| Check-ride Prep 7 | |
| Flight time logged: | 1.1 hours |
| Total flight time logged: | 51.5 hours |
| Total takeoffs/landings: | 161 |
| Solo time: | 0.0 hours |
| Total time solo: | 10.2 hours |
| Total cost to date: | $7580 |
It was a nice day to fly today! Not to mention today is my birthday. Today my plan was to do a simulated check-ride with the chief flight instructor. It would be one last time to practice before the real deal.
After taking off, I climbed to 3000 feet and headed toward the practice area. I practiced slow flight, power off stalls, power on stalls, and steep turns. My instructor indicated that I did fine and would pass this section of the check-ride without a problem. I then headed to Winder to practice short- and soft-field take-offs and landings.
As I crossed over Winder airport to enter the left downwind for runway 13, I had to perform a simulated engine out. As I was turning from downwind to base, I was asked to perform a turning forward slip to lose some altitude. On final, I setup my glide speed for a normal landing. At about 10 feet off of the ground, I was asked to go around. I put in full throttle, started to climb, and slowly retracted the flaps.
On the next circuit around the pattern, I had to perform a soft-field landing. After the landing, I had to perform a soft-field take-off. Again, I did well and would have passed if I was taking the real exam.
After the soft-field takeoff, I flew the pattern again to setup for a short-field landing. After the landing, I performed a short-field take-off climbing at 57 knots. That pretty much covered everything, so I left the pattern to head back to LZU.
In the pattern at LZU, as I turned onto final, my instructor pulled the mixture to idle and cut off the engine. Usually, he just pulls the throttle to idle to simulate an engine out. This time he really stopped the engine! I quickly went through my engine out checklist checking the fuel selection, shut off, and pump. Because the propeller was wind-milling (still turning), all I needed to do was push the mixture back in to the full position and the engine started again. Actually experiencing this makes you realize how keeping your calm and knowing what to do can actually make the situation an easy one to handle.
After parking and securing the airplane, my instructor and I went back into the office to discuss scheduling the check-ride. Right now I am mainly worried about the windy weather and not my piloting skills. I believe I can pass (and so does my instructor).
It's final now. My check-ride is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7 (one week from today) at 1pm CST. I'm taking my check-ride in Huntsville, Alabama. We'll be departing at 10am that morning in order to get there and have enough time to review and get some lunch before the exam. It's been a long journey, but now I can finally see the end. Of course the end is really the beginning of being a private pilot!
