March-July 2004
On page links to specific dates:
31Mar04, 07Jul04, 12Jul04, 13Jul04, 14Jul04, 17Jul04, 19Jul04, 22Jul04, 27Jul04, 29jul04
31
Mar 04: I've been getting some questions
on how my Pilot Training is going. Since I haven't done much updating on the
site lately, I thought I'd take the time to explain what was happening with it.
Everything is still a "go." It's just on hold for a couple of months for a
few reasons. A: The weather turned crappy, so we were waiting for it to get
better. We don't get much of a winter down here, but when we do, it's cold, wet,
and just plain nasty. All that is behind us now, so weather (besides the
rain) isn't a factor. B: We're waiting on the Falcon to get VERY close to
being airborne. Here's the reason. To get your PPL, you take ground school
and then flight training. When your flight training is complete (-ish), you
solo. Once you solo, you must acquire a minimum of 40 hours as PIC (Pilot In
Charge) in the air doing cross country flights, night flights and such.
(NOTE: The previous statement is incorrect: You must have a minimum of 40 hours
in your log book {both dual and solo} to apply to take your practical. I just
didn't know when I wrote that back in 2004) After you acquire those hours, you then take your "Practical." A test you
take on the ground and in the air with your instructor to make sure you have all
the do's and don'ts down and to make sure you can multi-task while flying the
airplane. It's the 40 hours PIC cost we are trying to cut down. To
get your hours, you must rent an airplane to fly. If we have the Falcon
airworthy by that time and I can get my instructor to sign me off on it, I can
use it to acquire my hours and pay only fuel costs. I will still rent the
C-150 (or 172) that I take my flight training in, so I can be proficient enough
to pass my practical in it, but most of the hours will be flown in the Falcon at
a fraction of the 50-80 dollar rental fee of the 150.We have run into stumbling block after stumbling block trying to get the Falcon up in the air. Our first "drop dead date" has already been missed. It was the weekend of 20-21 March for the Cherry Blossom Festival and Fly-In. We missed it.. Now, our next date to make is 22 May 04. That is the EAA Chapter 38 Spring Picnic. Although it is held at the same airport the Falcon is hangered, we still want to be able to fly it around that day.
So, in a nut shell, that's where my flight training is. Waiting on the Falcon to get closer to fly. Once we are in the ballpark of getting it to fly, I'm going to hit Southeastern with both barrels. I'll be trying to fly and get instruction 2-3 times a week and will shoot to solo within about 2-3 months.
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07Jul
04: NOTE: Long entry due it being the
first actual flight entry...It has begun!!! We are finally close to completing the Falcon, so I decided it was time to start flying. I also had to get my "Honey Do" list down to a manageable level before I could dedicate the time to flying I need to, to finish the preliminary training (up to SOLO) before the end of the summer. My plans are to fly on Monday's, Wednesday's and some Saturdays. I had planned on going on Monday and then I remembered it was a Holiday, so I waited until Wednesday. I called Dad and told him I was going up that day and he said he would call me back. He used to run the Flight School, so I figured he was calling up there to "grease some wheels." He was. He called me back and told me to talk to Cecil Stewart, who is the Recruiter/Career Counselor for the flight school. I got to the school about 1530. Cecil met me at the door and went I introduced myself, he said they were expecting me and to "come on back." He took me to the processing area and introduced me to a couple people and told me my instructor would be right with me. My instructor for the day was my Dad's former instructor, Mandeep. Mandeep gave me the paperwork for a weather briefing, explained about getting one and then let me call the Macon WX station for a standard weather briefing for a local VFR flight for the local area for one hour. Boy, you think the title was long, listen to what a standard briefing has and you will be OVERWHELMED with all the information they give you. She said it's gets easier with time.. I'll take her word for it. After we got the briefing, we turned our paperwork to the office and headed out to the airplane. we climbed in the airplane and she started going over the preflight checklist. We checked the electrical system and set some outside settings (lights on, flaps down) and the stepped out of the airplane to finish the preflight. We walked all around the airplane checking lights, fuselage/control surface integrity, fuel contamination, brakes, engine fluids, antennas, untied tie-downs, etc, etc.. Took about 15 minutes. After that, we got in the airplane and finished the inside checklist. Then, we plugged in our headsets and talked over the radio and got all the settings set for takeoff. The then told me what to say over the radio and had me transmit it. "Macon Downtown, 604 alpha mike taxi-ing to runway 2 8." She then told me to give it power and taxi out to the runway following the yellow line. RULE #1: When you try to turn an airplane on the ground, you don't do it with the yoke!!! Of course, as soon as I gave it power, I just turned the yoke to the right. I knew better, but I was so nervous, I just did what came natural. Guess what, the plane went straight.. Mandeep, I guess, is used to seeing that and just said, "Remember, you steer with the rudder pedals." Uh.. Oh yeah.. I started steering with the pedals, and I'm here to tell you, that's not as easy as it looks. I was all over the place.. The whole taxi to the runway looked like it was piloted by an alcoholic at the end of a 3 day binge. I got there in one piece, but it was ugly. Mandeep set the plane at an angle for the run-up and we went through the run-up process. Power up with brakes, switch magnetos, look at pressures, temps, etc.. All is good. "Macon Downtown, 604AM preparing for takeoff." Macon Downtown (MAC) has no tower. You just transmit your intensions so any traffic in the local area will know what you are doing. We pulled out on the runway and set the plane in the middle. Or, as close to the middle as this two left footed pilot wannabe could get it. We stopped, she told me to give it full power, use my feet to stay in the middle and wait for the plane to start to get light.. Of course, she helped keep in the middle and then when she said to, I pulled back on the yoke. A bit too much. The plane started lifting up and the next thing I hear is the stall warning. She pushed forward on the yoke a slight bit and we went to a more conventional climb. We climbed out and she was explaining what to watch and what to do as we climbed to 2500 feet. After we had altitude she taught me the basics of turning using the ailerons and rudder and had me practice them.. Turn, keeping the turn coordinated and roll out at the correct time so you are pointed at your target when you finish the turn. After doing that a few times and actually getting it right, she decided to head on into lesson two. Slow flight. Same thing, but with slower flight, the plane has to be pitched up more and you view of everything changes.. We did that for awhile. Worked on climbs and descents, turns, etc.. While I was working on that, I was also working trying not to have a DEATH GRIP on the controls. I never did get it very loose, but that will come in time.. My hand used to cramp during my first few races because I was gripping the wheel so tight. I finally learned to loosen up there, I'll learn to loosen up here too. After all this was complete, my hour was about up, so we headed back to airport. Mandeep took the controls for the landing and we greased in for a smooth landing. After we slowed, I took the controls the taxi back to the ramp. That taxi was MUCH better than the first one and I even stopped (almost) on the marks for the tie down. A bit to the left, but close enough. We did the shut down and the post brief. As we were doing the post brief, Dad walked out to the ramp and got my camera to make a few pictures. (Shown below) After we went in, Mandeep made my first ever entry into my Pilot's Logbook. I also did my paperwork for the lessons, paid for my first block of time and met the School Chief Pilot, Bo George. They explained that Mandeep was pregnant and I would have to get another instructor since she would be taking leave soon. I will get my new instructor, Richard, I believe is his name, on Monday and we'll start the recurring lessons then. The day was a blast, but it was A: Dang hot inside that airplane. Outside temp was about 97. and B: Dang bumpy. The thermals rising from the ground were making it very bumpy up there.. I don't get motion-sick, but it's hard to learn when the plane is rising or dropping 50 feet at a time at any given instance. We'll be doing a lot of the training later on in the evening from now on due to the calmer weather at that time of day...
I had a lot of fun and I really think I'll be able to do this with very little problem. Just lots of practice..
Below are pictures taken from the day. Thanks to my Dad for taking them and being there to witness my first flight in the "left seat."
Time in Log Book: 0.8 hrs
L-R: Sign outside the flight school. Cecil and I doing paperwork. Mandeep and I after our flight.
L-R: The Alarus, 604AM. Left Front (with Dad's finger). Left rear. Cockpit.
L-R: The Alarus nose. Looking at the flight school from the ramp. My first log book entry.
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12
July 04: No flying. As stated on my
last entry, I was going to be assigned my "full time" instructor today. I
called the school to remind them and about 3 hours later, my instructor,
Richard Anderson, called me up. We discussed what I wanted my schedule to be,
what I hoped to accomplish during this training, how far I wanted to go with it,
etc.. We spoke for awhile and made an appointment to meet at the school
tomorrow at 1645. He seems to be a nice guy and, get this, he's only 22
years old. Although, that would bother a lot of 40 year olds (like
myself), but it doesn't phase me in the least. I know this school and if
he wasn't qualified to instruct, the flight school wouldn't have him instructing.
Age is nothing but a number to me. Actually, to have gone through all the
training, meet all the criteria and have enough personal responsibility to be a
full time flight instructor at the age of 22 is damn impressive to me. We'll meet face to face tomorrow and figure out our schedule during that
meeting.Top
13
July 04: Met with Richard today. Again,
it was a no flying day. We sat down and had a "Meet and Greet" session.
He found out what I was like, I found out what he was like. He told me
what was expected of me as a student, what and how he was going to teach me and
wanted to know what I expected of him as my instructor. Basically, it was
about a 1.5 hour BS session. I got a good feeling about him and I think
the training is going to go well. We're meeting tomorrow at 1830 for
Flight lesson #1.Top
14 July
04: Got to the school at 1800. Richard was supposed to be up with
another student, but he was waiting for me at the door. Bad news.
Density Altitude is higher than the airplane will allow. In layman's
terms: The air was too thin, due to VERY high temps (101 degrees) and humidity,
that the airplane would not fly. The engine wouldn't get enough air to run
right, the wings would not produce enough lift and the propeller wouldn't
produce enough thrust to pull the airplane through the thin air. So, with
the flying taken away, we decided to do all my paperwork and then do an hour of
classroom (Ground School) training. Now, I've already actually taken
ground school and passed my FAA Written test, but, there are still
some things I was lacking in and some things I still don't know. So, I use this
kind of time to learn that stuff and refresh on the stuff I've forgotten or
gotten rusty on over the last 6 months. After that was done, we scheduled
a 0900 flight on Saturday, 17 July. Hope for cooler weather.Top
