Today's lesson was a short one. The lesson was originally meant for me to learn short and soft field takeoffs and landings, but there was a direct crosswind of 10 knots today which would have made it very difficult. We decided that it would be better to wait for some calmer winds or at least a headwind to learn some complicated new maneuvers.
I worked on slow flight, stalls, steep turns, and ground reference maneuvers. The ground reference maneuvers were slightly more difficult than usual- thanks to some aggresive winds aloft. Normally I do not have difficulty maintaining altitude during the ground maneuvers, but today I did. I can only hope that my stage check will not take place on a windy day like this.
I landed only one time, because of the crosswinds. It was a good landing though, aside from coming in a little fast. I landed on the upwind wheel first just like I was supposed to.
My stage check has been scheduled for Monday at noon.
Today was my very first solo flight. It started out just like any other flight, except this time when I filled out the sheet for weight and balance I only had to put down 240lbs for the front seat instead of the usual 390lbs.
First things first, my instructor wanted to make absolutely sure I was ready, so he had me do three laps in the pattern without any commentary from him. I did okay on those three landings, and he seemed confident that I could do them on my own. So I taxied over to the ramp and he hopped out and stood with my parents and fiance.
For the first time, I was alone in the plane. I contacted ground and asked to taxi to the runway. Once I reached the runway, I contacted tower and I let them know that I was a student pilot on my first solo and asked for takeoff clearance. Without all that extra weight, takeoff was much smoother, and the plane climbed faster. I did my first lap and came up on my first landing. Considering that the plane weighed significantly less, I was prone to floating and balooning on the flare (which is when the plane starts flying again instead of touching down). I bounced a little. But, it wasn't a hard bounce like usual (probably due to less weight), and I still touched down nice and smooth.
My second landing was better, and my thrid landing was once again a little bouncy, mainly due to the floating. But its like they say, "A landing you can walk away from is a good one. A landing that doesn't break the plane is a great one." I taxied back to the ramp to pick up my instructor and we taxied back to the NAEC where he cut up my t-shirt.
Today was fun! My next solo will come right after my stage check (which should be fairly soon)...
Today's flight lesson was just plain awesome. The air was the smoothest it has ever been (thanks to some low temperatures and calm winds). To top it all off, the leaves are changing and it was awesome to look at from above. I practiced slow flight, steep turns, ground reference maneuvers and landings.
I did an excellent job performing all of the maneuvers, thanks to the smooth air. I was practicing turns around a point and I didn't even have to touch the yoke, once I was in the turn. We established that I can fly very well, as long as the air is smooth like this. I hope the same conditions are present when it comes time for my checkride.
I landed eight times today. All eight I did without assistance from my instructor. He also failed my engine while I was in the traffic pattern, and I had to glide the plane down to the runway and land. I also made an interesting discovery; thanks to the overcast sky, I didn't need my sunglasses for this lesson. As a result, I found out that I can see the runway better and I feel much more comfortable during the landing. I think it's because the sunglasses block my periphery a little bit, which I need to judge my height above the ground. So from now on, sunglasses off for the landing.
I will be taking my pre-solo exam Friday, and I will be soloing Sunday. I feel really good about it.
Today I got to really practice crosswind landings- thanks to 10 knot winds gusting to 15 knots, 90 degrees to the runway. It was definently a challenge, and I imagine it will take a lot more practice to develop the kind of skills needed for these crazy winds.
The winds aloft were also fairly challenging. As I attempted to practice manuevers, suddenly I would be blown 20 degrees off heading in less than a second. I also practiced some ground reference manuevers, which were slightly more difficult due to the higher wind speeds. But I suppose it's important that I learn these things in case I get involved in high-wind situations down the road.
As I go in for my first crosswind landing, I'm a little high so I have to start a forward slip (see previous blog). I'm not very good at directional control in a slip yet (especially not in a crosswind) so I drift to the right of runway 3. At the runway threshold, I'm about 200 feet above the ground, and 100 feet to the right of the runway. Thinking that landing would involve a couple quick steep turns to get lined up, I turned to my instructor and said, "I don't like this, don't like this at all. Can I go around?" That would be my first ever personal decision as a pilot to abort a landing.
I came in lower for my second landing so that I don't have to slip. But now, I have to crab. That means that the nose of my plane is pointed into the wind and to the left of the runway in order to stay lined up. I did okay as far as staying in line with the runway. Now in a crosswind landing, you are supposed to land on the upwind wheel first. This time, I managed to land on all three wheels at the same time. It was a bit of a harsh touchdown, to say the least. For those of you who don't quite know what a crab is, you can search "crosswind landings" on Youtube and you will see planes crabbing, which is basically flying sideways to the runway. Here's a video of a crabbed landing by a 747:
The third time around, I asked my instructor to show me how he does it so I can study his technique. And of course, I filmed it again. Even he had trouble with this crosswind because of the gusts. He announced afterward that it was definently not one of his best crosswind landings, and that these kinds of winds will be more difficult for a beginner student like me. Here is his landing:
The fourth time around, I managed to land the plane fairly smoothly, and on the centerline, with the upwind wheel touching first. I'm starting to get the hang of it...
Today I got to do the dreaded instrument stalls. They weren't actually that bad. I just kept my eyes on my artificial horizon and everything was okay. The air was really smooth today, and I had no problems whatsoever keeping my altitude for any of the maneuvers I performed. I worked on slow flight, steep turns, turns around a point, S-turns, instrument stalls and instrument slow fight. I was able to keep my altitude +/- 100 feet fairly well. Maybe it was the smooth air, or maybe I'm just getting better.
I also landed twice today and did one go-around.
Go-arounds are just about the easiest thing in the world to do, you just have to know not to pull back as soon as you apply power- you need to gain some speed first. Go-arounds are executed when something occurs that might mean an unsafe landing, such as deer on the runway, another plane on the runway, heavy wind shear that blows you away from the runway, or anything where the pilot makes the decision to basically "try again". Here is a go around:
I also did slips (full rudder and opposite aileron) on a no-flap approach. When my instructor in Charleston had me do slips for my very first lesson, I could not do them. Here, now, they're a piece of cake. We approached the runway from the side and probably scared the Citation Jet waiting to takeoff because we were about 50 feet to the right of the runway at the threshold, almost passing over top of him on the taxiway. Here is a video of a plane slipping on approach- As you can see, the plane is basically flying in sideways (this is done in order to increase the descent rate without increasing speed):
On my landing with flaps, I got the stall horn to go off right as I touched down (which is characteristic of an ideal landing).
I feel like I'm getting much more proficient in every maneuver I've been doing. I will be soloing fairly soon! And then it's on to cross-country flight (which I am looking forward to).
Today I practiced landings. I did five landings total, one of which with no flaps. My biggest problem so far is flaring too early. In doing so, I get excessive sink rates, which will cause me to touch down harder than usual. Sometimes I balloon, which is when instead of coming down to touchdown, the plane starts going up instead. Often times for the touchdown, I don't pull back hard enough, and I land on all three wheels at once instead of just the back two. Here is a video of my instructor demonstrating an ideal landing for me:
Today most of the focus of my lesson was working on some of my weaker points: Stalls and steep turns. I also have been getting more proficient in maintaining altitude. I'm now mostly keeping my altitude plus or minus 200 feet- which is better than my last couple lessons, where I was easily plus or minus 400-500ft. This is all thanks to using the trim tab appropriately.
My power-off stall was good, and according to my instructor, I have gotten 100% better at power-on stalls. Now, I'm actually pushing forward on the controls once the stall begins, and that helps a lot. Now my only problem- I'm actually nosing over a bit too much- I have to find that happy medium.
My steep turns were also better. I have developed some references on the plane of which to judge the line of the horizon, and now I can do them mostly without looking at my instruments (except to check altitude of course).
I landed three times today, all three of them were crosswind landings with no flaps. I feel like I did okay. The only problem is that at the last second before touchdown, you have to punch in a lot of rudder to line the plane up with the runway, but once the plane lands, the rudders now control steering. So the plane darts off to the left a little and I have to center it back on the centerline.
For the first time, I didn't have the slightest bit of nausea.
Today I practiced steep turns, turns around a point, and s-turns.
Steep turns are a little more difficult than I remember the last time I did them at Charleston. I had trouble maintaining bank angle, staying coordinated, and maintaining altitude. I think the problem was that at Yeager, I did my steep turns with mostly instrument reference. Today, I tried to do them with mostly outside reference, and that was a bit more difficult.
I actually did pretty well with my ground reference maneuvers, considering that it was my first time. You're supposed to understand the primary wind direction, and turn shallower with a headwind, and steeper with a tailwind. However, I could mostly judge the angle of bank I needed without mentally calculating wind direction. It just felt natural.
I also practiced emergency engine failure. The first thing I'm supposed to do is pitch for 65 knots. Then I must look for a suitable landing place (I found a nice little mountaintop removal project nearby). Then I have to check the fuel selector, mixture, throttle, pull out carb heat, check the magneto switch, and make sure the primer is fully in. If none of that works, I must squak 7700 and contact ATC and let them know I'm going down, and then land in my chosen field. Of course, we were just pretending, and as I started to get very close to the nearby mountains I aborted the simulation by applying full power and climbing away. After all, FAA regulations state that I cannot come within 500 feet of the ground, and I was damn near close. But if it were a real emergency, I could just toss the rule book out the window.
All in all, except for being windy and turbulent, it was a pretty good lesson.
