Lesson 7

Lesson 7
Flight time logged:	1.9 hours
Total flight time logged:	10.3 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	17
Total cost to date:	$1650

What a nice day it was today! A cold front moved through the area yesterday with some thunderstorms ahead of it. Today, the skies are clear, although it is a little windy. I had a crosswind on takeoff today, so I got to practice my crosswind takeoff. In today's lesson, my instructor was acting like a check-ride examiner just watching my actions.

I turned crosswind after takeoff, then the instructor made me put on the "foggles" to do more instrument-only flying. He gave me altitudes and headings to fly, and I flew downwind and then out of the pattern. I flew for five to ten minutes by instruments alone. Then it was time for my lesson in recovering from unusual attitudes. This is where I have to close my eyes as the instructor puts the airplane into a steep climb about to stall, a straight dive, a spiral dive, a steep banking climb on the verge of stalling, etc. Once he says "you're controls" I have to look at the instruments, determine the plane's attitude, and recover. Talk about an awkward feeling! I was able to recover nicely from each situation he set up. He complemented me on my good recoveries.

I then had to perform slow flight maneuvers. I had to slow down to 55 knots with no flaps and then perform a few turns to headings. I then added full flaps to slow down to 40 knots and do a few turns at that speed. My instructor then had me perform a power-off stall. After the power-off stall, I performed a power-on stall. I was actually keeping my heading very well today.

Next I had to perform steep turns. I cleared the area with two 90 degree turns, and then performed a steep 180 degree turn to the left followed by a steep 180 degree turn to the right. My instructor again complemented me on performing well for these maneuvers.

The next tasks I had to perform were the ground reference maneuvers. I was at 3,500 feet MSL and needed to descend to 1,800 feet MSL. I started a 500 feet-per-minute descent. My instructor then asked me to do a forward slip down to 2,500 feet MSL. I put the plane into a forward slip and increased my descent to about 1,200 feet-per-minute. Within no time I was down at 2,500 feet. I transitioned back to a 500 fpm descent to 1,800 feet MSL.

Once at 600 feet above ground, I found a house to use for my turns-around-a-point. I performed two circles around the point. My instructor indicated that I was good a doing turns-around-a-point. I was good a making a circle of which seems easy, but not when the wind is blowing over 10 knots. It's all about changing you bank angle as you go around the point.

After the turns-around-a-point, I flew over to a straight road and performed S-turns to the right, then S-turns to the left. I did much better today than Tuesday. My instructor was convinced that I could do all of the maneuvers, so I headed over to Winder-Barrow airport for some touch-and-goes.

Over at Winder there were a few other planes flying so I really had to keep an eye out. My instructor taught me to talk on the CTAF since Winder does not have a tower. I caught on pretty fast to the communications part. I was feeling good about my performance thus far and was looking forward to practicing landings. I did three touch-and-goes, getting a little better each time, and then headed back to KLZU. I still need to work on my flares.

At about eight miles out from KLZU and after getting ATIS, I called the tower with my position and requested a landing. I was cleared fly straight in to Runway 25 on a three-mile final. I positioned myself to turn onto the extended final. My instructor wanted to show me how to use the ILS during an approach, so we tuned in to the ILS and turned on the marker beacon alerts. As I turned to a heading of 250 degrees, the outer marker beacon alert sounded indicating that I was five miles out. I was at 2,500 feet MSL starting my descent to pattern altitude of 2,100 feet MSL. I was right on the centerline the whole way in. I had to crab on the way down due to a crosswind, but managed to keep the centerline. I passed the middle marker, then the inner marker as I prepared for touchdown. The landing was a little rough, but okay. I really want to spend time getting better at my landings.

After taxiing back to the ramp and doing a post-flight, my instructor and I went in to the office to do the post-flight briefing.

I have scheduled three lessons for next week: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. My instructor said that we would spend Monday and Tuesday working on my landings and doing overviews on the other maneuvers. He then said something about letting me solo of Thursday. "Thursday?!," I said. He said that I should be ready in about five or so hours. I'm not sure I'm ready to solo just yet. He replied that I would do a dual flight with him first, but he would just be a passenger and not help me in any way. He said he feels comfortable with me flying the plane since he spends most of the time during my lessons just riding along. I figured I was at least two to three weeks away from soloing. Of course, I do not have to solo until I am ready, so it all depends on my confidence level. We'll see...

Lesson 6

Lesson 6
Flight time logged:	1.8 hours
Total flight time logged:	8.4 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	13
Total cost to date:	$1330

It's been a week since I've last flown, so I was ready to get back into the air. Today the weather was nice -- some wind -- but overall good. I arrived at the flight school at 5:30pm and spent a few minutes with my instructor going over traffic pattern operations. I did the pre-flight using a new, more detailed, checklist given to me by the instructor. I like this checklist better because it "flows" around the airplane as you check items.

After the pre-flight, I called ground asked to taxi to Runway 25 for a South East departure. I taxied to the run-up area, performed the run-up, and taxied into position holding at Runway 25. After takeoff clearance from the tower, I took off then turned to my departure route.

I flew over to the area between Winder airport and Monroe airport. Another pilot mentioned that there were a few good roads for practicing S-turns, so I picked one to practice my S-turns. I then flew over to Monroe airport to practice landings.

On the way there, I got to do forward slips for the first time. This was an interesting feeling. You're basically putting the plane into a configuration that makes it fall in order to lose altitude quickly. I turned the ailerons completely to the right, applied full left rudder, and down we went. The relative wind hits the side of the fuselage as you do the slip making it even more interesting.

Over at Monroe I was fortunate to not have any traffic at the airport, so I was free to concentrate on touch-and-goes. I made six landings and takeoffs while at Monroe. After one landing, my instructor made me keep the nose wheel off the runway while taxiing the rest of the way down the runway. This maneuver was supposed to help me get the feel of holding the nose up in the flare. It's called popping-a-wheelie in a plane, and I'm sure it looked odd to anyone on the ground around us watching. I put the nose wheel down, taxied off the runway, did my post-landing checklist, then started to taxi back for a takeoff. I also performed a short field takeoff while at Monroe.

After six landings and take-offs, I headed back to KLZU. On the way back, my instructor showed me how to use the GPS while in flight. I entered in KLZU and pulled up the radio frequencies. I also could see my ground speed and the distance to KLZU. Once I was approximately 10 miles out, I listened to the ATIS for KLZU and then called the tower reporting my position and requesting a landing. The tower had me ident my position -- a first for me -- however, I've used this before on the simulator so I knew to press the IDENT button on the transponder. I was cleared to enter a two-mile base.

I entered base and called the tower with my position. As I came to the point to turn to final, I received my landing clearance. I made my landing okay, but not the best in the world. I taxied off the runway and back to the flight school.

In my post-flight briefing, my instructor told me that he had noticed improvement and that I was more confident. I'm starting to feel more comfortable flying as I get the concepts drilled into my head. I definitely need to practice landings. My takeoffs are looking good, but I need to really practice my timing on the flare when landing. During my next lesson, on Thursday, my instructor wanted to do a progress check to see how I'm doing. For this, I will have to do everything that I've learned thus far. Hopefully, I'll remember everything.

IMC today

Well, just as I expected, the weather this morning was overcast with a ceiling at 200 feet AGL. It was definitely instrument meteorological conditions. No flying would be happening today. I spent an hour at the school with my instructor going over performance charts, weather, and various other subjects. My next flight is scheduled for next Tuesday. Rain is forecast for the rest of this week.

Lesson 5

Lesson 5
Flight time logged:	2.1 hours
Total flight time logged:	6.6 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	7
Total cost to date:	$1030

After not being in the air since last Thursday, I was ready to get back in the air. My Monday afternoon flight was re-scheduled for this evening due to strong wind gusts. This evening looked somewhat ominous because the skies started to cloud over due a low pressure on top of us. The ceiling was plenty high enough to do the lesson scheduled.

Today I had to do ground reference maneuvers: turns around a point, s-turns, and rectangular pattern. Since these are performed from 600 to 1000 feet above the ground, I had to descend to 1,800 feet, the lowest flying I've had to do thus far. I flew south of the airport towards a more rural area with large fields. I had not seen this area before, so it was a nice change. My instructor brought his handheld GPS to track my path. After doing a circle around a water tower, he showed me the track I drew. It looked like a circle to me. I practiced turns around a point and s-turns four or five times before I climbed back to 3,500 feet.

At 3,500 feet, I felt like I was only a few hundred feet below the overcast clouds above me. With the sun setting in the West, the sky was colored in all shades of gold and indigo. I had to do more slow flight, practice more full power-off stalls, and practice more full power-on stalls. There was no turbulence, so I had a much easier time with the power-on stalls this time. I did not fall into a spin and managed to keep the plane coordinated with my feet. I think I've getting the feel for it now.

After a few stalls, I headed back to the airport. My instructor had me put the"foggles" back on -- basically blinders that keep be from looking outside and only looking at the instruments. He would give me headings and alititudes. Twenty minutes later I took them off to find that I was on the base leg of the traffic pattern. I had entered the pattern on the downwind and turned base all on just instruments. I had a clue that I was in the pattern when my instructor called the tower requesting a touch-and-go landing.

I finished out my lesson by doing two touch-and-go landings followed by a full-stop landing. I like doing takeoffs and landings. I want to do more so I can perfect that landing. I also need to practice more crosswind takeoffs and landings. All of this is to come in a few lessons. I have just a couple of lessons before I have to do a progress check ride with the Chief Flight Instructor.

I'm scheduled for my next lesson tomorrow morning. The weather is not looking good at this point, so I am not counting on flying tomorrow. If not, I'll be doing ground school with my instructor.

Too much wind!

Well, my lesson for this afternoon was canceled due to winds gusting 20+ knots from the NNW. This created a considerable crosswind on the runway. It also makes it difficult to learn ground reference maneuvers when the wind is gusting 20 knots -- especially when we're flying only 600 to 1000 feet above the ground. I would also like a calmer day to practice power-on stalls. Having turbulence toss the wings around while trying to do power-on stalls does not sound like a fun day to me.

Anyway, I was assigned some ground-school homework. I have to memorize all of the different emergency procedure checklists. I have already memorized two. I'll keep working on the rest.
I also downloaded a Cessna 172R for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 from Flight 1. It is identical in sight and sound to the C172Rs I've been flying. I figured since I was not able to fly today, I could at least simulate flying today (without the gusts) and practice some power-off stalls, power-on stalls, and spin recoveries.

My aviation library is getting a little larger now. I received three more aviation books today:

• Aviation Weather Services (AC 00-45E)
• Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3A)
• Stick and Rudder by W. Langewiesche

My instructor recommended that I get a copy of Aviation Weather Services and the Airplane Flying Handbook. I also purchased "Stick and Rudder" because it is one of those classic aviation books that every pilot should read.

My next lesson (Lesson 5) is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the winds will be close to calm on Monday with little or no turbulence.

Lesson 4

Lesson 4
Flight time logged:	1.2 hours
Total flight time logged:	4.5 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	4
Total cost to date:	$707

Today the skies were clear with a light wind from the WNW. There was some light turbulence, but not as bad as my first lesson. We departed the airport to the North West towards Sawnee Mountain. I had a constant speed climb up to 4,500 feet. My instructor asked me to perform a few moderate turns and steep turns. He wanted to give me some hood time today, so I put on the view-limiting device that only allowed me to see the instruments. This was my first time flying solely by instruments, but I was very relaxed in doing so. I felt like I was just flying a simulator. My instructor had me perform a few turns, climbs, and descents all with instruments only. I flew by instruments for a half-hour.

After the instrument flying, it was time to do some more slow flight. I slowed the Cessna down to the airspeed requested by the instructor. I then performed a few power-off stalls -- this time full power-off stalls. I was getting better at performing these. Practice seems to be working.

After the power-off stalls, the instructor had me do my first power-on stall. I had already heard about what happens during this maneuver, so I was filled with anticipation. If I did not keep the airplane coordinated, it would go into a spin. My first try I gave it a little too much right rudder and started to fall to the right. I recovered and setup the airplane to try again. This time I kept it straight and held the stall, but not long enough for it to break. I tried again, but this time I did not give enough right rudder. The left wing fell, and I entered the incipient stage of a spin. I pulled the throttle to idle and gave full right rudder to stop the spin. The C172 recovered with limited altitude loss. My heart was racing by this time though.

I had to do more power-on stalls until I had a full break. I finally pulled one off, but I felt like I was teetering on the edge. I was glad to hear that we were moving on and heading back to the airport. We were closing in on the end of my lesson.

On the way back in, I called the tower and requested a touch-and-go. This would be my first. I entered right base, came in on final, only to be kicked around by some turbulence near the ground. I touched down successfully, cleaned up the plane, and then took off again into the traffic pattern. On downwind, we called the tower and requested a full-stop. I came down on final again, this time crabbing into the wind. My landings were much better today than the last lesson.

My next lesson is scheduled for tomorrow. I'm doing more power-on stalls (oh joy) and ground reference maneuvers (rectangular pattern, turns around a point, and s-turns).

Lesson 3

Lesson 3
Flight time logged:	1.3 hours
Total flight time logged:	3.3 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	2
Total cost to date:	$569

Today I had my first late-afternoon flight from 4pm to 6:30pm. It was nice to fly free in the air while watching the cars below stuck in rush-hour traffic.

I had to do all communications today. It's a little intimidating at first. It's easy to practice, and I thought I'd never lose thought of what to say, but I guess every student pilot goes through "mic fright" at first. With practice and time it will be better. I did okay today though.

I performed more straight-and-level flight, climbing and descending turns, power off stalls, steep turns, and traffic pattern flying. I also performed turns in slow flight. I also used a combination of outside references and instruments in performing maneuvers today. I felt much more comfortable being in control of the plane. The instructor let me fly the plane the entire time with little assists here and there telling me how to correct, but I did do all of the flying today.

My request for landing had me enter the pattern on left base Runway 7. I entered the base leg at traffic pattern altitude (TPA) and 75 knots. I turned on final and slowed down to 65 knots with full flaps. I flew down for my first unassisted landing. I almost pulled it off... just a little hard. It was my first landing, so I guess I can't be too hard on myself. I just needed to pull back more in the flare. Next time I will not be so hesitant.

After the post-flight debriefing, we reviewed what was coming up in the next few lessons. I will be doing power on stalls on Thursday and more traffic pattern work with takeoffs and landings. We also talked about spins. I found out today that I will actually witness a spin first-hand and have to get out of it myself. I know the procedure, but the thought of intentionally spinning the plane just does not seem right. I happen to have an instructor that does spin training. How lucky am I?!? He showed me some videos shot from inside of the cockpit while he performed spins in a Cessna 172. I'm sure it will be an experience to never forget. He also showed me a cross-control stall where the plane actually inverts (yes, you are upside down) before going into a spin. Maybe I should eat a light lunch that day... :-). All of this of course is to get me familiar with what could happen and how to recover. This prevents you from going into shock because you have never experienced it. I just hope I'm ready for it.

My next lesson is this Thursday morning at 10am. The weather is forecast to be good. Hopefully I can polish up on my landings. That is after a few power on stalls to get the adrenaline flowing!

Lesson 2

Lesson 2
Flight time logged:	1.3 hours
Total flight time logged:	2.0 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	1
Total cost to date:	$346

For lesson two, I selected another CFI. I believe I found a great CFI that matches my personality. I believe I will stay with this CFI through the entire training. Today, I taxied much better. I controlled the plane on taxi, run-up, and actually performed my first takeoff. We departed to the Southeast. There was little to no turbulence below 3,000 feet. We climbed to 6,000 feet. For this lesson, I basically combined lesson 1 and lesson 2 into one lesson. For this flight, I performed the following:

• Straight-and-level flight
• Climbing turns
• Descending turns
• Best glide speed/gliding
• Slow flight
• Steep turns
• Spirals
• Multiple power off stalls
• Controlled communications
• Traffic pattern
• Assisted landing

I was able to keep my assigned air speed within +/- 10 knots during the takeoff climb. I also leveled out and maintained assigned altitudes within +/- 100 feet (This is better than the +/- 200 feet required at this stage). All of my climbs stayed with +/- 10 knots. All of my descents were within +/- 5 knots. I also kept my assigned headings within +/- 10 degrees. My CFI gave me remarks of "excellent" for climbs, and "good" for turns and descents. I felt much better about my ability to fly after this lesson.

This was also my first experience actually stalling the plane. It was a little un-nerving at first, but because I knew what to do to get out of a stall, I was actually very comfortable doing it. Of course this was just the power off stall. The power on stall is coming up soon. Not to mention spin awareness. Roller-coaster rides in the air, anyone?

I also flew my first approach today. I entered the traffic pattern on downwind following behind a Beech King Air. On final I had assisted control from the CFI in to the landing. It was like a short field landing in that we did not use much of the runway. In fact, we stopped short of the first taxiway.

After post-flight procedures, my CFI sat down with me and went through a debriefing of the day's lesson. It was nice to review the lesson plan objectives and get feedback. He also checked of my Cessna Pilot Training Course forms for Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 in my syllabus and online. I felt like I could continue my training with this CFI because he was meticulous and disciplined. I signed up for my next three lessons with him. My next lesson is Monday. This time it will be in the late afternoon. I hope there's little to no turbulence again!

First flight

Lesson 1
Flight time logged:	0.7 hours
Total cost to date:	$123

Well the weather was much better today: clear skies and light winds from the NW. I was ready for my first lesson. I arrived about ten minutes before my lesson just in case I needed to do anything before the lesson. The C172R I reserved for the lesson was not back from a previous flight, so the instructor wanted to do some ground schooling while we wait. My six months of studying paid off at this point as I was ahead of the ground school lesson the instructor began teaching. Once she determined that I was proficient in the concepts she was teaching, we went to check on the C172R. It had returned, so now we could start the practical training.

I was prepared to go through the structured list that came from my Cessna training course Lesson One. In this lesson, I would do the following:

• Preflight
  
• Engine starting and warm-up
• Taxiing
• Before Takeoff check and Runup
• Normal Takeoff and Climb
• Climbs
• Leveloff
• Trimming
• Straight and Level
• Positive stability
• Medium banked turns
• Descents
• Normal approach and landing
• Postflight (post-landing checklist and parking and securing)

I was concerned that the instructor did not really look at the lesson plan and was more concerned with showing me a first flight. We started the preflight at around 11:15 am. I went through the checklist one item at a time slower than normal since this was my first time. After the preflight, we had to report a flat spot on one of the main tires, so we walked back to the office where the instructor showed me how to "squawk" an issue. We walked back to the C172, but then the instructor went back to get window cleaner to clean the windshield. By this time it was 12:00 pm. I should have been in the air by now. The rental was only until 1:00 pm.

I ran through the engine start procedures and started the engine. The instructor let me taxi to the run-up area. There we did the engine run-up procedures. I then taxied up to the hold line for Runway 25 and call the tower with a "ready for takeoff". There was traffic inbound on a long final, so we were cleared for an immediate takeoff. The instructor took over at this point, rolled out to the runway and performed the takeoff.

We climbed to 3000 feet and headed north. Once the instructor leveled off at 3000 feet, I took control again. The turbulence made the flight really bumpy and made it very overwhelming to control the plane. The instructor asked what time it was, so I told her it was 12:50 pm. We had just past over my house. The instructor called the tower with our position and a request to land. I then made a medium bank turn to the right to turn the plane to the south. I actually did better than I figured I would on the coordinated turn. It was much smoother flying in that bank than straight-and-level with the turbulence! The tower directed us to enter the pattern on right base. I descended to pattern altitude and entered the base leg. The instructor then took over, flew the final leg and landed the plane. I taxied back to the ramp. I wasn't confident enough with my taxiing to park the plane in between two others, so I let the instructor do it. I went through the post-flight procedures, helped tie down the plane, and then went back to the office. It was now 1:05 pm.

I was very disappointed because I did not get to fly as long as I expected, at least enough to learn something. I felt like I was more on a discovery flight and not a first lesson. The only items from the pilot course that I accomplished were the following:

• Pre-flight
• Engine starting and warm-up
• Taxiing
• Before takeoff check and engine run-up
• Trimming
• Straight and level flight
• Medium banked turns (I don't think one turn counts, though)
• Descents (Again, I don't think one short descent counts)
• Post-flight

No one took the form from the Cessna Pilot Course Lesson One plan to check off what I accomplished and sign the form. The instructor did not even take it on the flight. I signed up with this school because of this structured pilot course, but it seemed like it was not being used. Since this was my first flight, though, I decided to let it go and see how the second flight goes. I'm also going with another flight instructor. I go up again Friday as long as the forecasted rain stays to the west until late afternoon. I am hoping for smoother air and more flying time for Lesson 2.

Rain delay...

Unfortunately, my first lesson was canceled today due to the weather. A severe thunderstorm came through the area this morning leaving behind high gusting winds for the rest of the day. A turbulence AIRMET was issued for the area -- meaning it would be a VERY bumpy ride in a light airplane -- so the flight instructor and I agreed to cancel. I was looking forward to my first day, but now I'll just have to wait until Wednesday. The forecast for Wednesday is for clear skies so it should be great! Keep your fingers crossed!