Cross-Country Day
2009-08-20 09:30
I won't bother writing anything about the short flight we took the other day. We really didn't do much new stuff, except land on the short runway. Ok, I will write about it because that was pretty fun.
Most of the flight was just flying blind stuff again, using some of the radio navigation tools.
However, after that Jory decided it was time to try a short-field landing on an actual short field. The airport that I fly out of uses one primary runway that is about 8,300 feet long and 100 feet wide. The runway we landed on this time is 2,300 feet long and 40 feet wide. It actually went surprisingly well, but I still am not satisfied with my landing ability.
Anyway, yesterday was cross-country day. To be adventurous, we flew to Colorado Springs via the western side of Denver. I got up and filed the flightplan with the flight service people, then went to the airport and figured out our route and weather with Jory.
We started out just flying south (which is the first time I've ever flown more than a mile south of the airport). It was a little choppier than it looked like it should be, but it wasn't too bad. I got my first experiences with air traffic control, talking to Denver approach most of the way down there. Once we got closer to the Springs, we got handed off to Colorado Springs approach, who gave me my first straight-in approach (rather than flying the pattern). It actually is a little difficult the first time because you don't have any of your visual references to know when to slow down or when to put the flaps out or anything like that.
The runway at COS is 11,000 feet long and 150 feet wide. In other words, it's a full-sized commercial airline runway. In fact, not long after we landed, an MD-80 came in behind us. The landing was slightly off-center (which is what I'm determined to fix now, more on that later). But since the runway is crazy wide, it still stayed on the pavement. Still, perfection is what I'm going for.
We had some lunch at a restaurant near the airport (http://www.solosrestaurant.com), then walked back over. We made another flight plan, but forgot to activate it, which we didn't realize until we got back to Fort Collins and tried to close it, only to be informed by the guy on the radio that no flight plan existed.
On the way back, we stopped for a touch and go at Metro airport in Broomfield because it's on the way. That landing also did not go very well. Came in way too fast and Jory had to handle a bit of the lining up portion of the landing.
So tomorrow, I'm going to the airport and I'm taking the plane up by myself for a while and just doing a ton of landings until I can do this perfectly nearly every time. I'm hoping for a slight crosswind so I can get some practice.
Probably won't write much about that because I'll literally just be flying in rectangles. Perfect rectangles with sharp corners.
2009-08-21
2009-08-14
Flights 12-14
We did these kind of out of order, so I'll write about them all together.
On Tuesday we did Flights 13 and 14, which is mostly centered on the different types of landings and some navigation. For a soft-field takeoff, you're basically pretending that you're taking off from grass or dirt. So the basic idea is to keep as much pressure off of the wheels as possible, so they don't dig into the ground. So you taxi out onto the runway more quickly than you would for a normal takeoff. You give it 10 degrees of flaps for extra lift, and keep the nosewheel off the ground through the entire takeoff. As soon as the plane lifts up, you have to hover above the ground for a few seconds so you can gain enough speed to climb away. Landing is much the same principle. Keep pressure off of the nosewheel so it doesn't dig in.
After the takeoff, we used some VOR navigation to make our way out to Greeley. Jory had me under the blindy-hood thing so I couldn't see, but I managed to put the plane straight over the top of the navigation beacon, so I was quite proud of that. We then made a circle around the Greeley/Weld County airport and did a stop and go landing. We took back off and came straight back to FNL where we did a couple of touch and go landings.
So that was flights 13 and 14.
Today I did flight 12, which consisted of doing some of the basic things that we've done already, only I did it solo. I took off and headed out to the NE over Windsor, then realized that I didn't really know what to do. So I did a few laps around this tank on the ground, then some S-turns around a nearby road. I flew out toward Greeley just because I didn't have a lot going on. The wind was starting to pick up, and I'm currently restricted to flying when the wind is less than 10 kts, so I headed back toward the airport. I made a pass over Fort Collins to race the cars because it's fun to beat them. I think that's the most fun part of flying: Getting from Mulberry to Trilby in about 3 minutes. Or possibly the ability to be flying over campus, looking out one side and seeing Old Town, and the other side to see Loveland, 10 miles away.
I did 3 landings, each one slightly worse than the one before it. The first one was perfect (should have stopped there). The second one was a little flat, but still alright. The third one I believe I had too much airspeed when I hit the ground, which caused me to bounce a couple of times. But I held it on the runway and got out of the way a couple of minutes before the Allegiant Air plane from Las Vegas came in right behind me.
All in all, a good few days. Next time we're doing a little more navigation stuff, and then the flight after that is finally time to go cross-country.
On Tuesday we did Flights 13 and 14, which is mostly centered on the different types of landings and some navigation. For a soft-field takeoff, you're basically pretending that you're taking off from grass or dirt. So the basic idea is to keep as much pressure off of the wheels as possible, so they don't dig into the ground. So you taxi out onto the runway more quickly than you would for a normal takeoff. You give it 10 degrees of flaps for extra lift, and keep the nosewheel off the ground through the entire takeoff. As soon as the plane lifts up, you have to hover above the ground for a few seconds so you can gain enough speed to climb away. Landing is much the same principle. Keep pressure off of the nosewheel so it doesn't dig in.
After the takeoff, we used some VOR navigation to make our way out to Greeley. Jory had me under the blindy-hood thing so I couldn't see, but I managed to put the plane straight over the top of the navigation beacon, so I was quite proud of that. We then made a circle around the Greeley/Weld County airport and did a stop and go landing. We took back off and came straight back to FNL where we did a couple of touch and go landings.
So that was flights 13 and 14.
Today I did flight 12, which consisted of doing some of the basic things that we've done already, only I did it solo. I took off and headed out to the NE over Windsor, then realized that I didn't really know what to do. So I did a few laps around this tank on the ground, then some S-turns around a nearby road. I flew out toward Greeley just because I didn't have a lot going on. The wind was starting to pick up, and I'm currently restricted to flying when the wind is less than 10 kts, so I headed back toward the airport. I made a pass over Fort Collins to race the cars because it's fun to beat them. I think that's the most fun part of flying: Getting from Mulberry to Trilby in about 3 minutes. Or possibly the ability to be flying over campus, looking out one side and seeing Old Town, and the other side to see Loveland, 10 miles away.
I did 3 landings, each one slightly worse than the one before it. The first one was perfect (should have stopped there). The second one was a little flat, but still alright. The third one I believe I had too much airspeed when I hit the ground, which caused me to bounce a couple of times. But I held it on the runway and got out of the way a couple of minutes before the Allegiant Air plane from Las Vegas came in right behind me.
All in all, a good few days. Next time we're doing a little more navigation stuff, and then the flight after that is finally time to go cross-country.
2009-08-07
Progress Check
Progress Check
2009-08-07 13:00 MDT
Temp: 32C Wind: 30 degrees cross @ 10 kts
Having the solo under my belt, and Jory conveniently being out of town at a wedding, I was supposed to go up with Jack, the owner of the flight school, today. Just to see if I'm coming along ok. Well, Jack had a scheduling conflict, so I ended up going up with a nice guy named Tim instead. That turned out to be pretty fun.
We started off by doing just a couple of patterns, finally with a decent crosswind. The wind tried to blow me off centerline when I was coming in on final, but I was able to bring it back over. The first landing was pretty flawless, even for being in a crosswind. Went up and came around for another. Had to evade a couple of planes coming in to land in the opposite direction (They were doing ILS practice).
The second landing was slightly harder, but still straight down the line, which is what makes me happy.
After that, we went back up and out to the training area just to do a couple of air maneuvers that I've been having some difficulty with. We did a couple of stalls, both with and without power, because last time I did it all wrong and it nearly made me throw up. Today went much better. It will still require some more practice, but I think I can handle it.
At my request, I wanted to redeem my crappy steep turn performance from last week, so we did a couple of those. I lost some altitude on the first one, but not enough to go outside the standards for the checkride that will come later. The 2nd through 4th steep turns were nearly spot on. I was quite pleased with them.
Headed back to the airport, got in the pattern, and made a nice landing to finish it off.
All in all, a relatively short and simple day, but now two different people are satisfied that I can fly, and that's some validation for me :)
2009-08-07 13:00 MDT
Temp: 32C Wind: 30 degrees cross @ 10 kts
Having the solo under my belt, and Jory conveniently being out of town at a wedding, I was supposed to go up with Jack, the owner of the flight school, today. Just to see if I'm coming along ok. Well, Jack had a scheduling conflict, so I ended up going up with a nice guy named Tim instead. That turned out to be pretty fun.
We started off by doing just a couple of patterns, finally with a decent crosswind. The wind tried to blow me off centerline when I was coming in on final, but I was able to bring it back over. The first landing was pretty flawless, even for being in a crosswind. Went up and came around for another. Had to evade a couple of planes coming in to land in the opposite direction (They were doing ILS practice).
The second landing was slightly harder, but still straight down the line, which is what makes me happy.
After that, we went back up and out to the training area just to do a couple of air maneuvers that I've been having some difficulty with. We did a couple of stalls, both with and without power, because last time I did it all wrong and it nearly made me throw up. Today went much better. It will still require some more practice, but I think I can handle it.
At my request, I wanted to redeem my crappy steep turn performance from last week, so we did a couple of those. I lost some altitude on the first one, but not enough to go outside the standards for the checkride that will come later. The 2nd through 4th steep turns were nearly spot on. I was quite pleased with them.
Headed back to the airport, got in the pattern, and made a nice landing to finish it off.
All in all, a relatively short and simple day, but now two different people are satisfied that I can fly, and that's some validation for me :)
2009-08-04
Flight 11: Solo Day
Flight 11
2009-08-04 09:00 MDT
Temp: 20C, Wind: Calm to start
Today was a momentous day in my life. Today was solo day. Today consisted of nothing but 8 takeoffs and landings. The difference is that for 3 of them, Jory wasn't in the plane. We began like any other day, only Jory was noticeably not talking as much, undoubtedly to get me used to the loneliness that would follow. He was also doing something in my logbook.
We flew 5 times around the pattern, with each landing getting slightly better. I really need to stop flaring so early. As I've said before, you flare at the very end to make sure the main (rear) gear touch down first. However, if you do it too soon, then you end up slowing down way too much, way too high off the ground, then the plane falls quite roughly into the runway, thus defeating the purpose of your soft landing. It is known as the bottom dropping out.
So that happened a couple of times, but it got to the point where Jory was satisfied that I wouldn't die, so we taxied back to the ramp, and he jumped out of the plane.
Loneliness does not begin to describe the next 3 minutes of my life. As I taxied the plane back to the taxiway and eventually down to the north end of the airport, I think I felt more alone than I ever have in my life. No one sitting there. No one talking to me. Nothing but me, a 160 hp engine, and the occasional call from another pilot in the area.
I got to the end of runway 15, and sat on the line for a minute so that another plane could land. I gave him what turned out to be more than ample time to get off the runway, then, with my heart racing considerably, rolled onto the runway and pushed in the throttle. The takeoff went as smoothly as I could have hoped, and I suddenly felt a lot more confident about all of this.
An airplane climbs much faster when someone gets out of it. It also appears to fly a bit faster, but maybe that was the tailwind. When I was on the downwind leg (incidentally, please feel free to ask for clarification if any of this terminology ever confuses anyone), I reached a point even with the end of the runway, which is where it's time to begin your approach. As I pulled the throttle out to start descending, I thought for the first time that I cannot screw this up. That if I don't land this plane successfully, I may become seriously injured and/or die. I turned base, then turned final, and it was all feeling very real at the time. I came in, and stuck the landing like it was nobody's business. I believe it to be the best landing I have done to date.
It then occurred to me that I was less nervous by myself than I usually am with Jory. Apparently not disappointing my instructor is more important to me than my own life. The next landing wasn't quite as nice. I came down smoothly, but with the nose pointed ever so slightly to the left. The third one was pretty textbook as well. I came in high because I had flown out wide to allow some spacing between myself and another plane in front of me. I did a forward slip (fun) to lose some altitude, then brought it down nice and smoothly.
One of the other instructors named JJ congratulated me on the radio, as he was waiting to takeoff. I brought the plane back to the ramp, shut it down, and posed with Jory for a celebratory photo (which I still want, Jory).
All told, today was pretty freaking awesome.
2009-08-04 09:00 MDT
Temp: 20C, Wind: Calm to start
Today was a momentous day in my life. Today was solo day. Today consisted of nothing but 8 takeoffs and landings. The difference is that for 3 of them, Jory wasn't in the plane. We began like any other day, only Jory was noticeably not talking as much, undoubtedly to get me used to the loneliness that would follow. He was also doing something in my logbook.
We flew 5 times around the pattern, with each landing getting slightly better. I really need to stop flaring so early. As I've said before, you flare at the very end to make sure the main (rear) gear touch down first. However, if you do it too soon, then you end up slowing down way too much, way too high off the ground, then the plane falls quite roughly into the runway, thus defeating the purpose of your soft landing. It is known as the bottom dropping out.
So that happened a couple of times, but it got to the point where Jory was satisfied that I wouldn't die, so we taxied back to the ramp, and he jumped out of the plane.
Loneliness does not begin to describe the next 3 minutes of my life. As I taxied the plane back to the taxiway and eventually down to the north end of the airport, I think I felt more alone than I ever have in my life. No one sitting there. No one talking to me. Nothing but me, a 160 hp engine, and the occasional call from another pilot in the area.
I got to the end of runway 15, and sat on the line for a minute so that another plane could land. I gave him what turned out to be more than ample time to get off the runway, then, with my heart racing considerably, rolled onto the runway and pushed in the throttle. The takeoff went as smoothly as I could have hoped, and I suddenly felt a lot more confident about all of this.
An airplane climbs much faster when someone gets out of it. It also appears to fly a bit faster, but maybe that was the tailwind. When I was on the downwind leg (incidentally, please feel free to ask for clarification if any of this terminology ever confuses anyone), I reached a point even with the end of the runway, which is where it's time to begin your approach. As I pulled the throttle out to start descending, I thought for the first time that I cannot screw this up. That if I don't land this plane successfully, I may become seriously injured and/or die. I turned base, then turned final, and it was all feeling very real at the time. I came in, and stuck the landing like it was nobody's business. I believe it to be the best landing I have done to date.
It then occurred to me that I was less nervous by myself than I usually am with Jory. Apparently not disappointing my instructor is more important to me than my own life. The next landing wasn't quite as nice. I came down smoothly, but with the nose pointed ever so slightly to the left. The third one was pretty textbook as well. I came in high because I had flown out wide to allow some spacing between myself and another plane in front of me. I did a forward slip (fun) to lose some altitude, then brought it down nice and smoothly.
One of the other instructors named JJ congratulated me on the radio, as he was waiting to takeoff. I brought the plane back to the ramp, shut it down, and posed with Jory for a celebratory photo (which I still want, Jory).
All told, today was pretty freaking awesome.
2009-08-01
Flights 9 and 10
Didn't ever get around to writing a thing about Flight 9, so I'll just combine them here.
Flight 9
2009-07-29 17:30
This flight was all about landings and emergency procedures. As far as the emergency procedures, it's basically just important to remember what you need to do immediately in the case of any kind of emergency. One that we did was an engine failure simulation, which amounts to Jory pulling the throttle to idle. Step one is to try and restart the engine through a simple procedure, while at the same time looking for a backup plan on the ground (a field). If that doesn't work, you just bring the plane (using only your pitch and flaps since you don't have an engine) to 65 kts, which is the optimal glide speed for this particular plane. I'm told it results in a 9:1 glide ratio, which should get you a few miles, but you don't have room for error, that's for sure. We also worked on an emergency descent, which is exactly what it sounds like. Dive down as quickly as possible without ripping the plane apart. Those went relatively well on the first try, I just didn't descend quite quickly enough on the emergency. It's hard to convince yourself that you need to be more abrupt about things. I'm so afraid of breaking the plane, that I end up not doing things as extremely as they should be done.
After that, we headed back to the airport to do a few touch and gos. The first one was flat (main gear and nose gear touched down at the same time...bad). It was soft, but flat. The second one was uneventful, but the third one was damn near perfect. Decided to go for one more to seal the deal. The last one was also pretty good, but hit the ground with the nose pointed about 5 degrees to the left.
Flight 10:
2009-08-01 10:00
Laura came up with us on this one to get a feel for what kind of things we've been doing. Definitely not the best day I've had so far. Since my next flight is my first solo, today was basically a review of everything we've done so far. We started off with slow flight and brought it into a stall. The first stall I did wasn't very well coordinated, so it tossed my stomach for a loop. Didn't lose it or anything, but it doomed my concentration for the remainder of the flight. I was too busy thinking about not being sick, and I just couldn't get it together to do everything else perfectly. My steep turn wasn't nearly as good as the first day. Ended up way north and headed back to the airport. My pattern entry and approach were pretty awesome. Overshot the runway on the base leg just a little bit, but made up for it with a textbook landing. Went up for one more, and made exactly the same mistake as I did on Wednesday. Second landing succumbed to the crosswind and hit just a little off center. That's a correction that I understand just fine on the ground, but forget completely when it comes time to actually execute it.
Anyway, the next flight is my first solo. No tricky stuff, just a few patterns and landings. I'll start off with Jory and if he's comfortable trusting me with a $270,000 plane, then I'll finally fly a plane on my own.
Flight 9
2009-07-29 17:30
This flight was all about landings and emergency procedures. As far as the emergency procedures, it's basically just important to remember what you need to do immediately in the case of any kind of emergency. One that we did was an engine failure simulation, which amounts to Jory pulling the throttle to idle. Step one is to try and restart the engine through a simple procedure, while at the same time looking for a backup plan on the ground (a field). If that doesn't work, you just bring the plane (using only your pitch and flaps since you don't have an engine) to 65 kts, which is the optimal glide speed for this particular plane. I'm told it results in a 9:1 glide ratio, which should get you a few miles, but you don't have room for error, that's for sure. We also worked on an emergency descent, which is exactly what it sounds like. Dive down as quickly as possible without ripping the plane apart. Those went relatively well on the first try, I just didn't descend quite quickly enough on the emergency. It's hard to convince yourself that you need to be more abrupt about things. I'm so afraid of breaking the plane, that I end up not doing things as extremely as they should be done.
After that, we headed back to the airport to do a few touch and gos. The first one was flat (main gear and nose gear touched down at the same time...bad). It was soft, but flat. The second one was uneventful, but the third one was damn near perfect. Decided to go for one more to seal the deal. The last one was also pretty good, but hit the ground with the nose pointed about 5 degrees to the left.
Flight 10:
2009-08-01 10:00
Laura came up with us on this one to get a feel for what kind of things we've been doing. Definitely not the best day I've had so far. Since my next flight is my first solo, today was basically a review of everything we've done so far. We started off with slow flight and brought it into a stall. The first stall I did wasn't very well coordinated, so it tossed my stomach for a loop. Didn't lose it or anything, but it doomed my concentration for the remainder of the flight. I was too busy thinking about not being sick, and I just couldn't get it together to do everything else perfectly. My steep turn wasn't nearly as good as the first day. Ended up way north and headed back to the airport. My pattern entry and approach were pretty awesome. Overshot the runway on the base leg just a little bit, but made up for it with a textbook landing. Went up for one more, and made exactly the same mistake as I did on Wednesday. Second landing succumbed to the crosswind and hit just a little off center. That's a correction that I understand just fine on the ground, but forget completely when it comes time to actually execute it.
Anyway, the next flight is my first solo. No tricky stuff, just a few patterns and landings. I'll start off with Jory and if he's comfortable trusting me with a $270,000 plane, then I'll finally fly a plane on my own.
2009-07-27
Flight 8
Flight 8
2009-07-24 09:00
Temp 22C, Wind calm
This flight was all about steep turns and landings (not at the same time). We headed out NE to the training area that we always go to. I was pretty nervous about doing a steep turn, which is at about 45 degrees of bank as opposed to the 20 in a standard rate turn. You do a full 360 in each direction, one after the other, very quickly. Jory did a couple first so I could get a feel for how it looked out the window and such. The first one sent my stomach for a loop. Flying is awesome because it's like a roller coaster whenever you want it to be.
Then I did a couple. Surprisingly, they actually went really really well. I did a couple where I rolled into it slowly, and then a couple where I went into it more quickly. On the 3rd one, I actually felt the bump where you catch your own turbulence because you flew a perfect circle. Needless to say, I was quite proud...
But each flight must end with a landing. On the first one, we came in plenty high so that we could practice a go-around, which went quite well. The second time, we did a touch and go. I will tell you that landing is by far the most difficult part of flying, and I assume any pilot will agree. The problem seems to be that I am making a good approach, but then flaring (pulling up to set the rear wheels down first) either too early, or too much. I still can't completely tell which it is. But the result is that instead of floating above the runway and gently setting down, I'm actually gaining a bit of altitude, then slowing so much (because the throttle is pulled all the way idle at this point) that the plane falls back down and hits the runway too hard.
So basically, instead of that final drop being about 1 ft, it's becoming about 5, and it's quite uncomfortable. Makes it harder to control once it's on the ground, too. So, hopefully there will be a lot more work on that, because I feel like it's really the only thing standing between me and a great first solo in a week's time.
Oh yeah, I only have two more lessons, then I have to do this by myself. Sure wish I could have learned to drive in 4 weeks...
Next flight was supposed to be today, but weather got in the way. Rescheduled for Wednesday at 17:30, so we'll see how that pans out.
2009-07-24 09:00
Temp 22C, Wind calm
This flight was all about steep turns and landings (not at the same time). We headed out NE to the training area that we always go to. I was pretty nervous about doing a steep turn, which is at about 45 degrees of bank as opposed to the 20 in a standard rate turn. You do a full 360 in each direction, one after the other, very quickly. Jory did a couple first so I could get a feel for how it looked out the window and such. The first one sent my stomach for a loop. Flying is awesome because it's like a roller coaster whenever you want it to be.
Then I did a couple. Surprisingly, they actually went really really well. I did a couple where I rolled into it slowly, and then a couple where I went into it more quickly. On the 3rd one, I actually felt the bump where you catch your own turbulence because you flew a perfect circle. Needless to say, I was quite proud...
But each flight must end with a landing. On the first one, we came in plenty high so that we could practice a go-around, which went quite well. The second time, we did a touch and go. I will tell you that landing is by far the most difficult part of flying, and I assume any pilot will agree. The problem seems to be that I am making a good approach, but then flaring (pulling up to set the rear wheels down first) either too early, or too much. I still can't completely tell which it is. But the result is that instead of floating above the runway and gently setting down, I'm actually gaining a bit of altitude, then slowing so much (because the throttle is pulled all the way idle at this point) that the plane falls back down and hits the runway too hard.
So basically, instead of that final drop being about 1 ft, it's becoming about 5, and it's quite uncomfortable. Makes it harder to control once it's on the ground, too. So, hopefully there will be a lot more work on that, because I feel like it's really the only thing standing between me and a great first solo in a week's time.
Oh yeah, I only have two more lessons, then I have to do this by myself. Sure wish I could have learned to drive in 4 weeks...
Next flight was supposed to be today, but weather got in the way. Rescheduled for Wednesday at 17:30, so we'll see how that pans out.
2009-07-22
Flight 7
Flight 7
2009-07-20 15:00
Temp: 31C Wind: Cross at 5 kts, occasionally
Went for my first afternoon flight. We had to go to Denver in the morning to get Laura's green card, and I figured some afternoon choppiness would be the final test to see if my stomach can handle flying. It can. We're good to go. In fact, I might even be able to read in the car now.
Flew a different plane for this one because someone else already took the one I usually go up in. Identical plane except 3 years older and no autopilot. Wasn't an issue. Started off with a series of touch and go's in the pattern. Not quite the crosswind we were hoping for, but enough to kind of get the idea. The first landing was a little flat, but the main gear went down first, so that's still a victory in my book.
Went around to try it again. Second landing was somewhat better than the first. Not sure if it's the years of flight simulating or what, but something always makes me come in too shallow. It's getting better, though.
Went around for a third one and then flew out of the pattern to do some other stuff. Got under the visor again for more of the "simulated instrument" stuff. Only for 18 minutes, and wasn't really that difficult. The hardest part is by far holding altitude. Went back for the turns around a point and S-turns like we did earlier. This one went MUCH better than before. Even with a decent wind, I was able to hit all the checkpoints pretty well.
After that, we flew back to the airport for a couple more landings. The first one went pretty well, but I decided we should do another one just to solidify it. That turned out to be a mistake, as the next approach actually had a crosswind component to it, and that ended up being our practice for "faulty approach and go-around". So on the last try, it went pretty well. Didn't come in quite so shallow this time.
So that was it. Pretty basic stuff. I believe the next flight is supposed to contain steep turns, so that'll be fun :)
2009-07-20 15:00
Temp: 31C Wind: Cross at 5 kts, occasionally
Went for my first afternoon flight. We had to go to Denver in the morning to get Laura's green card, and I figured some afternoon choppiness would be the final test to see if my stomach can handle flying. It can. We're good to go. In fact, I might even be able to read in the car now.
Flew a different plane for this one because someone else already took the one I usually go up in. Identical plane except 3 years older and no autopilot. Wasn't an issue. Started off with a series of touch and go's in the pattern. Not quite the crosswind we were hoping for, but enough to kind of get the idea. The first landing was a little flat, but the main gear went down first, so that's still a victory in my book.
Went around to try it again. Second landing was somewhat better than the first. Not sure if it's the years of flight simulating or what, but something always makes me come in too shallow. It's getting better, though.
Went around for a third one and then flew out of the pattern to do some other stuff. Got under the visor again for more of the "simulated instrument" stuff. Only for 18 minutes, and wasn't really that difficult. The hardest part is by far holding altitude. Went back for the turns around a point and S-turns like we did earlier. This one went MUCH better than before. Even with a decent wind, I was able to hit all the checkpoints pretty well.
After that, we flew back to the airport for a couple more landings. The first one went pretty well, but I decided we should do another one just to solidify it. That turned out to be a mistake, as the next approach actually had a crosswind component to it, and that ended up being our practice for "faulty approach and go-around". So on the last try, it went pretty well. Didn't come in quite so shallow this time.
So that was it. Pretty basic stuff. I believe the next flight is supposed to contain steep turns, so that'll be fun :)
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