Lesson 19 - Solo 2

Lesson 19 - Solo 2
Flight time logged:	1.6 hours
Total flight time logged:	26.9 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	103
Solo time:	0.6 hours
Total time solo:	1.6 hours
Total cost to date:	$4452

Today was a little cooler than last week, but it was still hot at 90 degrees. The wind was out of the NW at 10 knots. Luckily, there were no gusts. I flew my instructor over to Winder to practice a few touch-and-goes with short and soft takeoffs and landings. I believe I'll just have to get use to this bumpy air because it seems to always be bumpy every time I fly. I don't mind the up and down movement of the airplane. That doesn't bother me. It's the rolling that bothers me. I don't like when one wing gets pushed up unexpectedly by a thermal or gust of wind. I guess it takes experience to get use to flying in these conditions.

After Winder, I flew my instructor back to the flight school, dropped him off, and then proceeded back out to do some touch-and-goes at LZU solo. This was the first time I soloed at LZU. LZU has a tower and a lot more traffic than Winder. At one time, I was number four in line to land. I also had to extend my downwind due to a Learjet coming in to land. I slowed the plane down just as my instructor taught me so that I would not extend the downwind too far out. After seeing the Learjet pass me on final. I turned onto base keeping in mind that I need to stay above the jet's flight path to avoid wake turbulence. As I turned final, I aimed for a point just in front of where the Learjet touched down.

After three touch-and-goes, I taxied back to the school. I knew that I needed to get back to work since I was on a project deadline and did not want to be thinking of that while flying. Not to mention, it was past my lunchtime and I was getting hungry. :-)

I flew solo for 0.6 hours of the 1.6 hours today. I am supposed to fly solo to Winder tomorrow and practice short field landings there. My instructor wants me to get in 1.5 hours of solo time tomorrow. I'm hoping for good weather, light winds, and a not-so-bumpy flight.

After I return, we are going to put together a nav log for my first short cross-country flight. It is tentatively scheduled for July 5. I'll be flying south to Baldwin County airport in Milledgeville. My instructor will be with me for this flight, but I'll have to do the same flight solo in the near future.

Lesson 18

Lesson 18
Flight time logged:	1.4 hours
Total flight time logged:	25.3 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	95
Total cost to date:	$4245

This hot weather just keeps getting hotter! You know it's hot when you are sweating when doing the preflight before getting in the cockpit. Today my instructor had me fly "under the hood" again on departure from the airport. He had me fly headings and then do a VOR cross-check to determine my position by using a sectional chart. Since the air was really bumpy, I was really having a hard time dialing in the nav radio and setting the OBS since the plane was not steady. I'm sure with practice it will get better. Again, it's one of those things I know how to do; it's trying to do it while doing ten other things at once that makes it a challenge.

Anyway, I found that I was on approximately on the 85 degree radial from the ATL VOR and the 235 degree radial from the AHN VOR. Looking at my sectional (while also watching airspeed, altitude, keeping the wings level, looking out for traffic, etc.), I picked the spot where the two radial crossed. According to this point, I was just north of the Covington airport. My instructor had me remove the "hood" so that I could see outside. I looked around, made a turn to the right, and then noticed Covington airport off to my right.

I then proceeded to Covington airport to do some short and soft field takeoffs and landings. My instructor showed me how slow I could actually fly on final and still keep the airplane from stalling. This made me feel much more comfortable with slowing the airspeed below what I was used to flying. After a few touch-and-goes, I flew back to LZU.

It was just barely VFR flying conditions because the visibility was only three miles. We had tons of haze and smog. As a matter of fact, the news reported that today was a red alert smog day. At 3500 feet, it was really hard to make out objects in the distance.

We both we glad to get back to the air conditioned office. Rain was forecast for the weekend, and I was really looking forward to it.

Lesson 17

Lesson 17
Flight time logged:	1.2 hours
Total flight time logged:	23.9 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	88
Total cost to date:	$4008

It was another 100 degree day. I hope the weather goes back to normal. I was grounded earlier by bad weather, now we really need the rain so I'm all for it coming back. I keep getting stuck with mid-afternoon lessons, so I have to deal with the heat and thermals caused by it. You know it's hot when the density altitude at LZU is above 3000 feet!

The lesson for today was navigation using VORs. My instructor had me fly south from LZU an intercept a VOR radial from the Athens (AHN) VOR. I had to fly away from the VOR on the radial. I then had to tune in the Atlanta (ATL) VOR and intercept a radial, flying towards the VOR. My instructor then had me turn 180 degrees, fly to another AHN VOR radial, then track it back towards the AHN VOR. All of this included the basics of identifying the VOR by listening to the Morse code, turning the OBS to select the radial, then tracking the needle. I knew exactly what to do, and have done this many times before on the simulator, but actually doing it while really flying in bumpy air was a challenge.

Lesson 16

Lesson 16
Flight time logged:	1.5 hours
Total flight time logged:	22.7 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	85
Total cost to date:	$3800

Today was an introduction to turning stalls. In past lessons, I had to perform power-off and power-on stalls keeping the airplane coordinated and from turning to the left or right. Now I had to tack on the addition of banking five degrees to the left or right. Banking the airplane before stalling does not feel natural, and it is very difficult to make yourself do.

After practicing stalls, I practiced steep turns again. My instructor complimented me on my steep turns. It's nice to get compliments that make you feel like you're making progress.

Engine failure! Well, not exactly... my instructor pulled the power on me to simulate and engine failure. I was at 3,500 feet (2,500 feet or so above the ground). I immediately setup the plane in a 65 knot glide and started looking for a place to land. My instructor reminded me that I need to turn the plane in order to look 360 degrees around my location. As soon as I turned 180 degrees, I found a runway. It just happened to be Monroe airport.

After lining up with the runway, I ran through my checklists. First I tried the engine restart procedure. Then I ran through the engine out procedure. As I was approaching the runway, I could tell I was still too high. I needed to lose altitude. I had already extended the flaps fully, so a forward slip was out of the question. I performed a 360 degree turn to try to lose altitude. After the 360, I was right upon the threshold. I touched down gliding from 3,500 feet. It was a nice feeling.

I spent the rest of my lesson time practicing short and soft field takeoffs and landings at Monroe. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it now. Practice makes perfect though.

Lesson 15

Lesson 15
Flight time logged:	1.5 hours
Total flight time logged:	21.2 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	79
Total cost to date:	$3520

My Tuesday lesson was canceled due to the first tropical storm of the season moving across the southern part of the state. The feeder bands caused overcast skies and IMC. My instructor canceled by lesson since conditions did not satisfy the VFR minimums. I try to always schedule three lessons a week just in case one gets canceled.

Now that I'm past my first solo, it's on to the next stage of my training. This lesson introduced soft field and short field takeoffs and landings. Unlike last week, I was back with a mid-day lesson. It's been hot lately -- in the mid-90s -- so I was anticipating a bumpy ride on the rising thermals.

After the preflight my instructor jumped in the passenger seat ready to go. The winds were light today with not much of a crosswind. I taxied out after getting my clearance. A jet was waiting at runway 25 for information from Atlanta approach, so we requested an intersection takeoff. This was a first for me but not a problem since the runway is 6000 feet long, I had plenty of runway to use. I taxied down to the first taxiway intersection and was cleared for departure. I performed my first short field takeoff.

I flew over to Winder to practice short and soft field takeoffs and landings while remaining in the pattern. As the time progressed, the temperature had become hotter. After about six or seven landings, the thermals started to bump me around. I knew that I had been over controlling the airplane in the past when I encountered turbulence or thermals such as today, so I asked my instructor how to handle them. He showed me how to let the airplane ride the "bumps" by just keeping a light touch on the controls to keep the plane from making any abrupt maneuvers. I feel a little better now about handling the thermals. I just need more practice to become more comfortable.

Lesson 14 - First Solo!

Lesson 14
Flight time logged:	2.0 hours
Total flight time logged:	19.7 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	69
Total cost to date:	$3233

Well, the day finally has come! Today I finally soloed! The lesson started out strange though. I was assigned to another plane, 62X, because "my" plane (81J) was just back from maintenance and was rented out to someone else.

I went out to the plane and started the preflight. After checking the circuit breakers, I turned on the master switch, lowered the flaps, turned on the lights, checked the annunciator lights, and then checked the fuel gauge. The annunciator lights looked like the "FUEL" light was out, and the fuel gauge reported only 10 gallons of fuel in each tank. I quickly walked around the plane to check the lights. The taxi light was out, but the strobes, beacon, landing, and nav lights were working. I turned the lights off and master switch off. I figured that I had better call the fuel truck, so I walked back to the office and called for fuel.

After returning back to the plane, I remembered that sometimes the fuel gauge can be faulty. I checked the fuel by looking in each tank. It was full! "Strange," I thought to myself. I quickly called the fuel truck to cancel my request. I finished the rest of the preflight and entered the cockpit with my instructor. I mentioned my findings to the instructor. I then prepared to start the engine. I turned the master switch on but heard nothing. Normally you hear the gyros spinning up. We tried the avionics switch and again heard nothing. The battery was dead. Apparently it had enough power to extend the flaps and burn the lights for a few minutes.

We secured the plane and returned back to the office. It turned out that "my" plane, 81J, was on the ramp and available to fly. I picked up the flight bag from the dispatcher and proceeded to preflight the plane. I suppose I was meant to fly 81J today.

I flew over to Winder to practice touch-and-goes with my instructor. My second landing was awesome, and my traffic pattern transitions were so smooth that my instructor gave me great compliments on how it felt like a pro was flying. I was really feeling better today about my abilities and was more confident.

On the fourth landing, my instructor asked to be let out, that he did not need to be there anymore. I asked him to show me the proper technique for a taxi-back before leaving though since I had to do three taxi-backs for my solo. I taxied back around to the runway, communicated my intentions on the CTAF, and then started to take off. After lift-off, my instructor pulled the power stating "engine failure". I immediately set my glide speed and floated back to the runway. He was impressed and told me I was ready to go solo.

I taxied over to the main building at the airport, shut down the engine, and let my instructor out. He endorsed my logbook and student pilot certificate making me legal to fly by myself. After he walked inside, I performed my startup checklist and taxied back to the runway. My instructor warned me about the airplane taking off and climbing faster since it was lighter. He wasn't kidding! I was up to 500 feet AGL in no time.

Everything went well during the solo flight. I had a few other planes in the pattern, but they did not bother me at all. I followed the process that was drilled into my head. My landings went well. It was a great experience. I taxied back to the main building where I secured the plane and met my instructor at the on-field restaurant for some lunch.

At lunch, we talked about the next steps: short and soft field takeoffs and landings, navigation, night flying, and the cross-country flights. I'll be working on short field takeoffs and landings at my next lesson. I'm looking forward to the cross-country flights. I think everybody does when they are learning to fly.

After lunch, we got back in the plane. My instructor sat back as a passenger and let me fly the two of us back to LZU. As usual, we received a straight-in final approach from the control tower. It was a hot day (95+ degrees), so it seemed like we could not descend at all. We ended up coming in high and having to forward slip to lose altitude. I made a good landing and taxied back to the ramp.

After securing the plane, my instructor took my picture next to it.


As with tradition, he cut the tail off of my t-shirt and wrote the info about my solo on it.


I'm required to fly solo for at least five hours, so I'll be heading out to practice alone in the future. It is great to finally achieve a grand milestone along the way to my Private Pilot License!

Thanks to everyone supporting me, especially my wife Brandy!

Lesson 13

Lesson 13
Flight time logged:	1.4 hours
Total flight time logged:	17.7 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	61
Total cost to date:	$2938

It was another beautiful morning. Just I had expected my "bird" 81J was not out of maintenance. Instead I took 6CP today. This was also an interesting day to fly since everyone was making a big deal about the date: 06-06-06.

Today's lesson was nothing but more of the same: takeoffs and landings. I headed over to Winder to practice more touch-and-goes. The active runway today was Runway 5. This would be my first time using this runway. It has a displaced threshold so you have to adjust your landing somewhat.

After several touch-and-goes, I flew back to LZU to do a few more touch-and-goes there. All of this time, my instructor just sat as a passenger giving me tips to help me along the way. After taxiing back and securing the plane, my instructor indicated that I would be doing more of the same at my next lesson, then possibly a solo. I wonder if I'm ready...

Lesson 12

Lesson 12
Flight time logged:	1.5 hours
Total flight time logged:	16.3 hours
Total takeoffs/landings:	53
Total cost to date:	$2707

I was finally "back in the saddle" again today. The weather for this week is looking good, and today was no exception. Of course, it helps to have a lesson in the morning. This was the first week I actually was able to schedule morning lessons. Another student always seems to get the morning slots every day, but this time I put myself on the schedule two weeks out just to have some morning flying time.

I wanted to practice my slow flight, stalls, and steep turns again since it has been six weeks since the last time I performed these maneuvers. I flew myself and the instructor over to the practice area and began to run through the list.

I performed slow flight (straight and turning), followed by a power-off stall, then a power-on stall. Even though it had been six weeks, my instructor said that I was still doing well on these maneuvers. I was a tad bit rusty, but after warming up, I was back in the game again. I also wanted to get more instruction on emergency procedures and how to best find a field to land on, so my instructor showed me a few fields and private landing strips in the area.

He then wanted me to practice my steep turns, but to throw in some added difficulty, my instructor covered up the instruments forcing me to literally fly by "feel" and sight alone. I used Stone Mountain as my starting point of reference, banked to the left into what felt like a 45 degree bank, keeping the horizon at the same level, and then turned out right as Stone Mountain came back into view. I immediately banked right, again into what felt like a 45 degree bank, keeping the horizon at the same level all the way around. As I banked back to straight-and-level flight while facing Stone Mountain, my instructor removed the cover from the instruments to show me how I rolled out within a couple of degrees of my original heading and how I did not lose any altitude at all. I was somewhat surprised since I was use to using the instruments to keep my altitude and to turn out at the right time.

A few minutes after my steep turns practice, my instructor pulled the power on the engine and announced engine failure. I ran through my ABCs (Airspeed - best glide speed, Best field for landing, and Checklist). I was near a grass strip of a private airport. It happened to be about 180 degrees behind me. I made a 180 degree turn to the right until the strip came into site. I was at 65 knots and descending about 500 feet per minute. As I lined up with the strip, I went through my engine restart checklist: fuel on both, fuel shutoff value in, mixture rich, aux fuel pump on. Then I went through the engine failure checklist: fuel shutoff value out, mixture idle cutoff, ignition off, radio "Mayday", squawk 7700, seatbelts secure, doors opened and jammed. I had plenty of altitude, too much in fact, so I extended the flaps fully. I was still high, so I did a 360 degree spiral to lose altitude. Coming around to line up again with the strip, I finalized the checklist: flaps were already down, avionics off, master switch off. Of course all of this is simulated; I really did not turn anything off. At about 300 to 500 feet AGL, I applied full power and initiated a go-around: achieve climb with positive vertical speed, retract flaps one notch, enter normal climb speed and attitude, and then retract remaining flaps.

I left the practice area and headed back to LZU. The winds were out of the NE, so Runway 7 was the active runway. I did a few touch-and-goes before my time was up. My landings were getting much better -- but that was partially because I did not have gusting winds today.

Next lesson is tomorrow morning at the same time. My instructor told me that we would spend the lesson doing takeoffs and landings over at Winder. I'll most likely be flying a different plane (different ID but still a C172R) tomorrow since "my bird" is going in for its 100,000 hour maintenance today.

New toys

This past Sunday I finally broke down and bought a headset and a handheld transceiver. In my "downtime" of my last few "lessons", I asked the CFIs at the school with assistance on buying a good headset. They all recommended David Clark, and my research had revealed the same, so after even more thorough research, I went out to Sporty's online and bought the DC 20-10S headset.


I also wanted an aviation band scanner, but my instructor told me I should spend the extra few dollars to get a transceiver instead. With this, I would always have a backup radio for communications. I'm going to take it to the airport this weekend to try it out.