Soloing today out to the practice area

CC268

CC268

Final Approach
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CC268
Well I transferred over to my new instructor who replaced my old one (he got his 1500 hours). I really like him a lot. I soloed before (did 3 take offs and landings), but today I am actually going to fly out to the practice area by myself! I need to come up with a plan as to what I am going to practice out there (maybe some steep turns or something)...not sure I should practice slow flight or stalls without an instructor?

Anyways...should be fun
 
My first solo out of the pattern, my cfi gave me suggestions of what to practice. I did slow flight, power off stalls, 360's. Do whatever you're comfortable with and have done before, if in doubt ask your cfi.
 
exncsurfer said:
My first solo out of the pattern, my cfi gave me suggestions of what to practice. I did slow flight, power off stalls, 360's. Do whatever you're comfortable with and have done before, if in doubt ask your cfi.
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I have done everything...quite a few times actually, but yea I will see what he recommends...
 
What gives you the most trouble, that your CFI is comfy letting you do solo? For airwork, for most of us it was steep turns.
 
The first time I went out to the practice area by myself, it was a very surreal and strange feeling. Wow, I realized that I'm a pilot. But I could not allow myself to stall the plane to practice stall recovery. I don't know why but I did not feel comfortable pitching up for a stall by myself.
 
orange said:
The first time I went out to the practice area by myself, it was a very surreal and strange feeling. Wow, I realized that I'm a pilot. But I could not allow myself to stall the plane to practice stall recovery. I don't know why but I did not feel comfortable pitching up for a stall by myself.
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Kind of how I feel...power off stall I think I wouldn't mind doing at all..power on...idk..
 
CC268 said:
Kind of how I feel...power off stall I think I wouldn't mind doing at all..power on...idk..
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Yeah, I wasn't comfortable with power on stalls either. Power off is fine. Steep turns I loved! Even after my check ride I still wasn't comfortable with power on stalls. For insurance purposes the club I'm in requires the equivalent of a BFR every year. So a couple of years a go I asked if we could focus on power on stalls and MCA. Spent an hour and now I'm pretty confident.

John
 
what @exncsurfer said. CFI gave me a list, I went and did what I was comfortable doing and nothing more lol. it was surreal and awesome at the same time.
 
No one wants to "waste" money, but my first solo flight to the practice area, I just went sight seeing. Even though I had flown out there a bunch, I had never really been able to enjoy the sights. I still don't like doing power on stalls... I know I need to do them, so I grab my instructor and go do a few.
 
mikeinbama said:
No one wants to "waste" money, but my first solo flight to the practice area, I just went sight seeing. Even though I had flown out there a bunch, I had never really been able to enjoy the sights. I still don't like doing power on stalls... I know I need to do them, so I grab my instructor and go do a few.
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LOL I thought about doing this...maybe fly over Bartlett Lake a bit...maybe wave to some people on the lake...just kidding
 
orange said:
The first time I went out to the practice area by myself, it was a very surreal and strange feeling. Wow, I realized that I'm a pilot. But I could not allow myself to stall the plane to practice stall recovery. I don't know why but I did not feel comfortable pitching up for a stall by myself.
Click to expand...

No need to pitch up. Take your airspeed down in level flight to the brink of the stall. Get the stall horn blaring, feel the rumble from the turbulence indicating an approaching stall. Practice very slow turns, keeping them coordinated. Remember, recover is just a push on the yoke away, so do this at an altitude where you feel comfortable. -Skip
 
My CFI suggested I just go have a fun flight my first time out to the practice area alone. Pass it off as familiarizing yourself with the area. I practiced just about anything on the test alone, but I have heard of school prohibiting stalls when students are alone, so check.
 
All the air work in the PPL PTS?
 
Awesome, first solo out of the pattern is one of my greatest memories. IMO, only one priority, have fun, enjoy it! I had just posted about this in the "how many hours to solo" thread. I did the things that made me the most anxious but was comfortable with. First maneuver was power on stalls. I did them because I knew I could and knew that the sooner I did it on my own the quicker that anxious feeling would go away. That's just me, everyone is different. This was the flight where I truly felt like a pilot. The solo in the pattern didn't do it for me and the cross country stuff didn't have that "new" feeling for me. Have fun, you are going to love it!
 
Hope you resolve that critical ADM issue on which iPad to purchase before the flight.
 
Instructor cleared me for some rolls and loops - see you guys out there :cool:
 
Wow that was an absolute blast! Some of the most fun I have ever had! Mostly just flew around the practice area...over Bartlett Lake, did some steep turns, and came back and did some touch and goes - my landings were great!
 
CC268 said:
Well I transferred over to my new instructor who replaced my old one (he got his 1500 hours). I really like him a lot. I soloed before (did 3 take offs and landings), but today I am actually going to fly out to the practice area by myself! I need to come up with a plan as to what I am going to practice out there (maybe some steep turns or something)...not sure I should practice slow flight or stalls without an instructor?

Anyways...should be fun
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I remember my first trip away from the pattern like it was yesterday. well actually it was a few weeks ago :D. Here's what I did. I flew to the practice area and enjoyed the view for awhile. Then I found an intersection with a large flag and practiced turns around a point and then did some stalls and steep turns and called it a day. Remember to set a timer and change tanks. But most of all enjoy the "you" time ;)
 
I tried to concentrate on my inverted flat spins first time out. (Hehe)

Seriously though I try to have a plan and cover most of the check ride maneuvers when out solo. I absolutely love doing power on stalls but typically only do one after recovering from slow flight. Oddly I'm less comfortable with power off stalls because I have less control authority.
I do practice getting into slow flight without losing altitude a couple times and do slow turns.
I also do a lot of rolling back and forth while flying straight to practice my rudder input timing to stay coordinated at turn entries.

Overall the others are right to sit back and enjoy a little too. I have an auto pilot so while flying out I'll sometimes turn it on and just look out the windows with a big smile.
 
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