more time aloft

went flying again yesterday. steve decided maybe we should try some power-on stalls to get me used to stalling and recovering without having to worry about adding power, turning off carb heat, and decreasing flaps. so recovery from power-ons is a bit easier than power-offs in that regard. however, they are a bit scary. the real point of power-on stalls is to be able to identify and avoid them when they occur unexpectedly--which would usually be on takeoff. so nose is pitched quite high and full power is on. almost feels like a fighter (: after this profile is established, just hold it and wait for plane to slow down and stall. after stall, just push forward and recover. much easier in that regard than the power-offs.
however, we ended up unintentionally doing a couple half spins. a spin comes about from an uncoordinated stall, and is aggravated by using ailerons. directional control in a stall is accomplished using rudder. so naturally, i of course am used to keeping wings level with ailerons, would throw the ailerons over in an attempt to keep wings level. also, wasn't using enough rudder for awhile on entry either. so yea, we spun a couple times. not full spins, but definitely entered them. good thing we were flying around at 4500, so we were about 3500 agl.
it also didn't help yesterday that winds were kinda brisk, kept tossing the plane around at altitude. but they really became evident on turning from downwind to base once the plane was broadside. definitely required a lot more pulling back than normal. but base to final was not bad at all, lining up with the runway pretty accurately. the wind was again slightly broadside, tossing us around on the way down. so steve definitely talked me through the landing again, but it was all flown by me.
was supposed to have another flight today, but it got moved to tomorrow. i'm guessing a couple more power-ons, then power-offs. after that, i'm guessing ground reference maneuvers are the next order of business, but i can't say for sure. we'll see. but what i do know is that my radio is on point. and apparently atc can understand what i'm mumbling. haven't gotten a "say again, please" yet. anyway, bis morgen. auf wiedersehen!

stalled

sorry guys, i guess i slacked off a little and didn't update for a little while. so i figured i'd better change that. my last flight was almost two weeks ago, on cinco de mayo. was a pretty busy day up in the practice area, but still had a productive time up there. we did power off stalls. the time before that, we had done slow flight, so it was the natural progression. although i've spent a decent amount of time looking at aerodynamics and lift theory, i'll admit that i was still a little apprehensive at the prospect of "falling out the sky" before we began. nevertheless, we went up and steve demonstrated the technique then handed over the controls to me mid-stall and told me to recover. turned out to not be as scary as i had originally feared, although i am in no way dismissing the vigilance that one must have surrounding stalls, especially outside of straight and level. after recovery, we climbed back up to altitude and did a couple more iterations of power offs before heading back for the landing. tower cleared us for 26l this time, and we went in for an uneventful landing.

although cinco de mayo was the last time we got up, we did have another lesson scheduled last tuesday as well. i had specifically started scheduling my classes in the afternoons to avoid the june gloom that is all too common in the socal mornings this time of year, but to no avail. so on tuesday, weather was still below minimums to allow us to fly at 1500 and my cfi really hadn't the slightest idea of what we should do. finally decided to just go out and taxi around the airport, lol. i know how to taxi a plane, but actually taxiing isn't always as smooth as desired. driving cars probably has a big thing to do with it, but i'm defnitely getting better. so we just taxied around the airport and got a bit of gas. was also a nice time to practice talking to atc and getting a feel for ground ops with a couple planes in the circuit.

anyway, that's the news for this week. at least so far as has already been completed. i have a flight scheduled for thursday morning, but if this weather continues in this manner, i imagine another ground lesson is in the works. also had one scheduled for today, but we just cancelled it outright. we'll just have to wait and see.

hours are accumulating

sorry i didn't update sooner...had two more flights last week: thursday and friday mornings. thursday, we did some more work on steep turns. it was nice, i showed a definite improvement from tuesday's introduction to the maneuver. i had much better control of the roll in and out, of holding altitude, and of holding bank the entire way around the 360. it also meant i had much improved form in my regular four fundamentals. much better control at holding altitude and speed then making changes to either one without changing the other. also did my first landing. tower cleared us for landing 24r and so i was flying as we entered the pattern downwind, turned base, then final like we had in the past. but then instead of taking the controls like he'd done the previous times, he just kept talking me through it and then i realized we'd landed. the taxi back and tie down was uneventful.
friday's flight was all about slow flight. friday was also quite a beautiful day out, so to say we were joined by others in the sky is not an understatement. we actually got responses when talking on the radio out in the practice area. after doing another steep turn or two, we set out about slow flight. steve demonstrated the technique: pull back, decrease power, add flaps once in the arc. then it was my turn. as friday was quite a bit of a bumpy day, there wasn't the level of cooperation from the plane that might have been optimal. the goal was to maintain altitude while flying along at barely above stall speed. but this was frequently interrupted because we would hit an updraft or downdraft and 4gm just wouldn't climb. anyway, after tooling around about to stall all day long, we headed back. tower gave us 24l this time, and i flew the entire approach to landing under guidance again myself. however, did have a minor snafu at maybe 15 agl. asi was showing a speed that was very close to stall and it seemed (to me, anyway) like we were still a bit high to flare. so, exactly how does one counter a stall? glad you asked! stalls are best avoided by lowering the nose and/or adding power. of course, it looked perfectly fine to steve. he continued to round out to the flare, while i attempted to lower the nose then flare. so we ended up with a combination of both. we definitely got our cardio for the day with that little stunt. i dare say i was distracted by the p-51 mustang and b-24 liberator that were preparing to take off (p-51 was actually holding short pending our landing).
anyway, that's all i have. next flight is supposed to be tuesday morning. menu is calling for some more steep flight then probably power off stalls. (look ma, no lift!) i'll be back with a report.

hours are accumulating

sorry i didn't update sooner...had two more flights last week: thursday and friday mornings. thursday, we did some more work on steep turns. it was nice, i showed a definite improvement from tuesday's introduction to the maneuver. i had much better control of the roll in and out, of holding altitude, and of holding bank the entire way around the 360. it also meant i had much improved form in my regular four fundamentals. much better control at holding altitude and speed then making changes to either one without changing the other. also did my first landing. tower cleared us for landing 24r and so i was flying as we entered the pattern downwind, turned base, then final like we had in the past. but then instead of taking the controls like he'd done the previous times, he just kept talking me through it and then i realized we'd landed. the taxi back and tie down was uneventful.
friday's flight was all about slow flight. friday was also quite a beautiful day out, so to say we were joined by others in the sky is not an understatement. we actually got responses when talking on the radio out in the practice area. after doing another steep turn or two, we set out about slow flight. steve demonstrated the technique: pull back, decrease power, add flaps once in the arc. then it was my turn. as friday was quite a bit of a bumpy day, there wasn't the level of cooperation from the plane that might have been optimal. the goal was to maintain altitude while flying along at barely above stall speed. but this was frequently interrupted because we would hit an updraft or downdraft and 4gm just wouldn't climb.
anyway, after tooling around about to stall all day long, we headed back. tower gave us 24l this time, and i flew the entire approach to landing under guidance again myself. however, did have a minor snafu at maybe 15 agl. asi was showing a speed that was very close to stall and it seemed (to me, anyway) like we were still a bit high to flare. so, exactly how does one counter a stall? glad you asked! stalls are best avoided by lowering the nose and/or adding power. of course, it looked perfectly fine to steve. he continued to round out to the flare, while i attempted to lower the nose then flare. so we ended up with a combination of both. we definitely got our cardio for the day with that little stunt. i blame it all on the p-51 mustang that was holding short waiting for us to land.

flyin' again

had another flight yesterday (well i guess it's now technically thursday, so tuesday)! we apparently spent the longest time aloft yet. it almost got cancelled on account of weather, but by time we finished pre-flighting and got around to taking off, it had cleared up enough to allow us vfr conditions for our area of flying. lesson of the day was steep turns, but on account of it having been a good bit of time since i last flew, we spent a few more minutes on four fundamentals as well. it was a little challenging because although the clouds had cleared in our area, they were not gone completely. consequently, the clouds and the horizon were not very far apart and made establishing straight & level a little more challenging than last time. this was not at all helped by the choppy air that required constant inputs to return the plane to the desired altitude.
once we got that all figured out, we proceeded to the steep turns. main difference between regular and steep turns (at least imo) was how to increase alpha without increasing bank angle. i actually started out doing perfect steeps: holding altitude, holding bank angle. not sure what happened, but that regressed as the lesson progressed. on landing, he had me fly all the way until we were crossing the fence, when he took over for the actual landing part. i feel like i will probably be getting an opportunity to land the plane myself within the next week or so. i'm not sure whether to be excited about that or scared. but in either case, i'll have a clearer picture after the lesson tomorrow. got a meeting scheduled for 0900. more steep turns are on the menu, then we'll see what else he has for me. until then, au revoir!

time: 1.1 hrs
tt: 3.5 hrs
tit: 3.5 hrs

third time's the charm

sorry i didn't update sooner. i need to get better at this. anyway, i had my third flight friday. another fun time flying around. took off from 24r again, then headed over to the santa fe practice area. worked on getting my straight and level flight perfected, but it was liberally interspersed with climbs, descents, and turns. i'm getting the hang of the whole thing now. managing the power for an ascent or descent out of a cruise. also tried a few climbing/descending turns with varying degrees of success. i'm definitely not going to be winning awards for those yet, but they're coming together reasonably well. my cfi also added the element making some of those turns compass turns and noting the corresponding accelerations depending on which direction we turned.
after i'd say a good 45 mins of sky play, went back down. i flew the entire approach until we were very far downwind on final, at which point he took controls and we glided with the stall horn for probably a good 500'. (yes, downwind on final. as it turned out, the variable winds suddenly found direction suspiciously close to 080.) then more time with taxi. doing much better following centerline (taxiway is somewhat sloped and the plane has weak right rudder), and didn't hit the wing on any taxiing crj-700s.
next flight is planned for wednesday. since we didn't do steep turns friday, wednesday will probably be the day. i have my reading already done too. he didn't mention anything else in the plans, but i'm guessing a couple more shots at compass turns as well as climbing/descending (turns). and maybe we'll get into the lower end of the planes operating regime aka slow flight.

second flight

had my second flying lesson this afternoon. this time, a significantly higher amount of time was spent flying as compared to last time. my preflighting must be getting better. after performing the preflight, we went ahead and taxied again. i'm getting better at driving airplanes. only tried to turn it with the yoke once and stayed more on center this time. the run-up was standard as well. also, my radio comm nervousness from last time was greatly diminished this time around. cfi didn't have to interject this time. we received our clearance for departure and took off from 26r.
last time, we only had enough time to do a single lap around the pattern. this time, after taking off, we spent a good 20+ mins going over the four fundamentals of flight and their relation to each other. also spent time establishing the sight picture which is of course very crucial to the vfr/beginning pilot. a couple ascents and them some turns in both directions. i was trying to keep my focus outside and not on the instruments, but i apparently keep overbanking the normal turns, so he mentioned going straight for steep turns next time. of course, definitely doesn't mean i'll just bypass normal turns altogether.
anyway, that's the update for today. maybe one of these days i'll drag along the camera. but quite honestly, i really lack the time to sit around snapping pictures at this phase in the training.

time: 0.8 hrs
total time: 1.4 hrs
tit: 1.4 hrs

first flight

sorry it took so long to update the blog. but last monday, 4 april 2011, took my first flight as a student. my logbook now includes 0.6 hours of flight time. nothing phenomenal, really. started off with weight & balance since we expected to actually fly today. cessna 152s don't hold a lot at all. then we went over a preflight again, checking out the plane and just making sure it's ready to claw for the sky. then we went ahead and taxied out to the run-up area, did a run-up, then took off. as it was getting near the end of our lesson time, we only had time for a flight around the pattern then landed again. also, as kpoc is a towered class d field, i got a first chance at radio comm. needless to say, i need to have a little more practice on that front. i guess i'll have plenty time to work on that since i need at least 39.4 more hours before i can get certificated. can't wait for wednesday's lesson!

total time: 0.6
time in type: 0.6

lesson one

kinda forgot about this [b]log for a while, but not anymore. had my first lesson last week, on tuesday at 0700. traffic on the way over was much better than i expected, but i'm thinking i just was actually too early for the rush hour rush. anyway, this first lesson did not get us in the air due to time restrictions. what we did do was go over some final paperwork in getting the flight training started and the policies/procedures of flying with them. then we went over the syllabus and what was expected of me as a student as well as what i would expect him as the cfi to provide for me. after that, we went out to the plane.
the flight school i'm flying with is known as college aviation, and is affiliated with the mt. san antonio college in walnut, ca. the flight training itself happens out of brackett field (kpoc) in nearby la verne, ca. makes for a real easy trip between class and the hangar. they serve between 60 and 70 students with five aircraft: a cessna 150, two cessna 152s, a cessna 172, and a piper arrow. flying isn't cheap, but in the grand scheme of things, and especially considering current fuel prices, their rates are reasonable--about $30/hr cheaper than any of the other schools i've seen across all models and including instructor.
anyway, back to the lesson. this instruction was pure ground only, but not ground classroom work. we went out the the plane and did a walk-around. for my training, i am planning to do most of it in the 150/152s since they're the cheapest. (a checkout in type is much cheaper than total training in type, and flying is about experience in the air first, then what the experience is in.) so the plane we had last tuesday was one of the 152s, n--968.
instructor showed me how to do the walk-around. (not necessarily in this order) fuel--amount and all sumps. airframe for any damage or corrosion. control surfaces and their connections, checking for rust and the like. making sure everything was connected correctly. oil level, cowling, prop. and that was more or less where we left off. i presume that on monday, we'll probably continue on into a more thorough preflight, with starting the engine and checking for oil pressure, checking mags, etc. maybe get up in the air for a lap or two around the pattern. can't wait to start making marks in my logbook (:. auf wedersehen.

first flight...not

last thursday, i was scheduled to have my first flight at 0530Z with the california aviation services flight school located at the riverside airport (kral). so i headed out with all intentions of flying. but my first lesson was rather quick, and consisted of only one activity: learn to read the weather reports. i was somewhat oblivious to the wind as i left the house. but upon arriving at the airport, i noted that the windsock was straight, a strong indication that there would be no flying that day. upon going into the office, this sinking suspicion was confirmed. so the first flight will have to wait a little longer.