Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 29,913
- Display Name
Display name:
iFlyNothing
The problem with this winter thing (especially here in PA) is that the sun is down before 5:30. But if I put in time from 7 to 4, I can get in the air by 4:30, and get maybe 45 minutes or so in before dark. My instructor and I did two lessons like this, and he said after the first one "There's not much of a point to this. You're best off just flying around and practicing things yourself during this time." I soloed on November 1st, and had about 5 hours of flying since then (3 of which were the night cross country in the Aztec).
He signed off my log book for unlimited solo within 25 nm of the airport, provided that the weather was good, and his rule being that I call him before flight so he can approve. Yesterday afternoon I got approval. It was a gorgeous afternoon with no winds. Winds don't bother me that much, but it's still nicer when there aren't any.
Although I have been pulling the airplane out of the hangar, pre-flighting it, etc. for a while now, this was the first time that I did a full solo flight in the sense that I pulled the plane out, preflighted it, got everything set up, and then did my taxi, takeoffs, landings, refuel, park, etc. all myself.
At this point, it just all feels natural to me. Not comfortable/complacent certainly, but comfortable in that I understand what I'm doing, what the procedures are, what I'm supposed to do, and I'm confident in my ability to do it. I'm also being cautious and gradually expanding. Yesterday I went up and did 9 touch-and-gos. My instructor has encouraged me to go to the practice area and practice more maneuvers, but seeing as this was only my second solo flight (and first unsupervised solo), I decided I wanted to just stay in the pattern and work on my landing refinement - hitting my altitudes and headings exactly, landing exactly where I want, landings being smoother, landing on the center, etc. If I get the go ahead today and/or tomorrow I'll head out to the practice area.
As for the landings - the first one and the last two I was happy with (at least as far as the actual landing was concerned). The plane came on the ground in the center, with the mains first followed by the nose, and it was smooth. The 6 in the middle I was doing better about coming out of climbs and turns at the exact altitude and heading I wanted, but the landings themselves were either soft and all three wheels hitting at once, or mains first and hard. One or two of them the plane floated up a few feet because I pulled the yoke back too much to get the nose up, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be when I first started my landings.
He signed off my log book for unlimited solo within 25 nm of the airport, provided that the weather was good, and his rule being that I call him before flight so he can approve. Yesterday afternoon I got approval. It was a gorgeous afternoon with no winds. Winds don't bother me that much, but it's still nicer when there aren't any.
Although I have been pulling the airplane out of the hangar, pre-flighting it, etc. for a while now, this was the first time that I did a full solo flight in the sense that I pulled the plane out, preflighted it, got everything set up, and then did my taxi, takeoffs, landings, refuel, park, etc. all myself.
At this point, it just all feels natural to me. Not comfortable/complacent certainly, but comfortable in that I understand what I'm doing, what the procedures are, what I'm supposed to do, and I'm confident in my ability to do it. I'm also being cautious and gradually expanding. Yesterday I went up and did 9 touch-and-gos. My instructor has encouraged me to go to the practice area and practice more maneuvers, but seeing as this was only my second solo flight (and first unsupervised solo), I decided I wanted to just stay in the pattern and work on my landing refinement - hitting my altitudes and headings exactly, landing exactly where I want, landings being smoother, landing on the center, etc. If I get the go ahead today and/or tomorrow I'll head out to the practice area.
As for the landings - the first one and the last two I was happy with (at least as far as the actual landing was concerned). The plane came on the ground in the center, with the mains first followed by the nose, and it was smooth. The 6 in the middle I was doing better about coming out of climbs and turns at the exact altitude and heading I wanted, but the landings themselves were either soft and all three wheels hitting at once, or mains first and hard. One or two of them the plane floated up a few feet because I pulled the yoke back too much to get the nose up, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be when I first started my landings.