jlwilson
Pre-takeoff checklist
Well… I’m not even sure where to begin! I just had, yet another, wonderful experience! Yes, it involved airplanes. And yes, not only did I survive, but I learned all kinds of neat things about exploring the edges of envelopes within flight that could save my life!
I was fortunate to be able to attend Rich Stowell’s EMT (Emergency Maneuvers Training) class in Santa Paula, CA last week.
Backing up somewhat, I met a really neat lady who happens to be an AME during the Air Race Classic that I participated in this past summer. She and I kept in touch this past fall and she enticed me to travel to CA with her to train with an instructor she had trained with previously. I was all in, hook , line and sinker! When she described the class, I was slightly nervous. So, doing the due diligence, I visited the website (www.richstowell.com). I read the EMT Module I and II syllabus and decided that it was absolutely something that should be learned.
We left DFW (yes, flying commercially sucks) and traveled to Burbank, CA. Renting a car, we drove the 60+ miles to Santa Paula. I know I should have taken lots of pictures, but I’m just not a good photographer. It was, however, beautiful. We traveled through a luscious valley of mostly lemon and avocado groves between the foothills of some gorgeous mountains. I had to remember that I was actually in California, a very foreign state to me.
We arrived at the Santa Paula Inn, where Liza had stayed during her previous two training sessions with Rich. It’s a quaint bed and breakfast style inn that’s just a few blocks from the airport (KSZP). The next morning we were set and in the classroom promptly at 8am, which worked well as it felt like 10am. We were still somewhat on Central Time. Rich started our ground school talking about airplane performance and the importance of staying out of situations that can cause unusual attitudes. That part I really understood, it’s much more important not to get into trouble in the first place! I was nervous. Liza and I had talked about spins and I had watched some of the video, but I just wasn’t really sure that I knew what to expect. The more Rich talked, I knew that there wasn’t anything that could happen that he couldn’t fix, but…. I was still nervous.
Now it’s time for the first flight.
In preparation for this training, I had traveled to Burnett, TX a couple of weeks prior to train with another wonderful instructor by the name of Ken Wittekiend. I wanted to have my tailwheel endorsement before I traveled to CA to train with Rich, since I knew we would be flying in tail wheel airplanes. Ken is a wonderful instructor just as Rich is! I learned things without even realizing that I was learning! His building block method is extremely effective. We actually performed some unusual attitude training although I didn’t realize it at the time. (http://www.promarkaviation.net/index.php/About-ProMark-Aviation.html All the instructors are wonderful. In fact, Rebecca and I will be partners in the 2011 Air Race Classic. I am truly blessed!)
Back to the first flight which was to occur in a Citabria. Rich familiarized me with the plane and we did the usual pre-flight evaluation. We had discussed what the flight would entail including Dutch rolls, slow flight and stalls. And the dreaded spins…. As we departed the Santa Paula airport, I became familiar with the characteristics of the lovely bird and I tried to put the whole idea of the spins out of my mind. I just wasn’t really sure that I was cut out for this. We got through all the preliminaries and then he asked if I was ready. He reassured me that he would continually talk me through the experience and that he would be shadowing the controls. I knew he could fix any situation I created; however, I was still nervous. We slowed the plane to stall speed, pulled up the nose and then kicked the rudder. And it happened. In the blink of an eye, the nose dropped and the world went crazy! I screamed like a little girl! I may have said things unmentionable as well, but I really don’t remember. Rich told me at least twice to kick the opposite rudder and in the end, I’m sure he kicked it as well. One and a half spins and the plane was flying straight and level again. As I let my nerves settle, I realized that it really wasn’t as bad as I thought and that I had mentally caused the situation to be much tenser than it needed to be.
We continued setting up spins until we had performed 4 left and 4 right. By the last couple, I was having fun. It wasn’t scary anymore, and while I was still a little tense, I could actually see what was happening. I also knew that I could use his technique in my Cessna 182 or any other plane I was in. He showed me that there is always ample time to analyze the situation so that we can act correctly. He also reinforced what we know as pilots that we have to fly the plane first.
Over the next 3 days, Rich continued exposing me to more unusual attitudes and some basic aerobatic maneuvers. We flew 2 different Citabrias, a Decathlon and a Super Decathlon. We did spirals, loops, rolls, more spins and even a hammerhead. He even talked me through a combined maneuver where we spun, used that speed to enter a loop and then at the exit of the loop, rolled. It was just exhilarating! All the while, reinforcing the control inputs needed for recovery. We had ground school prior to each flight to make sure we understood the why’s and how’s that would occur during the flight. He was really patient with my sometimes arcane questions whose answers helped me understand the principles involved.
We had several really good conversations about why spins and spin recovery are so scary. We all felt that it was a result of the way they are presented in the primary pilot training. In many cases, the CFI teaching it has only ever experienced the minimal spins required to become a CFI. They, too, are scared because they have not had the desensitization of multiple spins nor have they really had enough experience to teach them.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this training to any pilot who hasn’t had aerobatic experience, and those that have had will still learn a tremendous amount. It is amazing to see and understand the dynamics involved both aerodynamically and psychologically. I know I’ll be a better pilot because of it.
Joyce
I was fortunate to be able to attend Rich Stowell’s EMT (Emergency Maneuvers Training) class in Santa Paula, CA last week.
Backing up somewhat, I met a really neat lady who happens to be an AME during the Air Race Classic that I participated in this past summer. She and I kept in touch this past fall and she enticed me to travel to CA with her to train with an instructor she had trained with previously. I was all in, hook , line and sinker! When she described the class, I was slightly nervous. So, doing the due diligence, I visited the website (www.richstowell.com). I read the EMT Module I and II syllabus and decided that it was absolutely something that should be learned.
We left DFW (yes, flying commercially sucks) and traveled to Burbank, CA. Renting a car, we drove the 60+ miles to Santa Paula. I know I should have taken lots of pictures, but I’m just not a good photographer. It was, however, beautiful. We traveled through a luscious valley of mostly lemon and avocado groves between the foothills of some gorgeous mountains. I had to remember that I was actually in California, a very foreign state to me.
We arrived at the Santa Paula Inn, where Liza had stayed during her previous two training sessions with Rich. It’s a quaint bed and breakfast style inn that’s just a few blocks from the airport (KSZP). The next morning we were set and in the classroom promptly at 8am, which worked well as it felt like 10am. We were still somewhat on Central Time. Rich started our ground school talking about airplane performance and the importance of staying out of situations that can cause unusual attitudes. That part I really understood, it’s much more important not to get into trouble in the first place! I was nervous. Liza and I had talked about spins and I had watched some of the video, but I just wasn’t really sure that I knew what to expect. The more Rich talked, I knew that there wasn’t anything that could happen that he couldn’t fix, but…. I was still nervous.
Now it’s time for the first flight.
In preparation for this training, I had traveled to Burnett, TX a couple of weeks prior to train with another wonderful instructor by the name of Ken Wittekiend. I wanted to have my tailwheel endorsement before I traveled to CA to train with Rich, since I knew we would be flying in tail wheel airplanes. Ken is a wonderful instructor just as Rich is! I learned things without even realizing that I was learning! His building block method is extremely effective. We actually performed some unusual attitude training although I didn’t realize it at the time. (http://www.promarkaviation.net/index.php/About-ProMark-Aviation.html All the instructors are wonderful. In fact, Rebecca and I will be partners in the 2011 Air Race Classic. I am truly blessed!)
Back to the first flight which was to occur in a Citabria. Rich familiarized me with the plane and we did the usual pre-flight evaluation. We had discussed what the flight would entail including Dutch rolls, slow flight and stalls. And the dreaded spins…. As we departed the Santa Paula airport, I became familiar with the characteristics of the lovely bird and I tried to put the whole idea of the spins out of my mind. I just wasn’t really sure that I was cut out for this. We got through all the preliminaries and then he asked if I was ready. He reassured me that he would continually talk me through the experience and that he would be shadowing the controls. I knew he could fix any situation I created; however, I was still nervous. We slowed the plane to stall speed, pulled up the nose and then kicked the rudder. And it happened. In the blink of an eye, the nose dropped and the world went crazy! I screamed like a little girl! I may have said things unmentionable as well, but I really don’t remember. Rich told me at least twice to kick the opposite rudder and in the end, I’m sure he kicked it as well. One and a half spins and the plane was flying straight and level again. As I let my nerves settle, I realized that it really wasn’t as bad as I thought and that I had mentally caused the situation to be much tenser than it needed to be.
We continued setting up spins until we had performed 4 left and 4 right. By the last couple, I was having fun. It wasn’t scary anymore, and while I was still a little tense, I could actually see what was happening. I also knew that I could use his technique in my Cessna 182 or any other plane I was in. He showed me that there is always ample time to analyze the situation so that we can act correctly. He also reinforced what we know as pilots that we have to fly the plane first.
Over the next 3 days, Rich continued exposing me to more unusual attitudes and some basic aerobatic maneuvers. We flew 2 different Citabrias, a Decathlon and a Super Decathlon. We did spirals, loops, rolls, more spins and even a hammerhead. He even talked me through a combined maneuver where we spun, used that speed to enter a loop and then at the exit of the loop, rolled. It was just exhilarating! All the while, reinforcing the control inputs needed for recovery. We had ground school prior to each flight to make sure we understood the why’s and how’s that would occur during the flight. He was really patient with my sometimes arcane questions whose answers helped me understand the principles involved.
We had several really good conversations about why spins and spin recovery are so scary. We all felt that it was a result of the way they are presented in the primary pilot training. In many cases, the CFI teaching it has only ever experienced the minimal spins required to become a CFI. They, too, are scared because they have not had the desensitization of multiple spins nor have they really had enough experience to teach them.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this training to any pilot who hasn’t had aerobatic experience, and those that have had will still learn a tremendous amount. It is amazing to see and understand the dynamics involved both aerodynamically and psychologically. I know I’ll be a better pilot because of it.
Joyce
You were able to express what many of us feel about this kind of training. I really, really dreaded spin training, but knew I had to do it to be able to safely do aerobatics. I took some spin training out in California years ago when visiting my son in Lancaster. I had a nightmare about spins the night before and actually woke up in tears. On the drive to the airport I was very anxious. But, I had a great instructor at Lancaster who put me at ease and who was great at teaching me about spins. And then I flew with Chip in his Extra and I learned more and felt more confident. 
The first time I did spins by myself in the Citabria at the farm, I was almost sick at my stomach as I was walking out to our hangar, I was so anxious about it. But, I did it. 
When I started doing spins from the back seat, I realized how much more it seems like you're getting slung around back there as compared to the front seat. Or, maybe it's my flying. 
.
