| 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!
