Greebo
N9017H - C172M (1976)
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2005
- Messages
- 10,976
- Location
- Baltimore, MD
- Display Name
Display name:
Retired Evil Overlord
6:05pm Can't wait any longer. Head to airport.
6:20pm Begin very careful and thorough preflight. Find myself caressing the plane lovingly, as I have missed her for so long. Followed by reviewing local procedures, etc.
6:45pm Message from CFI who is running a few minutes late. I hang out and get the thrill of watching two pairs of two warthogs come in to land in opposite directions only minutes apart.
7:10pm Instructor arrives. Doesn't like the look of the tires which are bald and appear overinflated. We decide not to practice landings, just to play it safe. File ADIZ plan for re-entry.
7:15pm Start engine. Stopped looking at watch every few minutes...
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the skills and procedures came back. I was shaky but not inept, on the radio, and remembered the various calls well enough by rehearsing them before making the actual calls. I took my time on everything and was generally satisfied.
Departure was uneventful. Smooth and tranquil. The skies were perfect - calm and clear (although haze developed as the evening progressed) and we headed north to the practice area as I got the feel for the plane back.
We started with some clearing turns, and then slow flight and stalls. Power off first - not my best but satisfactory, and we went right into power on stalls, which we did two of, because I didn't get the nose down enough on the first one and tried to climb too soon. Then we did a couple steep turns (which made me a little disoriented, so I obviously need to work on those a bit more to get used to em again), and also some climbing and descending turns. I was pleased that I could hit my marks while chatting, distracted, etc. Again, not as clean and crisp as I once was, but within tolerances.
He checked my knowledge of the area. "Ok our airport is where?" "Over there (pointing)." "And you know that how?" "Cause I've been here a thousand times?"
Then it was on with the hood for some refresher instrument work, and again I wasn't unhappy with that either. Heading and altitude holds and climbing and descending turns were all at standard rate. I did forget to check my compass periodically. Need to get that drilled back in.
Finally after about an hour it was time to head back. We made a base approach, per tower, and my approach was low but I made the proper corrections. I was a tad ground shy after all this time, and ended up flaring high, but I recognized it and added power enough to slow the descent rate, and then climb a bit, and then eased us down onto the runway. So I landed long (which at KMTN hardly matters) and couldn't make the first turnoff, but I did land us squarely on the mains, gently. Again, not my best, but not terrible.
Next week we'll be doing the BFR.
6:20pm Begin very careful and thorough preflight. Find myself caressing the plane lovingly, as I have missed her for so long. Followed by reviewing local procedures, etc.
6:45pm Message from CFI who is running a few minutes late. I hang out and get the thrill of watching two pairs of two warthogs come in to land in opposite directions only minutes apart.
7:10pm Instructor arrives. Doesn't like the look of the tires which are bald and appear overinflated. We decide not to practice landings, just to play it safe. File ADIZ plan for re-entry.
7:15pm Start engine. Stopped looking at watch every few minutes...
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the skills and procedures came back. I was shaky but not inept, on the radio, and remembered the various calls well enough by rehearsing them before making the actual calls. I took my time on everything and was generally satisfied.
Departure was uneventful. Smooth and tranquil. The skies were perfect - calm and clear (although haze developed as the evening progressed) and we headed north to the practice area as I got the feel for the plane back.
We started with some clearing turns, and then slow flight and stalls. Power off first - not my best but satisfactory, and we went right into power on stalls, which we did two of, because I didn't get the nose down enough on the first one and tried to climb too soon. Then we did a couple steep turns (which made me a little disoriented, so I obviously need to work on those a bit more to get used to em again), and also some climbing and descending turns. I was pleased that I could hit my marks while chatting, distracted, etc. Again, not as clean and crisp as I once was, but within tolerances.
He checked my knowledge of the area. "Ok our airport is where?" "Over there (pointing)." "And you know that how?" "Cause I've been here a thousand times?"
Then it was on with the hood for some refresher instrument work, and again I wasn't unhappy with that either. Heading and altitude holds and climbing and descending turns were all at standard rate. I did forget to check my compass periodically. Need to get that drilled back in.
Finally after about an hour it was time to head back. We made a base approach, per tower, and my approach was low but I made the proper corrections. I was a tad ground shy after all this time, and ended up flaring high, but I recognized it and added power enough to slow the descent rate, and then climb a bit, and then eased us down onto the runway. So I landed long (which at KMTN hardly matters) and couldn't make the first turnoff, but I did land us squarely on the mains, gently. Again, not my best, but not terrible.
Next week we'll be doing the BFR.
