Flight #2.

Flight #2, 1.3 Hours, 9/11 @ 5:00pm.

I felt better on some things today, and worse on others.  I did the preflight today and did better taxiing to the run-up area.  I think I'm getting the hang of taxiing, which is not a big deal, considering its on the ground.  The CFI had me call out that we were taxiing and also when we were taking the runway.  We had a little crosswind and departed to the Southwest for the practice area.  We did some turns and slow flight.  Slow flight is where you slow the airplane down from cruise speed while maintaining the same altitude.  You use the rudders to turn the plane and power to control your altitude.

Then we started going over emergency procedures.  Pitch to your best glide speed (65mph in a Cessna 172M) and then go through the checklist.  I need to start going over those checklists more and memorize them.  We were out in the middle of a bunch of rice fields when my CFI said we were landing.  I thought he was crazy, but we ended up landing on a grass field with a shell (shale?) road off to our left.  The grass was too overgrown to take off, so we ended up going to the shale (shell?) road and taking off from there.

Score one to the CFI for making me think he was trying to kill me.  Unfortunately today, I ended up getting even with him

At this point my CFI said to head back to the airport for takeoffs and landings.  That's right, I was going to land the plane on my second trip up.  To set up for landing, he handled the radio calls and we entered the downwind at midfield.  Pattern altitude is about 1000ft.  We pull the power back to idle and pitch to around 80mph with no flaps.  We start turning base when we get a little past the end of the runway.  We decide whether or not to turn on final based on if we can make the field without any power.  If we can, we turn to final.  If we are too far up, we extend past.  If we're too low, we turn in faster.  Add power to keep the speed up and on the glide path as necessary, making sure not to pull back on the yoke to avoid a stall.  First and second landings were ok, I'm sure the CFI was helping out a lot.  But the third landing...that was a different story.

Have you ever heard about ground loops?  Its when you're on the ground and you start losing  control of the airplane and where the tail swings around in front of you...basically a horizontal loop - on the ground.  Well, I didn't think you could do one in a tricycle geared airplane.  We didn't but that doesn’t mean I didn’t try.  Suffice it to say, I need to work on my rudders better when landing.  I think I tend to over control a bit.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Time to spend time with the wife and kids.

First Flight

On 9/10/2010 I took my first flight in the left seat of an airplane.  For those of you not familiar with flying, the Pilot in Command (PIC) flys from the left seat.  This is significant for more than a few reasons, not the least of which is that, you’re the one flying the airplane.

For years, I've wanted to learn how to fly.  My Dad was in the Army Air National Guard.  He learned to fly helicopters in 1978.  During family days, the kids would sneak off and run around in the hangars.  I'd sit in the seats of OH-58s, UH-1s and Cobras.  Pretending to fly.  I remember going up to Osh Kosh and wandering around acres and acres of experimental airplanes, watching the airshows during EAA's Airventure.  It was just a really cool experience growing up.

Recently I learned a co-worker happened to be a pilot, and flew part time for my company.  I caught the bug again and started saving money with the help of a really awesome and understanding wife.  I'm about to sink a significant amount of time and money into an adventure that hopefully ends with me getting my ticket.  It takes a special woman to let that happen with no guarantees.

After years of cruising pilot forums like Studentpilot.com and Pilots of America, endless hours of goofing off on MS Flight Simulator X, and hitching a few rides from pilot friends, I finally sat in the left seat.

I felt like I was drinking from a firehose. Everything seemed to go so fast.  I'm going to try and record some of the flights, so I can a.) go back and review what my Chief Flight Instructor (CFI) said and b.) have a couple of memories for years on down the road.

I met my CFI at his hangar and we preflighted the plane.  Preflight is basically running down a checklist to make sure the plane will fly.  Nothing like making sure things stay attached in flight to ratchet up your attention.  After preflight, we pulled the plane out, did a few more checks and before I knew it, we were sitting inside the plane and CFI was asking if I was ready.  I managed to say yes.

Taxiing an airplane is an entirely different experience then driving a car.  And I knew this going in, having had  a few flights in a small plane.  But it really is an entirely different event when you're the one actually doing it.  You see, there are two pedals on the floor in front of you, much like a car.  However, these pedals control the left and right brakes, as well as the rudder.  You steer with the rudder/brake pedals, *not* the control yoke that looks like a steering wheel.  I literally grabbed my knees to try and keep myself from touching the yoke for my first taxi, so I would just use the pedals.  It didn’t work, and like everyone else that whose ever taxied an airplane, I tried to steer with the yoke and not the pedals.  For the casual observer, I’m sure it’s quite comical watching a first time student bob and weave down the taxiway like a drunken grandmother.

The flight itself was uneventful.  We did shallow turns, steep turns and some slow flight.  Shallow turns are just that, shallow.  The steep turns were pretty steep and caught me off guard at first.  You experience some pretty good g-forces as you do the steep turns and it had been a while since I had experienced some turns like that.  Slow flight was basically flying the plane really slow at a constant speed and altitude while doing things like using the rudder to turn the plane.  And I learned that the trim wheel is your friend.

This is already too long, and I need to study my ground school.  Basically, my first flight was very similar to the first time I had sex- I was all over the place and everything happened too damn fast.  I have another flight today at 5:00pm on 9/11.  I can think of no better way of celebrating the uniqueness of my country and it’s people, then to go fly.  Besides, I really need the practice.