First lesson yesterday was awesome! We did spins, aileron rolls, loops and a couple of snap rolls.
I had never done a spin before, and it was not what I had expected. I'm not sure what I thought a spin was like, but it was defiantly a good thing to experience in a controlled environment. Using opposite rudder to stop the rotation seemed natural enough, but with the nose pointed straight down and the plane picking up airspeed, it's hard to remember/force yourself to push forward/let go to break the stall.
I felt pretty good thru the stalls and aileron rolls. Started to feel a little uneasy when we started doing loops. I'm not sure if it was the loop itself, or if it was a cumulative effect. The feeling lasted until well after we landed, but started to feel more like I was hungry and passed as soon as I ate something. So maybe I need to eat a
little more next time.
When you do a loop in a faster plane, do you still push on the shoulder straps, or do you get pushed into the seat? In the Aerobat I definitely needed the should straps at the top of the loop. I'm glad they put the windows in the top so you can look outside. I loved seeing the sky come round to the earth as we pulled thru the backside of the loop.
The Aerobat is a capable little plane, but it takes forever to climb back up to the starting altitude (we started everything at 4500 MSL ~3500 AGL). But it's hard to beat the price ($100/wet), $42/hr for instruction, and it's only 30 minutes from where I live. Next closest place I could find is 2 hours away.
I scheduled my next lesson for Saturday before I left, and the
book I ordered should be here this week. It was kind of funny, the instructor started out the ground portion by saying "I'm not sure how serious you are about this, but if you are, I highly recommend this book". Turns out it's the same book I ordered! Figures, since it's written specifically for the Aerobat.
Its the same way I sold her on getting my Instrument rating. I'll post a follow-up after the lesson.
