mscard88
Touchdown! Greaser!
I guess I am a student once again!
Passed the IR written this morning.
Congrats Bryan, but you know Cajun gonna beat your score.
I guess I am a student once again!
Passed the IR written this morning.
One of these days I'm going to fly my little plane all the way up to KART. I land there every year via American Airlines the week before Thanksgiving as that's where my deer hunting buddies live. And although I know you're in a school's airplane and don't have a choice in lighting, I've installed an Alphabeam landing light in my plane. BIG difference from the incandescent that it replaced.
I had a pretty extensive practice oral with the chief instructor at my school and found it very beneficial but the ceilings were low and the forecast didn't call for them to get any lower (3,500ft agl). I told him I would be cancelling the flight portion and he agreed. During the mock oral I learned a lot of useful items and overall the instructor was quite pleased with my knowledge and said that he thought I could pass the oral with the DPE no problem.
I do have a question for some of the more experienced CFIs, if there are any reading this thread: He told me that the DPE in the area that they use looks at flight time, not hobbs time, for the solo cross country requirements. That means that my 5.2 hours of solo xc aren't enough for her and she would deduct some time from each solo xc flight I've had which essentially requires me to do another solo xc.
I'm not opposed to additional training but it seems like that's not the correct interpretation of the FARs and I would rather spend that same money on a more "useful" flight (like a trip with my wife) than making a DPE interpretation of a regulation satisfactorily.
Any thoughts?
Yeah, if/when I buy a plane it's going to have the biggest brightest landing light I can get for it. That little thing single incandescent light sucks.
I do have a question for some of the more experienced CFIs, if there are any reading this thread: He told me that the DPE in the area that they use looks at flight time, not hobbs time, for the solo cross country requirements. That means that my 5.2 hours of solo xc aren't enough for her and she would deduct some time from each solo xc flight I've had which essentially requires me to do another solo xc.
I'm not opposed to additional training but it seems like that's not the correct interpretation of the FARs and I would rather spend that same money on a more "useful" flight (like a trip with my wife) than making a DPE interpretation of a regulation satisfactorily.
Any thoughts?
If the local CFIs are saying she won't accept it, that's your "experienced instructor" talking, right there. DPEs are human and all have a pet peeve or two, even if they're not supposed to.
We could debate her silliness here online with the fact that everything from startup to shutdown "with the intent to fly" is loggable, and even show her the FAR, but that's not going to win the battle.
You're going to fly another couple of hours anyway after the checkride and probably hundreds more, so one more hour or two pre-checkride becomes lost in meaninglessness.
.....
I'd just go fly it and not worry about it if I were you. It's solo so you're paying for a flight just like you would the day after the checkride. Nothing really changes.
Back when I was a young pup, I'd purposely fly to an airport that just happened to be exactly 51nm away to log X/C time if I needed a lunch run. That's definitely not the intent of X/C time, but surely you have a similarly close airport?
Like it or not, some DPEs have pet peeves, and those turn into annoying "teach to the DPE" vs "teach to the standard" problems that shouldn't happen, but they do.
If the CFI's all knew this, I wonder why they didn't suggest you fly a longer long xc.Fully agree with not fighting it. I just wasn't sure if it was common. I don't mind the actual flight, but like anything else I would rather spend the money on something useful like a lunch run with wife.
We have 3-4 airports in that 51-55 nm range so it's not a problem.
If the CFI's all knew this, I wonder why they didn't suggest you fly a longer long xc.
One of my instructors had me do a couple landings with no light (the moon was up) way back in the day. His reasoning, "One of them will burn out on you someday." Of course this is why I have LEDs on my airplane now. Haha.
Yeah, I plan to have one bright ass light on my plane, LED all the way (CRAZY prices on these things though, $300!!!). And - we did practice one without the light on. Super freaky. Plan to go do more night as soon as I can get time and a good night. Heading out tomorrow afternoon to do more solo maneuvers work.
Been reading the ASA ACS checkride guide, the ACS itself, and read about 75% of the AIM last night. Problem is, by the time I get time to study at night, I'm freaking tired. I need to take a day off and just read, take notes, and formulate all the "answers" I want for the ACS itself. My wife and kids don't understand why I have to study so much, but honestly the amount of knowledge you need for the PPL (and being able to understand and APPLY it) is about equivalent to a semester+ of college - IMHO. I feel good about the knowledge I have already, and feel like a safe student pilot, but man reading the ACS and study guides really shows the holes in my knowledge.
Awesome, welcome to POA, keep us posted on your progress.I have been a lurker for a while and this past Sunday I took my first flight in a tecnam p92. I love it and am getting my SPL. So I have 1 hour in the logbook and waiting to start online ground school this week. I have a second flight scheduled for Saturday weather permitting
I have been a lurker for a while and this past Sunday I took my first flight in a tecnam p92. I love it and am getting my SPL. So I have 1 hour in the logbook and waiting to start online ground school this week. I have a second flight scheduled for Saturday weather permitting
Thanks!I have been a lurker for a while and this past Sunday I took my first flight in a tecnam p92. I love it and am getting my SPL. So I have 1 hour in the logbook and waiting to start online ground school this week. I have a second flight scheduled for Saturday weather permitting
I think you're forgetting to blink, or to drink. I've never had a problem with headaches and instrument flight, but I have with dehydration.I had a solo practice session scheduled today, but winds were 14G20 at the practice airport, and I'm only signed off for 12kt or less. So instead I did a dual and got another 1.4 under the hood. That crosses that off the requirements list with 3.4 total. Now the only requirement I have left to meet is 2.3h dual night and 6 more night landings. Today under the hood was the first time I've ever had issues with spacial/motion. I didn't get motion sick, but I had a hell of a headache when done. At the end we flew a pattern under the hood, and he pulled the foggles off at about 200'AGL on final. I came in too low, added power, and then just didn't feel right so I went around. Very difficult to get fully reoriented after 1.4h staring at the gauges. I can see how this is a real skill that IFR pilots work hard at.
I think you're forgetting to blink, or to drink. I've never had a problem with headaches and instrument flight, but I have with dehydration.
You got disoriented because your instructor took you down to 200 AGL. You can't successfully fly an approach with your training, so that's pointless. There can be a moment of disorientation on entering or leaving clouds, but that's mostly because the edges aren't perfectly sharp.
The point of hood time is to get you out of clouds that you just got in by accident or emergency. Shooting an approach to minimums with three hours of private pilot training is not possible and would result in a smoking hole next to the runway.
You make a good point - I bet I was dehydrated. It was hot (85F), 100% sun, I was in jeans and a polo, and the Cherokee is "ventalationally challenged". I had a bottle of water with me (always do) but I didn't have time to even think about a drink while being directed under the hood.
Additionally, I agree - I have no business shooting approaches, I think he just wanted to end the lesson on a challenge/look to the future. He did this last time I had an under the hood lesson, and I landed it fine (but again the disorientation/time to get reoriented is pretty crazy). I asked him to take me into real IMC sometime, on that day I want to practice nothing but "inadvertent flight into IMC" procedures and unusual attitudes recovery. Weather for VFR is going to suck here for the next few days so maybe I'll get my chance.
This was me last year during my training. Just keep at it. Weather will break soon enough.I was getting a little discouraged with not seeing a lot of progress in myself the last few flights and thinking about when I am I actually going to solo but keep reminding myself it has been pretty crappy weather
Back in the air today, after what seemed like 10 days of low clouds, rain, wind and crap. Knocked the rust off, and practiced turns around a point, turns across a road, emergency descents, power out emergency landing, slip to land, and crosswind landings. (phew!). A couple hours well spent, I will have a lot to keep me busy solo practicing now. Have done all of these before but really wanted to ride with CFI to make sure I'm both using correct technique, and practicing to ACS standards.
I asked CFI to demonstrate an agressive slip to land. So I flew a super high pattern (1200' agl on final) and handed him the controls (I kept lightly on to feel), he tossed it into a full side slip and brought it down like a rock, then reversed the slip about 100' AGL to re-center us over the runway, dropping it on like a leaf, all of this in a 7kt crosswind. Really opened my eyes and gave me something to strive for. I think a lot of us students get so wound up in the "gingerly control" stuff (afraid to make a mistake) that we don't realize what even a simple Cherokee is capable of. I want to explore the envelope a lot more (at altitude to start with..)
(That recent thread about taking aerobatic training rings a bell...)
I think a lot of us students get so wound up in the "gingerly control" stuff (afraid to make a mistake) that we don't realize what even a simple Cherokee is capable of. I want to explore the envelope a lot more (at altitude to start with..)
This, this, a thousand times this. I'm going to do a write-up of my flight soon but one of the biggest takeaways was I forgot just how GOOD CFIs are flying these damn planes. They make it seem so effortless, and know the limits and capabilities COLD.
Mmmmm maybe. Or we just don't wanna die when the student is 30 degrees banked in a crosswind 6' in the air. ;-)
My boss was learning to fly with the same instructor I was using for my IR. They were flying in a 1963 C-172C. My boss dove the plane at the runway when he should have been rounding out. The CFI broke the yoke pulling out of that one. (Made the club newsletter!) CFI's comment to me "Good thing I was wearing my brown pants."
John
Had it been a while since you flew at all? Maybe just a combo of rust and nerves if it was a new CFI you've never flown with.I think I've taken some steps backwards.
Lesson yesterday was a stage check of sorts for my new CFI to assess where I stand. Went and did steep turns and I was all over the place. CFI demonstrated the correct way, then I did them again and did fine. I bet it's been 2+ months since I've done them, so maybe that was it, who knows.
Then on to slow flight, not terrible, but not great. ATC had traffic converging on us at our altitude that wasn't talking to them, so we had to get out of the way. I was completely unsure of myself so I asked my CFI to take over. Guess I got overly nervous about 3 silent planes coming at us.
Came back to the airport for a couple of touch and go's...landed two, but really flat. CFI demonstrated a good one for our final landing. It ended up being a little interesting since tower called a go-around for the MD-80 in front of us due to traffic on the runway. That put him behind us. We had to hustle off the runway for him to land. As we turned to clear the runway I looked back and he was maybe 100' off the runway at the time. It was nice to hear him thank us over the comms as we were exiting.
Debrief time and was told by my CFI he was hoping I would need less instruction that I did. So the next lesson will be more review of flight maneuvers with instruction than just him trying to sit silent.
Had it been a while since you flew at all? Maybe just a combo of rust and nerves if it was a new CFI you've never flown with.
So yeah, definitely very rusty on maneuvers. Plus getting used to the new CFI.