terzap
Line Up and Wait
I soloed today!
WELL...the weather gods smiled, the nasty germs of last week dead, and after 28 years (since my first flight lesson at 19) of stopping, starting, stopping, and starting again (struggling with time and money and most of all money and changes of flight instructors and FBOs selling "my" airplane and frantically searching for another Skyhawk to train in so I wouldn't have to transition to a Cadet...whew, I am out of breath...so...where was I? Oh. After 28 years and twenty nine recently acquired hours (just from the past year, not counting the 8 total hours from 10 and 20 years ago) I finally soloed. And lived to tell about it.
The presolo test was simpler than I thought, and I think I over-studied for it. Afterward, almost anything that could go wrong did go wrong: we had trouble with the engine--as I was taxiing out to do the runup, it quit twice for no reason we could find, and I wasn't DOING anything to it at either time it stopped, it just stopped. The first time I was swinging around into the runup area. My instructor thought it was something I did, but I wasn't even touching the throttle at the time since I was stopped, on the brakes, and reaching for my checklist. It started again, and then I did the runup. There was a backfire when I checked the right mag. It startled my instructor and got an unprintable four letter word out of me. And nothing else seemed wrong--but when I started to roll forward the engine stopped again!
So, we started it again, told the CAP plane behind us to go ahead, and then turned around, went back to the FBO, had the mechanic come out, and he sat there and ran it up full power and tested this and that and pronounced it "fit". (we thought it might have been some carbon buildup on spark plug--I guess running it out cleared it off). But now I was a bit unsettled. Taxied back out, did the runup again--smooth as a silk nightie.
So we finally took off, and I did some nice touch and goes while my instructor was still sitting in the airplane, and then he says the fateful words: "Got your log and student license?"
I dropped him off at the FBO and taxied back out by myself this time. Gulp. You know, the inside of that airplane isn't so very small after all once someone who is just as big as you are gets out of it...
After that it just seemed a little routine, until I heard someone call in on a three mile final when I turned crosswind. Now that spooked me a little because it is hard for me to see those white UND Warriors against the snow and I told them I would extend my downwind and let them go first. That was OK until I started getting worried I was getting too far away from the airport! I flew all the way around, and was doing everything the way I was supposed to, and decided I was too high once I turned final, and went around AGAIN. And finally, the third time...I did it. But the airspeed got a bit away from me and I bounced twice, so it wasn't by any means perfect. (I mean, it was the worst landing I ever did but it didn't break anything, so I guess it was OK.)
I decided not to push my luck by going around again although I wanted to, so I pulled off the active and taxied back after that, glad I didn't go around again since once I realized I was safely on the ground I started feeling decidedly giddy.
Here is a link to my shirt--what's left of it! No other pics since I think my instructor was too busy giving himself CPR to take any.
I get to do it again tomorrow.
terry
WELL...the weather gods smiled, the nasty germs of last week dead, and after 28 years (since my first flight lesson at 19) of stopping, starting, stopping, and starting again (struggling with time and money and most of all money and changes of flight instructors and FBOs selling "my" airplane and frantically searching for another Skyhawk to train in so I wouldn't have to transition to a Cadet...whew, I am out of breath...so...where was I? Oh. After 28 years and twenty nine recently acquired hours (just from the past year, not counting the 8 total hours from 10 and 20 years ago) I finally soloed. And lived to tell about it.
The presolo test was simpler than I thought, and I think I over-studied for it. Afterward, almost anything that could go wrong did go wrong: we had trouble with the engine--as I was taxiing out to do the runup, it quit twice for no reason we could find, and I wasn't DOING anything to it at either time it stopped, it just stopped. The first time I was swinging around into the runup area. My instructor thought it was something I did, but I wasn't even touching the throttle at the time since I was stopped, on the brakes, and reaching for my checklist. It started again, and then I did the runup. There was a backfire when I checked the right mag. It startled my instructor and got an unprintable four letter word out of me. And nothing else seemed wrong--but when I started to roll forward the engine stopped again!
So, we started it again, told the CAP plane behind us to go ahead, and then turned around, went back to the FBO, had the mechanic come out, and he sat there and ran it up full power and tested this and that and pronounced it "fit". (we thought it might have been some carbon buildup on spark plug--I guess running it out cleared it off). But now I was a bit unsettled. Taxied back out, did the runup again--smooth as a silk nightie.
So we finally took off, and I did some nice touch and goes while my instructor was still sitting in the airplane, and then he says the fateful words: "Got your log and student license?"
I dropped him off at the FBO and taxied back out by myself this time. Gulp. You know, the inside of that airplane isn't so very small after all once someone who is just as big as you are gets out of it...
After that it just seemed a little routine, until I heard someone call in on a three mile final when I turned crosswind. Now that spooked me a little because it is hard for me to see those white UND Warriors against the snow and I told them I would extend my downwind and let them go first. That was OK until I started getting worried I was getting too far away from the airport! I flew all the way around, and was doing everything the way I was supposed to, and decided I was too high once I turned final, and went around AGAIN. And finally, the third time...I did it. But the airspeed got a bit away from me and I bounced twice, so it wasn't by any means perfect. (I mean, it was the worst landing I ever did but it didn't break anything, so I guess it was OK.)
I decided not to push my luck by going around again although I wanted to, so I pulled off the active and taxied back after that, glad I didn't go around again since once I realized I was safely on the ground I started feeling decidedly giddy.
Here is a link to my shirt--what's left of it! No other pics since I think my instructor was too busy giving himself CPR to take any.
I get to do it again tomorrow.
terry
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