Another student pilot blog
- From: javaguy11111@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 09:29:42 -0700
Since I have seen other students posting their learning experiences, I
will share with everyone a blog I have been keeping of my flight
instruction. I have mainly been keeping it for the benefit of family
and friends.
At this point I have 15 hours and if we can ever get a day where we do
not have a lot of cross wind my instructor says he is ready for me to
solo.
The main main is http://flyinginshawnee.wordpress.com/
The first entries are a little hard to find because the archive is not
showing it properly. It is at
http://flyinginshawnee.wordpress.com/2007/08/page/2/
I will post my first entry here
29 July 2007 Flight 1
I am actually writing this about a week after my first flight. So I am
probably forgetting a few details. I have been in small planes twice,
but the last time was almost 20 years ago. I am taking my lessons at
O'Connors Flying Service based at Shawnee Municipal Airport. My first
time up was scheduled for 3:30pm. When I arrived Bob was up with a
student. There is locked gate, but I was able to get in just as
another person was leaving. About ten minutes later Bob and his
student arrived in a Cessna 152.
After Bob finished debriefing his student, it was my turn. I had
already done my 3rd class medical, so I presented him with that and my
birth certificate. He asked me why I was interested in flying and I
told him it was something I had wanted to do since I was a kid. I also
told him that part of this first flight was just to find out if this
is something that I really wanted to do. So part of it was discovery
flight and some light training.
So we went out the plane and I sat in the left hand seat and Bob took
the right. He got out the preflight check list and started working our
way through that. After that is completed he has me put my feet high
up on the rudder pedals, push down on the toe brakes, yell out clear
and start up engine. I know I am leaving out some steps such as
setting mixture, throttle position etc, but looking back on it the
whole experience is sort of like being in a whirlwind.
Bob tells me to release the toe breaks and we begin to taxi. I have a
hard time controlling the rudders. They seem stiff. I am also afraid
if I press too hard I might tip the plane over!. Bob notices my
reluctance and encourages to operate the rudders. I try, but he does
take over a few times so we do not go off the taxiway. We approach the
runup area and work through the checklist there. I can not remember
all the steps, but I do remember checking the magnetos.
After the check list is complete, Bob has me do a full 360 clearing
turn to check for other aircraft in the pattern. We then taxi onto the
runway. Again I get shy of the rudder controls and have some
difficulty lining up. so Bob helps with that while I advance the
throttle. I remember him telling me to keep my hand on the throttle.
He also points out the air speed and at about 60 knots one of us pulls
back on the yoke. I can not remember when we start climbing. As we are
climbing out he points out the cowling and the horizon and says to
keep the cowling at a certain point relative to the horizon. So I do
so. At some point he says to maintain the climb, but start a turn to
the west. Bob points out the vertical speed indicate and says it
should be 500fps. He says it can go higher, but if you have passengers
it is better to keep the climb rate at 500.
Next he starts talking about setting the trim for the elevator. He has
me do a few turns, then takes over to demonstrate a stall and
emergency procedures. I can not remember all the details, but he pulls
the throttle back, sets the airspeed and starts talking about good and
bad locations to set down. He points out a road and comments that
intersections tend to wires going across. He points out a plowed field
and says that is not good. He then points out green field and says
that looks good and starts heading that direction. After a certain
point he starts pushing the throttle forward and climbing out. I ask
him if anyone has ever called about a plane having problems. He says
he has gotten a few calls from the police asking him if he was giving
lessons.
As we start climbing back up I start looking around and notice this is
not too far from where I live. So he says take me there. I turn the
plane and start heading up the road towards where I live. As we
proceed in that direction he points out a small runway where someone
flies an ultralight. I had seen ultralight buzzing around from time to
time and had wondered where it came from. As we get closer I realize
that while I am heading towards my house I am going to pass directly
over it. So you would not get a good view. I point this out to Bob. He
takes the controls back and puts us into a steep bank and drops the
altitude some for a closer looks. After that we have a great view of
my property. I comment it looks better from the air than on the
ground.
After this, Bob asks me to take the plane back east towards Shawnee. I
try to maintain altitude, but I notice at one point that I am about
200 feet above where he started. I try to push the nose down some to
drop some altitude. Again memory is a little fuzzy, but I think he had
me also do a few turns. So I do some left and right turns. Bob also
encourages me to play with the rudder pedals a little more. That part
may have happened before he demonstrated emergency flight procedures.
As we approach Shawnee midfield he takes over and puts us in a right
hand downwnd pattern. He cuts back the power and we glide it all the
way back in. As we turn final Bob tells me to keep lined up with the
runway using the rudder pedals. So I try to do so, but I think he has
to assist me a little bit. We set down on the runway and Bob tells me
to taxi it in. So I do so. I start getting a little more comfortable
with the rudder control, but I am still a little shy of them.. As we
approach the hangar area I get a good first lesson on needing to pay
attention to what is going on outside. Bob points out how close the
left wingtip is to a hangar we are passing. After that point Bob takes
over and taxis to our stopping place and has me shutdown the engine. I
get a little confused about the which way the key goes and have to ask
for confirmation about which way to turn. I am not used to keys being
on the left. That will pass soon enough.
Bob then goes through the post flight procedures and we head inside to
his office to debrief. He asks if I want to continue and I say yes and
that it felt good being up there. He was out of ground school kits,
but had an extra log book. So I have my first entry of .8 hours. Bob
says he will not be available next weekend because he will be out of
town. So I decide to schedule the next lesson for August 3 after work.
.
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