| Lesson 23 | |
| Flight time logged: | 0.8 hours |
| Total flight time logged: | 36.1 hours |
| Total takeoffs/landings: | 125 |
| Solo time: | 0.0 hours |
| Total time solo: | 4.4 hours |
| Total cost to date: | $5880 |
Today I had planned to fly with my instructor and practice stalls and other maneuvers to keep my skills in check. When I arrived at the flight school, I learned that a TFR (Temporarily Flight Restriction) had been issued due to the President's visit to Atlanta. Our airport was within the outer ring of the TFR but outside of the no-fly zone. The sky was clear above the airport this morning, and I was ready to fly. I was afraid that I would not get to fly today due to the TFR. Once my instructor arrived, however, he showed me what was needed in order to fly out of the TFR area.
Even though we were flying over to the practice area, we needed to file two flight plans -- one for exiting the TFR and another for re-entering. Before takeoff, we were issued a squawk code so the ATC could identify us flying out of the TFR. We successfully exited the TFR with no problems. However, weather turned out to be our next obstacle.
As we were heading towards Winder, the clouds started to build with bases around 2,500 feet MSL. I was flying at 2,500 feet. My instructor instructed me to climb over top of the clouds. They were broken so I could still see the land below. As I leveled out above the clouds, I was amazed at the scenery. The clouds below with a vivid blue sky above were amazing.
I did a couple of stalls, but the clouds were building around us. At one point my instructor had to take the controls to get us to a better spot. We descended through a cloud on the way back down to 2,500 feet. This was my first sensation of flying through a cloud. I now understand the "invalid" messages that your brain can send. My body felt like it was turning a different direction. I trusted the instruments though.
As we cleared the clouds I took over the controls. We were at 2,500 feet. The clouds were just above us. We were too low to practice stalls, and the visibility was getting lower by the minute. We decided to call it a day and head back. We called the FSS to open our return flight plan. They gave us a little trouble because of the TFR, but after acquiring a squawk code from Atlanta Approach, we were able to file and get back into the TFR. After that, it was a normal landing as usual.
Back on the ground my instructor told me to prepare for my solo short cross country. That would be my next flight and my first test of being pilot in command for a round trip of 120 nautical miles. It should be interesting.
