how to make transiting to practice area productive?

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uncreative

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Uncreative
My practice area is about 10 mins from the field. Any suggestions for making this time with my CFI more productive. On the way out the last couple of times we've tracked a radial but on the way back we end up chatting about planes.
 
Only 10 minutes?

Scan for traffic, plan the approach. Have your airplane enter the pattern at exactly TPA, exactly on the 45 (or per tower direction if towered), at exactly the target airspeed, with minimal throttle adjustments. You will need to plan your descent to do this. And you will need to know how far you are from the airport continuously. If the aircraft has a GPS, turn it off.

Scan for emergency landing sites, scan instruments, preset standby frequencies, cross-check position on the chart. Work out the wind at altitude (you should be able to see the correction angle).

If you run out of stuff, debrief the maneuvers you just finished. But this should never happen in a 10 minute flight even if it's flat featureless desert.
 
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I was usually fairly wrung out on the trip back but frequently that would be the end of foggles time - a few turns, climbs, descents, and then straight/level (sorta) back towards the home-drome. Made building the 3 hours a little more tolerable. Foggles off so we could have four eyes looking for traffic within about 5 miles... We were in D airspace so also had traffic alerts from the tower.
 
My CFI and I used to chat about bagging chicks. Which was a) a very short conversation because we were both not breadwinners in that venue, and b) a fine way to waste three minutes.
 
Sac Arrow said:
My CFI and I used to chat about bagging chicks. Which was a) a very short conversation because we were both not breadwinners in that venue, and b) a fine way to waste three minutes.
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Three minutes to bag a chick?
He is my hero. Wish I had that kind of staying power. wait... I mean.. nm
 
Instrument work (you don't have to go in a straight line or at one altitude).
Nav system tracking.
Ground checkpoint spotting.
 
Foggles....:yes:

I wished I had thought of it at the time...

Also try to intercept a specific vor radial on the way..then use another (assuming your AC has two working radios) to triangulate your posit. This will help with lost procedures
 
Great ideas, thanks. My CFI is straight female so I don't think the 'bagging chicks' convo would go too far. And just to quash where your mind is going next, no way.
 
uncreative said:
Great ideas, thanks. My CFI is straight female so I don't think the 'bagging chicks' convo would go too far. And just to quash where your mind is going next, no way.
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So I gues the analogy of "holding off" (over the runway) as long as you could manage was related in a different manner:lol::lol:

I still remember when my instructor hit me with that one... after that, my landings were... well...NAILED on a Regular!
 
While I agree that the 10 minutes could be used for things like instrument time, sometimes a short break in the action can be beneficial too.
 
jonnyjetprop said:
While I agree that the 10 minutes could be used for things like instrument time, sometimes a short break in the action can be beneficial too.
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How well do you hold altitude and heading on the way back? Try + or - 50 feet and 5 degrees. You can still chat and look at the scenery.
 
Ron Levy said:
Instrument work (you don't have to go in a straight line or at one altitude).
Nav system tracking.
Ground checkpoint spotting.
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This
Owad1971 said:
Foggles....:yes:

I wished I had thought of it at the time...

Also try to intercept a specific vor radial on the way..then use another (assuming your AC has two working radios) to triangulate your posit. This will help with lost procedures
Click to expand...
And this
 
Constant rate climb & descent, climbing/descending and level turns to a heading (left and right). Gets you to altitude and takes care of clearing the area so you can start right in on air work.
 
Practice airspeed changes without losing any altitude. Cruise to your downwind configuration, back to cruise, then to slow flight, back to cruise, back to downwind. If you can't do this within +/- 50 feet of your cruise altitude, you need more practice.
 
My CFII liked to have me do what he called the "FAA dance." We were IFR and requested to deviate 15 degrees left and right of course. Start turning left 15 degrees, then initiate a 30 degree right turn. Roll out on heading and keep turning to the left for 30 degrees. During the maneuver, change your speed +\- 20-30 knots and ensure IFR compliance with altitude. The entire exercise should be done with no time spent "straight and level." If you do this for a few minutes, you'll have a greater appreciation for instrument scanning as well as required control inputs of the airplane.
 
10 minutes, tons of time, you could have your flight video edited and on FB before you even finish the flight.:rolleyes: Total winner. Remember don't check for likes on your phone until you are clear of the runway.:rolleyes2:
Some tips for making a sick edit https://vimeo.com/91496760
 
Dutch rolls, simulated instruments, emergency procedures, file a pirep, slow flight, nav tracking, precision altitude hold, specific rate climbs and descents, plan a diversion, leaning procedures, realistic distractions, unusual attitudes, emergency scenarios, ground reference maneuvers, calculate winds aloft using e6b...
 
write-stuff said:
Practice airspeed changes without losing any altitude. Cruise to your downwind configuration, back to cruise, then to slow flight, back to cruise, back to downwind. If you can't do this within +/- 50 feet of your cruise altitude, you need more practice.
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Beat me to it. I was going to say fly at 80 kts, then 70, then 60, etc to minimum controllable airspeed, then back to cruise speed, while maintaining heading and altitude.
 
uncreative said:
My practice area is about 10 mins from the field. Any suggestions for making this time with my CFI more productive. On the way out the last couple of times we've tracked a radial but on the way back we end up chatting about planes.
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Flying is flying. Keep your head in the game. Chatting is OK, but try to do something while chatting.
 
It's very interesting to see the different attitudes we all bring to the same activity.

I would have welcomed 5 minutes of straight and level looking out the window on the way back to the airport.

My instructor, on the other hand, abhorred "downtime." He kept me busy learning any time the meter was running.

In retrospect, I appreciate his point of view more. :D
 
It gets a little more interesting on cross countries when you may not be familiar with the airport and terrain. For me pilotage was the key activity - identifying waypoints, updating nav logs, doing time and fuel recalcs, etc... with hoodwork, VOR tracking, diversion planning, and other activities thrown in between. Never a dull moment. Oh, and no magenta line on which to fall back.
 
I usually take a nap :D. Kidding aside, I'll usually ask questions what they would do in certain emergency scenarios/aircraft systems malfunctions if they're not too busy dealing with ATC on the way back. Sometimes I'll also use it as a chance to have them practice flying at a specific altitude/airspeed combo within very tight tolerances if they're having issues with precision.
 
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Talk about eating better and keeping the weight off -- remember six pounds of lost weight is another gallon of fuel. Read the label, set a better table.
 
uncreative said:
My practice area is about 10 mins from the field. Any suggestions for making this time with my CFI more productive. On the way out the last couple of times we've tracked a radial but on the way back we end up chatting about planes.
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:yes: Yes I do, fly there at minimum controllable airspeed with the stall horn blaring every time, you'll be amazed how that will help your landings.
 
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