onwards
Pattern Altitude
So had another IFR session today, two hours under the hood. Did a couple of things I had never done before.
First, I took off "blind". That was scary. Let's put it this way: if I ever entertain the thought in writing of taking off in zero visibility after I get the rating - like say full fog to the ground so I can't see the runway - feel free to smack me from here to Canarsie (and back). While I had no real trouble doing it, per se, and did not stray from center until the wheels left the ground, I could just imagine some little thing going wrong and having literally no time or ability to react, because you can't see a damn thing.
Second, I shot my first full "official" approach (to KSCK). That was interesting, to say the least, especially as ATC cut us so damn close that we joined less than 3 miles from the VOR. I was still trying to "find" 304 when we passed the station. My instructor said I did amazingly well considering how close they cut us in, never busting. But I sure was sweating under the foggles. It was neat to take them off at 460 and see the runway laid out at a slight angle in front of me.
I actually got a lot of kudos from him for my performance today, intersecting and tracking like a champ. Two hours of it was quite exhausting, I got home afterwards and fell asleep almost instantly. He said I actually managed the entire two hours without ever busting either altitude or assigned headings - and there were dozens of them, sometimes in what felt like rapid fire mode. I don't ever remember being so busy in a plane. Glad I picked the 172 to learn in, because it's simple to fly!
I also flew most of the two hours without the AI and the DG. He covered both of them about 10 minutes after we took off, and left it that way until about 10 minutes before we came in (when I finally took off the foggles and made a normal VFR approach landing, which was welcome because I was brain-fried). I found that I really didn't need them, which was a revelation. In fact, this solidified something else in my mind that I had been paying attention to since I started IFR training - the TI, which I used to almost ignore before I started IFR stuff, has become a fast friend. So the training has already changed the way I fly VFR, too.
Which brings me to this: if I thought getting my private involved a steep learning curve, well... go ahead, say "think again". The whole drinking from a fire hose is back with a vengeance. And it's harder because when you are playing with IFR, it also seems to imply a lot more skill to ATC folks, so they bother a lot less with niceties. I'm not sure how to explain this, but when I just ask for flight following when I go out by myself they... they talk slower. Now it's all business. Makes me all nervous again, like I was when I started radio during VFR training.
But on the flip side of this, the whole thing is a lot less stressful overall. The reason is that nothing is riding on it; I am not looking for a career in aviation, so the rating is about my own safety and piloting skills. There is no bad consequence if I don't pass my checkride or whatever. I still get to fly whenever I want to, after all (I mean, bad weather? out here? you must be joking). So this whole thing that was there in the back of my mind during my primary training, that voice of urgency, it's all gone, I'm a lot more relaxed. And that's nice.
First, I took off "blind". That was scary. Let's put it this way: if I ever entertain the thought in writing of taking off in zero visibility after I get the rating - like say full fog to the ground so I can't see the runway - feel free to smack me from here to Canarsie (and back). While I had no real trouble doing it, per se, and did not stray from center until the wheels left the ground, I could just imagine some little thing going wrong and having literally no time or ability to react, because you can't see a damn thing.
Second, I shot my first full "official" approach (to KSCK). That was interesting, to say the least, especially as ATC cut us so damn close that we joined less than 3 miles from the VOR. I was still trying to "find" 304 when we passed the station. My instructor said I did amazingly well considering how close they cut us in, never busting. But I sure was sweating under the foggles. It was neat to take them off at 460 and see the runway laid out at a slight angle in front of me.
I actually got a lot of kudos from him for my performance today, intersecting and tracking like a champ. Two hours of it was quite exhausting, I got home afterwards and fell asleep almost instantly. He said I actually managed the entire two hours without ever busting either altitude or assigned headings - and there were dozens of them, sometimes in what felt like rapid fire mode. I don't ever remember being so busy in a plane. Glad I picked the 172 to learn in, because it's simple to fly!
I also flew most of the two hours without the AI and the DG. He covered both of them about 10 minutes after we took off, and left it that way until about 10 minutes before we came in (when I finally took off the foggles and made a normal VFR approach landing, which was welcome because I was brain-fried). I found that I really didn't need them, which was a revelation. In fact, this solidified something else in my mind that I had been paying attention to since I started IFR training - the TI, which I used to almost ignore before I started IFR stuff, has become a fast friend. So the training has already changed the way I fly VFR, too.
Which brings me to this: if I thought getting my private involved a steep learning curve, well... go ahead, say "think again". The whole drinking from a fire hose is back with a vengeance. And it's harder because when you are playing with IFR, it also seems to imply a lot more skill to ATC folks, so they bother a lot less with niceties. I'm not sure how to explain this, but when I just ask for flight following when I go out by myself they... they talk slower. Now it's all business. Makes me all nervous again, like I was when I started radio during VFR training.
But on the flip side of this, the whole thing is a lot less stressful overall. The reason is that nothing is riding on it; I am not looking for a career in aviation, so the rating is about my own safety and piloting skills. There is no bad consequence if I don't pass my checkride or whatever. I still get to fly whenever I want to, after all (I mean, bad weather? out here? you must be joking). So this whole thing that was there in the back of my mind during my primary training, that voice of urgency, it's all gone, I'm a lot more relaxed. And that's nice.
