Lesson #7 - Good progress

Today's flight really felt like the end of a chapter. I was able to, without assistance, pre-flight the plane, taxi, do the pre-flight runup, takeoff, use visual clues to fly out of the ADIZ and then out to the practice area. I handled all radio communications with only slight coaching from my new CFI. I held altitude and heading, made smooth transitions on climbs and descents. All in all, I felt in control of the aircraft, and I felt one step of the game at all times.

Today was our last lesson on learning stalls. Everything was much, much better than last time. What I enjoyed about today's lesson is that we took 15 minutes before hand to talk over everything. We discussed spins using a handheld model plane for demonstration. We discussed all of the conditions needed to enter a stall, and all of the steps to get out of them. Thankfully, the FAA does not require spin recovery for the private pilot ticket. Still, it's good to have at least discussed it.

So, out to the practice area we went. Three power off stalls, one with the plane in a shallow bank. Power to 1500 rpm, speed down to 65 knots, add flaps. Slow down to 50 knots, pull the power to idle and bring the stick back until the stall breaks. Then it was two power on stalls. Again, things were much cleaner and easier than previous attempts. I was particularly solid on catching the plane when the right wing dropped(a good way for a spin to develop).

On the way back, I was able to pick up the railroad tracks, get us set up with the ADIZ, and find the airport. Again, all in all, I feel like my basic skills have picked up nicely. Next subject matter - ground reference maneuvers.

Bumpy Lesson - #6

Not much to write about. I'm still doing a little more each flight. A little radio, a little more control on takeoffs. Today was supposed to be more slow flight and stalls. Instead we had a pretty healthy dose of wind turbulence. We got knocked all over the place. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn't hold the plane straight or level. We stayed up for awhile trying to get a feel for it, but alas, we couldn't find any smooth air.

Today was also my last lesson with my CFI. He's moving on to a cushy gig down south. So, I can use his name. Scott Morris was a fine instructor, with a relaxed demeanor in the cockpit. He was very good at show and tell with the plane, too. Good luck, Scott!

Photos

When coming back after lesson #5, I had my CFI take the wheel so I could snap a few quick photos. I really want to get some of the Shenandoah mountains, but these will do for now. I'll keep dumping photos into this Flickr set and see how it shakes out.

My Flying Photos

Lessons #4 and #5

This was a big weekend of lessons on 10/8 and 10/9. I had never flown back-to-back days. I also was going to learn power on and power off stalls. A quick word on these. A stall is when the angle of the wings into the oncoming air exceeds a critical angle. At that angle, the air flowing over the wings is disrupted, and the wings cease to generate lift. It is not a big deal to recover, as long as you are aware of what is going on. This is most likely to occur during takeoff(pulling the nose up to avoid an obstacle) or coming in for landing(turn too late to make the runway, pulling the nose up to eek out a little more distance to runway). If you do not recover, and not recover in a specific way, a stall can develop into a spin, and a spin low to the ground(such as take off or landing) can lead to the NTSB scraping your dead carcass off of the ground.

So, up we go. At 4000 feet or so, we put the airplane into a similar position as it would be coming in to landing. After my CFI showed me how to handle stalls twice, it was my turn. Pull the nose up....up....almost....nose drops. That is how the plane is designed. All you, the pilot, needs to do is ease forward on the stick, and the plane basically does the rest. I didn't really understand this. So, when the nose dropped, I aggressively shoved the stick forward.

And suddenly, I was looking straight down at the ground, yelling "WHOA WHOA HELP!!!!"

Not my finest moment.

It took three tries to get it. My final power-off stall wasn't too bad. Nose dropped, we added power, and that was that. I was pretty cooked at that point, so we headed home.

Came back the next day to do more of the same with my regular CFI. I felt much better all around. Climb out and getting out to the practice area I was able to hold altitude pretty well, and felt like I was actually flying the plane. We did some slow flight to get warmed up, then into stalls. Both of them were OK, but I was still overcorrecting somewhat. He again pointed out that I was holding the stick too tight. "Hold it like it's covered in dog shit!"

We also did power on stalls. Basically, simulating a stall during take off. This was trickier because it feels like the plane is pointing straight up. The DA-20 I'm flying really doesn't want to stall. I did so-so. At least nothing like the panic the day before. After a half hour or so of this, we practiced a landing at Culpepper. New twist - about 8 miles out and about 4000 ft above ground, we cut the engine to see how far we could glide. Answer - a long way. On final approach, we were still so high we had to do a slow descending 360 degree turn to lose altitude.
Then back in the air and off to Manassas. One thing my instructor noted is that I have a good feel for landings. This is great, since we haven't actually gone over the them.