Sendero's Pilot Training

jimbilly said:
Nice write-up, thanks for posting. I wish I had done more pattern work as early on as you are. Sounds similar to my first 'pattern workout' session. We did 6 which felt like 12. I always feel like I can't get the plane to slow down, by the time i'm slow enough, I've gone too far downwind(it seems). Last time out we were getting the flaps in earlier and it felt better, but I still tend to come in high, guess I need to extend a tad more downwind(depending on wind), its a balancing act for sure.
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While you want to make each approach a nice stabilized one, just like the last one, the truth is, every single approach is different. Sometimes I seem to be a little long on downwind, I just wait a little longer to put in the next notch of flaps, or wait till I turn final to add the second notch, sometimes I have to add a little more power, sometimes I go to idle sooner. You will figure it out. I still screw up as many as I get right.
 
I'm glad this is working for you, but there is one glaring error in that last writeup.

You do not mess with throttle to avoid wrestling with the yoke. That's what trim is for.

In a 172, descents at 1500 or maybe 1600 throughout the descent seem to work best, modified to hit your aim point. When you deploy flaps, you hold attitude with the yoke, and then trim it off.

Ideally, you want to be on short final with flaps at full, throttle at 1500, airspeed at 61 KIAS (maybe slower if you've done the gross weight calculation -- NOT faster unless you're compensating for half the wind gusts) -- a descent at 500 FPM, and your aim point staying exactly fixed in the wind screen.

It IS possible to do all that, but it's hard for a student pilot. In the real world, something gives, and the 500 FPM descent can be the first to go, followed by the RPM. Get your airspeed and aim point right on, every time.
 
jimbilly said:
Nice write-up, thanks for posting. I wish I had done more pattern work as early on as you are. Sounds similar to my first 'pattern workout' session. We did 6 which felt like 12. I always feel like I can't get the plane to slow down, by the time i'm slow enough, I've gone too far downwind(it seems). Last time out we were getting the flaps in earlier and it felt better, but I still tend to come in high, guess I need to extend a tad more downwind(depending on wind), its a balancing act for sure.
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Because I'm a knowledge hound I quizzed my instructor on the complete configurations for landing two lessons back. I wanted to know speeds, configurations, etc for each portion of the landing sequence. He was hesitant to give me hard and fast numbers because like Mike says above, every approach is different. My instructor however did give me what, I would call, a baseline approach would look like for the Grumman TR2 we are flying. This is something I committed to memory so I know "what to look for" and "what I should be doing" in each phase. But he also cautioned me that it doesn't work if I'm given a straight in approach or a "teardrop" instead of a standard pattern. He proved it on I think landing #8 yesterday by having me fly runway heading then turn back and do a straight in approach. Yeah, that looks way different!

For me in the TR2 its (paraphrased from memory, I do have a written checklist. No I'm not trying to do a checklist on base or final :D ):
  1. Enter the pattern at altitude and cruise RPM; complete the landing configuration checklist.
  2. On downwind abeam of the numbers, RPM to 1700, first notch of flaps, speed to 85 knots, trim.
  3. When the numbers are 45* over my shoulder, turn base with no more than 30 degrees of bank.
  4. On base, second notch of flaps, speed to 80 knots, trim.
  5. Turn final with no more than 20 degrees of bank.
  6. On final, final notch of flaps, speed to 75 knots, trim.
  7. Once the runway is "made" pull power out to idle and start back with the yoke over the numbers.
  8. At about 15ft, start the flare slowly and let the airplane settle on the mains.

Now, all that is dependent on wind speed, direction, and pattern. Headwinds or tailwinds on base will change your downwind lengths and turn rates. Because I was slow on my turns we were doing a lot of approaches with the throttle further out than a fully stabilized approach (with me being too high and too fast). My instructor demonstrated one landing that felt smooth as silk and it looked like he was effortlessly just guiding the airplane. This was in contrast to my herky-jerky pitch / power / configuration changes.

MAKG1 said:
I'm glad this is working for you, but there is one glaring error in that last writeup.

You do not mess with throttle to avoid wrestling with the yoke. That's what trim is for.
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If you mean me, what I'm referring with wrestling is #2 in the list above. I pull the power back then immediately start back with the yoke like I'm trying to hold the airplane level instead of letting it descend. When my instructor demonstrated the landing I noticed when he pulled power the nose dropped below the horizon, but the application of flaps (with I'm sure a little yoke, my hands weren't up there) arrested the "fall" of the nose. His hand moved from the flap switch (TR2's are momentary) to the trim wheel and he had 85 knots before we were ready to turn base. In contrast, I'm holding yoke then realizing it and putting (wrestle) the nose down and letting it get too fast.

You are right about the dance though, there are a lot of moving parts on top of patting your head and rubbing your belly.
 
I'm grounded, again. My ear issue returned Saturday and my Doctor wants me to stay grounded until they can figure out what's causing this issue to return with no other accompanying symptoms. The absolute worst part is I'm leaving town Wednesday and will not be able to fly again until the first week of June. But this is just how my luck goes. :mad:
 
Well, it sucks, but that's aviation….

People have to cancel primary training flights all the time. If not for health or work, for weather or equipment.

Heck, I had to cancel an instrument lesson a few weeks ago because of marine layer and a broken clock. That's required equipment for IFR. Never mind that I had a clock on my wrist and another nearly useless one in the GPS (the FSDO has a local decision that the GPS does not satisfy 14 CFR 91.205(d)(6), though it makes no sense at all to me).

Do lots of chair flying.
 
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Back from vacation and my Doctor has given me a clean bill of health. I still need to make an appointment with the local AME, but I figure it may take a few lessons to "get back in the saddle" before I should worry about the Big S word.

Which brings me to a question. Now that it's officially summer in Alabama (90* and high humidity) afternoon lessons after work may be an issue. Being blinded by the setting sun, bumped around by thermals, or grounded by afternoon thunderstorms are concerns. I thought about trying some early morning flights before work, but that may not be feasible. I'm still trying to fly twice per week so there are two thoughts: flying once during the week and once Saturday morning, or fly twice on Saturday provided the weather is good? How did you all cope with the summer weather? It also seems my instructor is getting popular too. :(
 
Sendero said:
Back from vacation and my Doctor has given me a clean bill of health. I still need to make an appointment with the local AME, but I figure it may take a few lessons to "get back in the saddle" before I should worry about the Big S word.

Which brings me to a question. Now that it's officially summer in Alabama (90* and high humidity) afternoon lessons after work may be an issue. Being blinded by the setting sun, bumped around by thermals, or grounded by afternoon thunderstorms are concerns. I thought about trying some early morning flights before work, but that may not be feasible. I'm still trying to fly twice per week so there are two thoughts: flying once during the week and once Saturday morning, or fly twice on Saturday provided the weather is good? How did you all cope with the summer weather? It also seems my instructor is getting popular too. :(
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How about flying late afternoon like 6pm? Summer is tough. You might want to bite the bullet and try to fly early morning if you and your CFI can work something out.
 
Well, Lesson #7 started but never got off the ground. The airplane was fresh off another lesson, but I still did a full pre-flight. When I opened the right side cowling I noticed an unusual amount of oil on the bottom of the engine cover and firewall. Looking under the airplane there was a streak of oil starting down the bottom of the fuselage. I showed my instructor what I found and he said it was definitely unusual. The decision was made to scrub the lesson and let the mechanics look at it tomorrow. I think he may have been testing me when he asked "if I wanted to continue" with the lesson. :D

Weather was also building west of the airport so we might have scrubbed anyway. My next lesson was going to be tomorrow anyway, so we'll try again then!
 
Lesson #7 actually got off the ground today. Mechanics found the source of the oil leak and resolved it without too much trouble. We had to delay the lesson a little bit because of a pop-up thunderstorm, but we're only late getting off the ground by an hour which gave it time to cool off.

Today was almost a solid month since I last flew and I got a good lesson on what a consumable skill flying is if it's not practiced. It took about 15 minutes just to get familiar with the basics again. I always seem to pick the "good weather" days to fly in too. :D On the agenda was practicing ground reference maneuvers, engine out procedures, forward slip to landing, and crosswind takeoffs and landings. Rectangle course was the first maneuver and my 45* entry and first few turns were shaky. They did get better after a few laps. Next was turns around a point and S-turns. I had trouble with the downwind turn on turns around a point; I wasn't turning enough and trying to sneak the turn too early which moved my closer to the point. S-turns were... surprisingly good. I didn't think so, but I got praise for them. The engine out was almost a complete bust again. I didn't freeze, got the airplane trimmed for 77 knots, but hesitated on choosing a landing spot.

We climbed back up to 2000 feet and headed back to the airport. I actually got to talk on the radio today. Well, I should say that I 'fumbled' on the radio today. Landings are what you expect from a Student Pilot who hasn't flown in a month. That's Cantonese for "it sucked." The forward slip to landing was eye opening! Like being on an elevator; wow that ground comes up real fast! We ended with one final crosswind landing and a pinball taxi back to parking. Even though I'd been off the horse for a month I had a lot of fun during this lesson. I feel like things are clicking with me and I'm not having as much trouble getting the airplane to do what I would like it to do. My instructor says I'm still over-controlling the airplane though. Excited to be back in the saddle and flying again!
 
Nice write-up, thanks for sharing.
 
I'm still here. Weather, work, and MX has kept me grounded since my last lesson. The Grumman went in for it's 100 Hour checkup and while it's in for maintenance there's a few squawk and upgrade items that will be addressed. It also looks like July will be a fairly light month for my training progress due to vacations and my instructors corporate gig. Just as well, it's stoopid hot here in Alabama. :devil:
 
Lesson #8. Well, I really shouldn't call this a lesson as it's more of a goof-off day. Well, not really goof-off, let's just say we were not on script for this lesson. This lesson occured Thursday July 9th, but I'm just now getting around to the entry.

Because of the heat and weather threats I decided to try a lesson much later in the day around 7:00PM. Why didn't I do this before?!?! Even though it had been a really hot day the air was really smooth and the sun was just right in the sky where it wasn't blinding. While the Grumman was in for it's 100 hour checkup the motor mounts were replaced which made the "seat feel" of the airplane so much nicer too.

It had been almost a full month since my last lesson and it will probably be another two weeks until my next lesson, so I asked if we could just go up and work on some basics then come back to the airport and practice pattern work and landing. I welcomed the chance to go fly around and goof off for a bit. Nothing exciting to report, we did turns around a point and S-turns for a while then headed back to the airport. I got my first taste of another pilot using the radio to misreport his position. No strobes or lights of any kind, but we were able to pick him out of the ground clutter as he crossed the backwaters from the wrong side of where he reported his position to be.

The whole pattern, approach and landing is still giving me trouble; not unexpected given my lack of seat time lately. I'm "chasing the ball" with my feet. I don't seem to do too bad with the rudder in rectangle courses, turns around a point, and S-turns. Back at the airport it all falls apart. My instructor thinks I'm resting one foot "too hard" on the pedals and it's causing me trouble in turns. We may just work on patterns and landings for my next lesson since it will be another two weeks after that one before both of our schedules are clear.
 
Keep at it. On the rudders, I've noticed that about myself - I think it transfers from me resting my left foot in the truck against the 'hard stop' while my right foot works the gas/brake pedals. I have to consciously remind myself that both feet need to be active and stay loose.
 
I found I was tensing up my legs in the pattern so I end up fighting against my opposite leg. Seemed to loosen up a lot when I made sure my heels were resting on the floor. I think I had been hovering them previously, like you would on the ground with break access.
 
Lesson #10 was yesterday. You can tell by the time between my posts, I'm moving a little slow on my lessons. Vacation(s), my paying job, and my Instructors work trips are the cause of this break.

This lesson was pretty much identical to my last lesson. A lot of refresher work and getting comfortable in the airplane again. However, there is a positive to the long break as I had a chance to to a lot of chair flying. I was able to work on procedural stuff like checklists and radio calls so that I was better prepared to "stay in front of the airplane" instead of feeling like I'm chasing everything that happens. I also made a special emphasis on rudder work. I finally figured out that when my feet are "even" on the pedals, the Grumman has a little right rudder input. DUH! I felt like I was able to keep the airplane coordinated better during this lesson and a few light bulbs went on regarding the rudder. I'm still having trouble setting up a stabilized approach starting abeam of the numbers on downwind. Pitch for airspeed and power for altitude hasn't sunk in yet.

After the lesson my instructor and I discussed future scheduling. I'm ready to get back into my "two a week" schedule and that is the plan. My next lesson is scheduled for Thursday.
 
Lesson #11 was tonight. I won't forget this one anytime soon.

We're still reviewing maneuvers and getting comfortable in the airplane again. Hood work and then some steep turns before heading back to the airport for a few touch-and-go's and a simulated engine out.

I'm setting up for my first touch-and-go, turned final, flared, and as soon as the mains planted POW all the avionics turned off just like the master was flipped. I happy to report that the absolute first thought in my head was "FLY THE AIRPLANE!" Good thing was we had just stopped flying, well the front wheel was still flying. :D Of course I couldn't talk to my instructor, but I had decided this touch-and-go was now a full stop. I'm on the brakes then realize there were other planes in the pattern, so I kept the speed up to make the next turn off quickly. I can see my instructor working on the electrical issue and we didn't get avionics back until we were almost turning off the runway.

Not sure what the issue was, but the plane will be in maintenance the first thing in the morning. I hope they can figure it out, but I'm glad it waited to happen once we were on the runway! :hairraise:
 
Lesson #12 was last night. Yet again, it's been a little while since my last lesson, but it's not for lack of effort. I'll talk a little more about that in a minute.

I've been asking a lot of questions about the pattern and setting up a stabilized approach, so my instructor thought it would be good if we just did pattern work and landings. I was finally able to handle 100% of the radio calls albeit they were far from what I would consider passable. Twice I called my crosswind turn then at the next turn called "left base" when I obviously was turning downwind. Then on one circuit, I was so worried about calling my final turn I let the airplane get too slow. My instructor let the noose get just tight enough for me to get snapped back into reality by the chirping stall horn. Say it with me kids... Aviate, Navigate, Communicate! When I repeated that on climb out it was met with "EXACTLY" from the right seat. My best landings were my last two; I wasn't timid in my downwind to base turn which gave me enough time to put flaps in and get it trimmed. This is not like my other approaches where I was chasing airspeed all the way through the final turn to the threshold. Next lesson will be Saturday which will be a short cross country to another local(ish) airport that's good for "just in case" diversions.

I've started seriously working on my Medical this week. I shouldn't have an issue (knocking on wood), but I was a little surprised at how invasive it is on your medical history.

Returning to my comment about lesson effort. I've had two lessons not get off the ground and it was a little frustrating. The first one was an early Saturday morning lesson. My instructor had pulled the plane out of the hangar and did a warmup/run-up before I arrived at the airport. I did my preflight and got all settled in for my lesson. Since the plane had been previously cranked and warmed I attempted to crank it without priming (which usually works). Prop spun, but the engine never kicked off. I give it one prime pump and when I hit the starter, nothing. No spinning prop, only a clicking sound. Troubleshooting the problem uncovered a loose cable from the battery to the starter solenoid. I had to be somewhere else that morning so I couldn't stick around, one lesson down. On the next attempt, I was on the way to the airport when all traffic on the interstate came to a screeching halt. I left an hour early because I like to get there with enough time to clear my head and prepare. Well an accident had both lanes blocked and I spent 2.5 hours sitting in the same spot. Another lesson down.


Random Thoughts: Let me preface this though with I absolutely enjoy my flight training. But, when I'm in a lesson, I'm there to learn and not joyride. Before I began training I was so enamored with flying it was hard to understand why anyone would quit. Now that I'm actually doing it I fully understand why people quit. Recently a good friend* of mine took me on two of his joyride flights; one just around the town and another where we did a little cross country flying. I came away from both flights more excited and anxious for my next lessons. Would I have quit if I hadn't taken those flights, probably not. Am I advocating CFI's give away free flights to already paying students? Not exactly. Everybody is different, but I can't help but wonder if a few more "just for fun" flights were thrown into students' training if that would help keep them engaged and coming back for more. Just a random thought to think about when you're on your next $200 hamburger run. *I know you are reading this and no, I am not angling for more rides. But if you're offering, I'm not going to say no! :D
 
Thanks for posting, I always enjoy these accounts as a fellow student.

I just got my medical this week. As you've probably read already on POA, just make sure you'll pass the medical before you submit it. Schedule a visit with the AME to review your case prior to the actual exam if you have any doubts.
 
Post-solo, there are a lot of fun flights. First cross country, solo cross country (x2), night cross country, plus local solos.

IMO, the solo cross-country is a bigger milestone than the first solo.
 
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