My instructor started the lesson by telling me to fly to Tygart Lake- without looking outside. I was able to track to an intersection over the lake by following the Clarksburg VOR until the needle for the Elkins VOR centered (see pic ->)
I then worked on slow flight and stalls- some with instrument reference, and some with visual reference. After about 30 minutes of practicing slow flight and stalls, my instructor had me put the IFR hood back on so I couldn't see outside, and told me to fly a certain direction for a while.
I then had to use the VOR indicators to triangulate my location. I tuned both the Clarksburg and Elkins VORs and lined up the needles and used my sectional to pinpoint my location. I pinpointed our plane right next to Phillipi airport.
I then did three stop-and-go landings at Phillipi- which is an actual short field. It was fun actually landing at a different airport. It was in a very remote location on top of a mountain. I had fun landing and taking off there.
The next thing my instructor did was put me under the hood and tell me to close my eyes and put my chin to my chest so I couldn't see anything. He then proceeded to turn and pitch in all sorts of different directions- attempting to skew my senses. Then he would tell me to look up and recover. If the plane was nose low, you pull out on the power and pitch back to correct. The plane is nose high, you apply full power and push forward (to prevent a stall). This is called "Recovery from Unusual Flight Attitudes", and it is meant to simulate an instance where I am distracted by my maps and navigation and forget to look at my instruments or outside, and all of sudden realize that somethings not right. It was a piece of cake. Fun, too.
I then tracked to the Clarksburg VOR to get back to the airport, and executed a perfect short field landing. Today's lesson was a lot of fun.
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