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.

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

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