Solo on Tuesday!

CC268

CC268

Final Approach
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CC268
Hey guys,

I solo on Tuesday (March 22)! I got 11 hours of flight so far. I have a pre solo written exam I need to do before Tuesday and I will be ready to go!

I am a bit nervous! :p
 
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Have fun with it. You will remember it just like your first date who put out
 
One of those old wives tales in aviation. Students aren't protected by their instructor's insurance and instructors are generally not protected by the flight school's insurance.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I don't understand.
I thought students were covered under the instructor's insurance.
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I'm not an insurance expert, but my understanding is that the club insurance covers the hull only. If I ball it up and take out a building on my solo I'm responsible for the damages personally. Certainly they can go after the school in a lawsuit, but they can and will also go after the pilot personally. My liability insurance was something like $260 for the year, so it was a no brainer.
 
CC268 said:
Hey guys,

I solo on Tuesday (March 22)! I got 11 hours of flight so far. I have a pre solo written exam I need to do before Tuesday and I will be ready to go!

I am a bit nervous! :p
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Awesome, I'm excited for you. I just got the pre-solo test myself on Friday so I'll be turning it in next week. I don't have a date yet, but if weather is decent I'm sure I'll be soloing within the next few weeks as well. :cool:
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I don't understand.
I thought students were covered under the instructor's insurance.
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Could be a flight school requirement. I had to maintain renters insurance while I was training with your FBO.
 
CC, enjoy this story
_________________________________

And when you solo, try not to be Super Dave

A story stolen from the Red Board (posted by bluefishbeagle). But fun to share with the student pilots who are about to solo.
Picture this:

I was once working with a student I'll call "Super Dave"

The first time I flew with Super Dave he was wearing an insulated Air Force flight suit carrying an Air Force pilots helmet with flip down visor. He was very disappointed to learn my plane did not have Air Force style plugs for the mike. He insisted on wearing the flight suit however and did for every lesson.

Super Dave was fearless
Super Dave was implusive
Super Dave was over confident
Super Dave was always seeking approval
Super Dave was invincible
Super Dave drove me nuts.

To be fair Super Dave was a good stick but a stick without a lick of common sense.

He could have soloed in 5 hours but I held him back till he had 12 and we had covered every pre solo manuver three times over.

Finally it was time for Super Dave to solo. I feared the day but it had arrived. Super Dave arrived at the airport early (flight suit and all) and did a preflight while I was in the hanger praying.

Super Dave was instructed to make three "Stop and go landing PLUS I instructed him to taxi back to the end and use full length each time.

What could go wrong I reasoned as I signed his student Lic and logbook. He had been making perfect patterns and landings for the last 7 hours.

Super Dave lined up and off he went, the rotation was textbook. But that's where all things normal stopped.

Super Dave was all over the sky. Banking crazily, pitching like a seal with a great white on it's tail. I could not talk to Super Dave this was before hand helds and the small country airport did not have a working unicom.

The downwind was wild as well as his final approach. He rolled and pitched I envisioned my trusty C150 in a pile of smoking rubble with me explaing to the FAA why I let this wild man solo.

It was time to flare or crash, just as suddenly as he lost control he regained it, the plane leveled off just in time an made a perfect touchdown. I ran out to the runway to flag him in as he taxied back. But Super Dave did not taxi back he did a touch and go.

Again a perfect takeoff, then the previous nightmare started all over again. I could not imagine what was happening. Again just before the second landing he seemed to regain control and make a perfect landing.

Again Super Dave did not stop he did a touch and go. The wild gyrations continued during the third circut and again just before he crashed, the plane smoothed out and he made his third perfect touch down. Finally I thought "It's over" That is until Super Dave was off again. Super Dave could not count. His fourth time around the patterned was no better but true to form he regained control and made a perfect fouth landing.

Finally Super Dave taxied back to the ramp, exited the aircraft with sweating running from every pore in his body, his insulated flight suit drenched, but not out of fear it was July with 90 per cent humidity.

Super Dave's first words upon exiting the plane was. "how'd I do, how'd I do, it was good wasn't it".

I drew a deep breath and said "the takeoff and landing were perfect but what in the "blazes" (cleaned up to meet forum rules) were you doing the rest of the time."

"Oh," he said, "I was taking pictures" as he pulled a camera out of one of the many pockets in his flight suit.
 
Its not Tuesday yet. You could still screw the pooch and not solo. ;)

Years past, CFI's didn't tell the student when they would solo. It was a 'surprise', although probably not really.

At any rate, focus on the flying, not the solo-ing. Just do what you've been doing, relax and enjoy the milestone
 
JoseCuervo said:
What is a pre-solo written exam?
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Not an unusual product or requirement these days.

Mine covered things like the V-speeds, what RPMs and airspeed should I have at what part of the pattern, and a few other procedure and knowledge items I should have down cold at that stage of my training.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Not an unusual product or requirement these days.

Mine covered things like the V-speeds, what RPMs and airspeed should I have at what part of the pattern, and a few other procedure and knowledge items I should have down cold at that stage of my training.
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Yeah, mines pretty basic. It's also an open book multiple guess exam that I got to take home with me. I'd say it's just a mechanism to make sure I've read through all the pertinent pieces as Mike mentioned.
 
tuwood said:
Yeah, mines pretty basic. It's also an open book multiple guess exam that I got to take home with me. I'd say it's just a mechanism to make sure I've read through all the pertinent pieces as Mike mentioned.
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Yea my Pre Solo Exam was from Jeppesen - it was actually pretty lengthy, but it was good and refreshed some of the ground school.
 
JCranford said:
Years past, CFI's didn't tell the student when they would solo. It was a 'surprise', although probably not really.
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I never tell my students. Back in the 80s one shows up with a VHS camera and tripod. I started laughing and ask him WTF are those for. He said he felt he might solo today. Really I said! We go up in the pattern awhile and he's good to go. Land, taxi in, shutdown, and I ask him to tell me how to work this crap. A good day all around!
 
mscard88 said:
I never tell my students. Back in the 80s one shows up with a VHS camera and tripod. I started laughing and ask him WTF are those for. He said he felt he might solo today. Really I said! We go up in the pattern awhile and he's good to go. Land, taxi in, shutdown, and I ask him to tell me how to work this crap. A good day all around!
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lol, now it's all about the GoPro's. I do want to record my solo, but I'm hesitant to ask my instructor if it will be ok. I want to record it for training and also the keepsake aspect of it, but I also don't want it to be a distraction.
 
tuwood said:
lol, now it's all about the GoPro's. I do want to record my solo, but I'm hesitant to ask my instructor if it will be ok. I want to record it for training and also the keepsake aspect of it, but I also don't want it to be a distraction.
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/*tease*\ Don't forget the release paperwork so you can put his image and likeness up on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc. etc...
 
AggieMike88 said:
Not an unusual product or requirement these days.

Mine covered things like the V-speeds, what RPMs and airspeed should I have at what part of the pattern, and a few other procedure and knowledge items I should have down cold at that stage of my training.
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Given 14 CFR 61.87(b), it had better be a universal requirement.
 
Do what you have been trained to do, you will do great!!! Come back and give us all a good debrief.
 
tuwood said:
lol, now it's all about the GoPro's. I do want to record my solo, but I'm hesitant to ask my instructor if it will be ok. I want to record it for training and also the keepsake aspect of it, but I also don't want it to be a distraction.
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I wouldn't think it would be an issue, if you plan to not mess with it from startup to shutdown, just start the recording before you start the engine, don't think about it or mess with it till after you shut down. edit the good parts out later
 
jimbilly said:
I wouldn't think it would be an issue, if you plan to not mess with it from startup to shutdown, just start the recording before you start the engine, don't think about it or mess with it till after you shut down. edit the good parts out later
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That's what I did....but I also had the camera along for a few training flights before my solo so it wasn't a new thing that day. It wasn't hard to put the camera out of my mind, I was about a fly a plane solo for the first time after all and had other things to think about.
 
pikespeakmtnman said:
That's what I did....but I also had the camera along for a few training flights before my solo so it wasn't a new thing that day. It wasn't hard to put the camera out of my mind, I was about a fly a plane solo for the first time after all and had other things to think about.
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But the OP is absolutely right to be concerned and aware of distractions. If he has the slightest reservation, it's not worth it.

However, it is legit to ask the flight instructor to record landings from the ground.

From my own experience, a real good way to F up a landing is to have it recorded.
 
MAKG1 said:
From my own experience, a real good way to F up a landing is to have it recorded.
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And in my experience, a real way to have the best landings of your flying career is when no one is around to see them, and you're not recording them.
 
MAKG1 said:
From my own experience, a real good way to F up a landing is to have it recorded.
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I disagree, recorded my student's a couple times and they did fine. Perfect? No, but good landings.
 
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It is super windy today - not sure if I will solo or not...I am supposed to fly at 4:30 this afternoon and so far the winds are pretty hefty - guess I will see what my CFI says. Of course the only day it is ever windy and it is on my solo day :oops:
 
CC268 said:
It is super windy today - not sure if I will solo or not...I am supposed to fly at 4:30 this afternoon and so far the winds are pretty hefty - guess I will see what my CFI says. Of course the only day it is ever windy and it is on my solo day :oops:
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Yep, that happened to me, my first chance at solo turned into a 90deg. crosswind practice day. :)
 
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