yesterday's flight:
I taxied to 22R, did my run-up and we were up in no time. Luckily it has been in the upper 90's here rather than the 100's so we climbed out pretty well. The goal was to run through each maneuver once, make sure I could still do them and come back for some touch and go's.
First Maneuver - Steep Turn:
After some clearing turns I did a steep turn to the left and one back to the right. I was able to keep my altitude steady on both turns but didn't keep enough bank when turning to the right. With that being said, this was one of my better steep turns. For some reason I normally have trouble going to the left and nail the right... this time.. I did above average on both sides. You can see how well I maintained my altitude in the picture below.
2nd+3rd Maneuver - Slow Flight and Power Off Stall:
I've always been good at slow flight. I understand the pitch for airspeed and power for altitude pretty well. For some reason this time, I let myself climb too much and busted the PTS allowances for altitude which are +/- 100 ft. I'll get it next time.. no problem. Plus... I have plenty of time to practice. Turning in slow flight comes naturally to me. Just a push of the rudder pedal and you're turning. Piece of cake.
From slow flight it's very easy to transition to a power off stall, which is exactly what I did. Push the nose down, power to 1500rpm, and establish a descent. Once the descent is established, power to idle and add back pressure until the stall. Once you get the stall... Full power, nose to the horizon.
3rd maneuver - Power On Stall:
For some reason this maneuver has been difficult for me. In preparation for yesterday's flight I did a significant amount of "chair flying" and got the procedure down and performed the power on stall very well. Power to 1500, slow to 60knots, full power, apply back pressure, stall, recover. Bam.. Easy stuff.
Emergency Engine Failure Procedure:
After some clearing turns Kevin pulled my power and I started my Emergency Landing Procedure. ALERTS - Airspeed: 65knots - Landing site: find one - Engine Troubleshoot: do it - Radio: Tune to 121.5 and broadcast mayday - Transponder: Set to 7700 - Seat belts: secure. Turns out I selected a great landing area and compared to previous flights, I would have survived. Yay me. :)
After all my maneuvers were out of the way Kevin told me to head home and I knew exactly where to go. This is something that has stressed me in the past because I'm horrible with directions. After flying in this area so many times, I know the landmarks and I'm confident I can always make it back to Chandler.
I made my call and we were cleared into the pattern setup to land on 22R. I was already aligned with the downwind leg so that's how I entered. I ended up being too close to the runway on downwind, so I didn't get much of a base leg. It was more of a continuous turn from downwind. From now on I'll set myself up further away by extending my crosswind a little bit.
Up to this point, all of my landing have sucked. Kevin thinks I've been doing ok, but I've disagreed on every landing. The 3 landings I did yesterday felt amazing. They weren't perfect, but they were 100% better than anything previous. It probably had a lot to do with the lack of heat and wind, but they were great. I was very happy with all of them. If I can get the same conditions for my stage check and solo.. I'll be a happy camper.
After securing the plane we went into the office and I took my pre-solo written. I think it took me about 40 minutes and I nailed it. I passed the test with flying colors and I'm now ready to go up with another instructor for my stage check. I'm feeling pretty good about what's to come. I could be soloing an airplane within a week if everything goes ok. Of course.. my wallet has to hold up as well. So far it's been good. My wife has been super supportive and eating leftovers has never tasted so good.
Thanks for reading!
Joe
Today's flight: .9
Total flight time: 30.6
As the title says, I've been cleared by my instructor to have my pre-solo check out with the chief flight instructor at my flight school. I'm nervous, but more excited because I've been waiting a long time to get in the air by myself. I know what I need to know to be safe by myself in the practice area, now it's all about perfecting everything.
Recap of yesterday's flight:
I taxied to 22R, did my run-up and we were up in no time. Luckily it has been in the upper 90's here rather than the 100's so we climbed out pretty well. The goal was to run through each maneuver once, make sure I could still do them and come back for some touch and go's.
First Maneuver - Steep Turn:
After some clearing turns I did a steep turn to the left and one back to the right. I was able to keep my altitude steady on both turns but didn't keep enough bank when turning to the right. With that being said, this was one of my better steep turns. For some reason I normally have trouble going to the left and nail the right... this time.. I did above average on both sides. You can see how well I maintained my altitude in the picture below.
 |
| Steep Turns |
2nd+3rd Maneuver - Slow Flight and Power Off Stall:
I've always been good at slow flight. I understand the pitch for airspeed and power for altitude pretty well. For some reason this time, I let myself climb too much and busted the PTS allowances for altitude which are +/- 100 ft. I'll get it next time.. no problem. Plus... I have plenty of time to practice. Turning in slow flight comes naturally to me. Just a push of the rudder pedal and you're turning. Piece of cake.
From slow flight it's very easy to transition to a power off stall, which is exactly what I did. Push the nose down, power to 1500rpm, and establish a descent. Once the descent is established, power to idle and add back pressure until the stall. Once you get the stall... Full power, nose to the horizon.
3rd maneuver - Power On Stall:
For some reason this maneuver has been difficult for me. In preparation for yesterday's flight I did a significant amount of "chair flying" and got the procedure down and performed the power on stall very well. Power to 1500, slow to 60knots, full power, apply back pressure, stall, recover. Bam.. Easy stuff.
Emergency Engine Failure Procedure:
After some clearing turns Kevin pulled my power and I started my Emergency Landing Procedure. ALERTS - Airspeed: 65knots - Landing site: find one - Engine Troubleshoot: do it - Radio: Tune to 121.5 and broadcast mayday - Transponder: Set to 7700 - Seat belts: secure. Turns out I selected a great landing area and compared to previous flights, I would have survived. Yay me. :)
 |
| All of my maneuvers including emergency landing |
I made my call and we were cleared into the pattern setup to land on 22R. I was already aligned with the downwind leg so that's how I entered. I ended up being too close to the runway on downwind, so I didn't get much of a base leg. It was more of a continuous turn from downwind. From now on I'll set myself up further away by extending my crosswind a little bit.
Up to this point, all of my landing have sucked. Kevin thinks I've been doing ok, but I've disagreed on every landing. The 3 landings I did yesterday felt amazing. They weren't perfect, but they were 100% better than anything previous. It probably had a lot to do with the lack of heat and wind, but they were great. I was very happy with all of them. If I can get the same conditions for my stage check and solo.. I'll be a happy camper.
After securing the plane we went into the office and I took my pre-solo written. I think it took me about 40 minutes and I nailed it. I passed the test with flying colors and I'm now ready to go up with another instructor for my stage check. I'm feeling pretty good about what's to come. I could be soloing an airplane within a week if everything goes ok. Of course.. my wallet has to hold up as well. So far it's been good. My wife has been super supportive and eating leftovers has never tasted so good.
Thanks for reading!
Joe
Today's flight: .9
Total flight time: 30.6
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I'm Officially a Student Pilot!!!
As you can see it's been a while since I posted here. I haven't flown since 2009 and I'm back! I've got 17.2 hours spread out over the years starting in 2003. I've just never had the money to keep going. This time... I think I'm good to go!
Two weeks ago I went to Chandler Air Service at my local airport to inquire about starting up my flying again. The instructor that I talked to was very nice and told me that I would probably have to start fresh since my flying time is so spread out. This information wasn't a surprise to me. He did advise me to go get my 3rd class medical which I haven't ever done.
I passed my medical with flying colors, which wasn't really an accomplishment to be honest. The doctor checked that I could see, hear and breath, and I was out the door with my medical and my brand new student pilot certificate! For some reason that tiny piece of paper saying I'm a student pilot makes it feel a little more real this time around.
It's been almost two weeks since I've been to the airport to talk to the instructor and I still haven't been contacted. He said that they have meetings to assign instructors to students on Tuesdays and today is the 2nd Tuesday since we've talked. I'm getting a little frustrated by the lack of communication and have started looking elsewhere for instruction. If the communication is this bad just trying to get some instruction... what am I to expect when I actually start?
No matter where I end up getting my instruction, I'm very excited to get started! This time I'm going all the way!
Two weeks ago I went to Chandler Air Service at my local airport to inquire about starting up my flying again. The instructor that I talked to was very nice and told me that I would probably have to start fresh since my flying time is so spread out. This information wasn't a surprise to me. He did advise me to go get my 3rd class medical which I haven't ever done.
I passed my medical with flying colors, which wasn't really an accomplishment to be honest. The doctor checked that I could see, hear and breath, and I was out the door with my medical and my brand new student pilot certificate! For some reason that tiny piece of paper saying I'm a student pilot makes it feel a little more real this time around.
It's been almost two weeks since I've been to the airport to talk to the instructor and I still haven't been contacted. He said that they have meetings to assign instructors to students on Tuesdays and today is the 2nd Tuesday since we've talked. I'm getting a little frustrated by the lack of communication and have started looking elsewhere for instruction. If the communication is this bad just trying to get some instruction... what am I to expect when I actually start?
No matter where I end up getting my instruction, I'm very excited to get started! This time I'm going all the way!
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