Sloppy or becoming more aware?

RobertSubnet

RobertSubnet

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Feb 28, 2011
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Robert
Hello all, student pilot here with about 10 hours of flight time. During my last lesson (KDVT) we spent an hour doing touch and go's. My flying seemed sloppy: Vy was not consistent, pattern altitude was +/- 100', etc., etc. The instructor said I was doing fine.

What I am wondering: as you learn more do you become more aware of what the airplane is doing (and what you are not doing right)? Or did I just have an off day?

Thanks.
 
You have ten hours. It's going to take more to get things sorted out.
 
Were you born knowing how to ride a bicycle? Probably not. I know I wasn't. Took me some time to get the hang of it. Then it took me a few years to perfect it and transition to motorbikes, then cars, trucks, boats and now airplanes.

Don't worry, it will come. Do not sweat the small stuff. Use trim for speed. If your instructor says you're doing good, it's fine. Especially on a hot bumpy day, it's not easy to keep an airplane perfectly level or on speed.

Most importantly: HAVE FUN! If you sweat the small stuff and worry too much about details, it is hard to have fun. Believe me, have fun, enjoy it and it will come.
 
My answer would be yes, your situational awareness increases as you gain experience.

There are many reasons the patterns may not be going well and as you gain experience you will learn to identify them.

In my experience progress is never a straight line and there will be good days and bad days.

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes.

If your instructor says you are doing ok he is probably right.
 
I'm only a 60 hour PPL, so not too far ahead of where you are right now. Right now, it's still task overload, but it WILL slow down for you. Consider what it was like when you first started driving a car. Okay, foot off brake, push in clutch, put it in first, a little gas but not too much, slowly let the clutch out, a little more gas -- ooh, it almost stalled! -- okay moving, up to second, turn signal -- oh no, I haven't checked my mirrors in a bit!

Now when you drive, all of that is second nature. You're driving around while changing radio stations and redirecting the vents, all while discussing the merits of the 3-4 defense with your passengers.

I can tell you, my ability to maintain a heading, altitude and airspeed, all while communicating on the radio has mentally slowed down a LOT. And it keeps slowing down. I imagine it will for you too.
 
situational awareness
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Thank you...that is the term I was looking for.

You guys are saying have fun??? With all the new things I am learning it is like trying to drink from a fire hose. There is not much time to have fun. Although it is fun to tune in the AM oldies station on the ADF. :)
 
Okay, foot off brake, push in clutch, put it in first, a little gas but not too much, slowly let the clutch out, a little more gas -- ooh, it almost stalled!
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Funny you should bring that up. I drive a standard. Normally it is almost a thoughtless task but lately I have stalled a few times.
 
Relax you will get better in time,it's interesting that you noticed you where off a little on your flight. If you worry about it now,you definately will get better.
 
yes, all in due time this will get better. perfectly normal where you're at.

a good example for me is when I was training my CFI would point out how you can actually hear when the plane is gaining speed or losing speed. it was difficult for me to pick up on at first. now, even in a deep sleep ( :eek: ) I can pick up on very subtle pitch changes by the sounds I hear. so yeah, you get better at this stuff in time.
 
I agree w/ your instructor.
I think you are doing fine at this point.
 
An hour of touch & goes, especially for a low-time pilot, is a lot of work. Probably you were exhausted at the end of the session. If you are getting tired at any point during a lession, tell your instructor and ask him to finish the lesson with something less tiring.
 
airdale said:
An hour of touch & goes, especially for a low-time pilot, is a lot of work. Probably you were exhausted at the end of the session. If you are getting tired at any point during a lession, tell your instructor and ask him to finish the lesson with something less tiring.
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This still stands out in my mind. My first several flights seemed WAY longer than the 45 minutes to 1 hr they actually were. There seemed to be so many things to do! Well I guess there were lots of things to do, it was just that I wasn't accustomed to any of them. Flying is like nothing on earth (see what I did there).

To the OP: based on your post I'd say you didn't describe anything bad. Sounds like you're doing well. It does become easier and less exhausting as you begin to learn to scan instruments and get ahead of the airplane - and as muscle memory kicks in. Keep practicing and you'll soon have that moment where your instructor hops out (hopefully while safely parked in front of the FBO). :D Have fun!
 
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RobertSubnet said:
You guys are saying have fun??? With all the new things I am learning it is like trying to drink from a fire hose.
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Learning should be fun. Most learn better that way. Drinking from a fire hose could be a good approach or not, it depends on your learning style. You should definitely not be trying to get overwhelmed.
Train at a pace that allows you to enjoy it and not despise it. Otherwise it can go only downhill from there.
And yes, flying should be fun!

RobertSubnet said:
Funny you should bring that up. I drive a standard. Normally it is almost a thoughtless task but lately I have stalled a few times.
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Same here, I pulled the junky automatic from my Z28 and put in a manual. She is MUCH more fun to drive now.
And good analogy. I don't even think of shifts, it is all natural. And flying will become the same way eventually. It will all be natural. (it wasn't for me either)
 
10 hours and you're not flying perfect yet? I'd quit.
 
RobertSubnet said:
What I am wondering: as you learn more do you become more aware of what the airplane is doing (and what you are not doing right)? Or did I just have an off day?
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The answer to your question is yes. As you gain experience, you are better able (and quicker) to determine what's not looking/feeling right and what is the proper correction.

For the Vy climb, once you have the correct pitch angle figured out to obtain the correct indicated airspeed, trim for that and then use fingertip pressure corrections. Re-trim as needed.

Once you're properly pitched and trimmed for Vy, take a look out front and slightly to your left side to see what the sight picture looks like for that pitch. Memorize it. This becomes your visual cue for gaining Vy +/- a few knots/mph.


Your pattern altitude might be attributed to your airspeed in the pattern. Going to fast can aggravate altitude chants and shorten the time you have to make the change before your next action or turn.

Once you achieve pattern altitude, pitch to level and then adjust power until your at the pattern speed your CFI is teaching you. Re-trim the aircraft. Once you have done this, you will likely find it easier to maintain the altitude as you turn downwind and fly that leg.


Trim is one of your biggest friends while flying. If you find that you need to keep a pull or push pressure on the yoke to maintain speed or altitude, you're not properly trimmed.

A properly trimmed aircraft should permit removal of hands from the yoke and it maintains the desired attitude and speed.


If it helps, ask your CFI to work with you on this in the practice area. After 20-30 minutes of setting trim for various speeds and being level, ascending, or descending, you should have a better handle on the concept. And as a result, improvement on the items you queried us about.
 
BigBadLou said:
Careful here, the OP might not know who you are and might not realize you are being sarcastic.
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Maybe. Well let me just say I have over 10K hours and have yet to log a single perfect flight.
 
I'm a student in the cross country phase. My patterns used to be dominated by chasing instruments around the patch. Then one day, for some reason, I started looking outside, with the occasional quick glance at the ASI or altimeter, heading, etc. Just a quick scan to assure myself that what I was seeing was what I shoud be seeing, so to speak. Suddenly, my patterns got more crisp, precise, and air speed, heading and altitude started to seem like they were automatic! Almost as if someone else was doing those things for me. I still have a long way to go, and a mountain of things to learn, but I'm having so much fun just letting aviation happen that I never get out of the aircraft unhappy. Try looking outside more in the pattern, and use the panel for confirmation of what you make the airplane do, instead of trying to react to the panel.
 
but I'm having so much fun just letting aviation happen that I never get out of the aircraft unhappy.
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Actually that day my flying was "sloppy" my radio work was pretty good. I remarked to my CFI "the radios are a lot easier if you don't think about what to say and just say it."
 
Are you trimming for every different airspeed/configuration? That is the key to consistency, trim, trim, trim.
 
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