Lesson 9: Takeoffs feeling good, landings... not so much

Plane: Champ
Instructor: Joe
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Clear, 79 degrees, wind 210 degrees at 12 knots

Went up with Joe for the first time in a couple weeks this evening. A little windy, but it was coming straight down the runway and the weather was otherwise gorgeous for flying. We spent the whole lesson in the pattern, working on takeoffs and landings.

For the first time, takeoffs felt pretty good throughout the entire lesson. I was using the right amount of rudder (for the most part) and kept us tracking straight down the runway, including compensating for the gyroscopic forces that make the nose want to turn left when you bring the tail up. Even got a better feel for slowly bringing the stick back and letting the plane fly right off the ground when it's ready. After lifting off, I generally did a decent job of tracking the extended runway centerline mainly using a little rudder here and there as needed. I'm thinking that this is what Dave mentioned last lesson about one day things just "click" and it's definitely a good feeling. There are still plenty of things I can fix with my takeoffs, but I feel like I made some serious progress today.

So even with all I just said above, what good are good takeoffs if you can't get the plane back on the ground? Ok, so I did bring us down each time... but it wasn't always pretty. This was the first time I've had semi-strong winds coming right at me and that was causing some issues with me on landing. Take a look at the GPS track and you'll see my pattern wasn't ever all that consistent after I turned crosswind. Most of the times up to this point I have come in high, but instead I got too low (obviously the least preferred position to be in) on quite a few of my approaches. When I was too high, I attempted to use a forward slip to bring us down but I was apparently letting the nose go way up and pulling slightly back on the stick when I banked over. That's very bad, since you could easily stall and go into a spin in such a configuration. Now I can tell you that I felt like I was pushing forward, but clearly I don't have the right sight picture and feeling for where the controls need to be when using slips so close to the ground. Joe talked with me about it but it just wasn't clicking tonight for some reason.

Since I was having issues on approach, by the time I was close to the ground and ready to flare I was pretty much "behind the plane" and did not bring the stick back fast enough. We didn't smash into the ground or anything, but I was not paying enough attention to my altitude and my flares left a lot to be desired. The last landing felt like I flared well and kept us on the ground but it was after a very hairy approach so, while nice, it was partly due to luck since I hadn't been controlling the plane properly leading up to touchdown. So overall this lesson's sort of difficult to qualify - I feel good and confident that I made a step forward with takeoffs, but I think I may have taken a step backward on the landings. I'm not discouraged, though, and can't wait to go up again on Tuesday to hopefully iron out getting myself back on the ground!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.2 hours
Total Time: 11.5 hours

Lesson 8: S-Turns and random helicopters

Plane: Champ
Instructor: Dave
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Clear, 85 degrees, wind 210 degrees at 5 knots

One of the ways to really test your piloting skills (or develop them) is to fly ground reference maneuvers. The idea is to follow a course on the ground - which sounds simple enough until you remember that the wind's blowing up in the air. In the case of S-Turns we use a long straight road as the reference point. Then the goal is to fly half-circles of a constant radius, one half on each side of the road, resulting in a "S" shaped track across the ground. When crossing the road the ground track should be perpendicular and the wings level. You have to adjust the bank angle throughout the maneuver as the wind pushes you off the desired ground track.

S-Turns over a road

We flew to a road a few miles from the airport and worked on S-Turns for about 20 minutes. Like I mentioned above, it's harder than it sounds with the wind constantly blowing you off course to varying degrees. I seemed to be having the most trouble when turning into the wind. You can see my tracks over the ground in the Google Earth file linked at the bottom of the post. For my first time it was a decent performance, but I need plenty of practice before I'll be performing them up to Practical Test Standards.

As has been the norm lately, the second half of the lesson was spent in the pattern. My first takeoff and landing actually felt very good - I tracked straight down the runway for a smooth liftoff, flew a nice rectangular pattern, and brought the plane back down softly. For some reason, the rest weren't as good. I was over-correcting with the rudder on takeoff and often came in high and had to work on holding in enough bank on my forward slips to bleed altitude on final. It's still night and day when compared to a couple weeks ago, but I know that there's a lot more practice ahead before I feel like I'm really "getting" takeoffs and landings.

I'll close with a reminder about being aware in the air at all times... when we were on downwind and turning base for the second or third landing, I caught a helicopter out of the corner of my eye flying slightly below (at about 1,500 - remember that pattern altitude is 1,800) and towards us. He wasn't in the traffic pattern and probably didn't even realize he was flying over an airport - it can be hard to spot a grass strip even if you're looking for it and know it's nearby. There's no way to know if he even saw us up there, but it's a great reminder of the importance of using a pilot's ultimate collision avoidance system - our eyes.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.3 hours
Total Time: 10.3 hours

Lesson 7: Spins all by myself

Plane: Champ
Instructor: Dave
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Scattered clouds and haze, 83 degrees, wind 210 degrees at 8 knots

Today I took an extended lunch and drove down to Waynesville to spend an hour in the Champ. It was warm and humid on the ground but the cool air was wonderful once we got above 3,000 feet - I would have stayed there all afternoon if I could have. Before heading out to the plane, Dave and I went over the second half of the Pre-Solo Written Exam that I finished as homework after Joe and I started on it last week.

Any apprehensiveness I still held towards spins disappeared over the holiday weekend. While they were completely new to me last lesson and the sensations take some getting used to, I actually was excited to get back in the air and do some more. So today I asked Dave if we could work on them a little bit and I got to do two of them completely on my own. We took off and departed the pattern to the East, climbing to 3,500 feet. Once there, I added carb heat and reduced the power to idle and brought the stick back all the way until we stalled. When you get to that stall, just kick in full rudder and the next thing you know you're pointed just about straight at the ground and rotating quickly. Then you kick in full opposite rudder to stop the rotation and pull the stick back to raise the nose and stop your descent, then increase the throttle to hold altitude. Pulling out of the dive is when you feel the most G's (about two) but it really isn't an extremely forceful maneuver.

I made one spin to the left, climbed back up to 3,500 feet, and then made one spin to the right. Each spin was only about one full rotation (called an Incipient Spin) and I lost about 500 feet in altitude each time. The sensation was different as the one in control of the aircraft, a little more subdued. There's a good chance that was because a) it was not my first time and I wasn't nervous and b) I was busy actually flying the airplane. Either way, I really enjoyed doing spins on my own. They're a hell of a lot of fun - seriously, I'm surprised it's not illegal to have so much fun. I could have spent the whole afternoon up there enjoying the cool temperatures and spinning all over the southern Ohio farmland. In the future, I'd like to try climbing up higher and practicing fully developed spins where you make more then one or two rotations.

For a better idea of what a spin looks like, check out these two videos...
YouTube: Outside View | Inside View

Unfortunately we only had time for those two spins so I flew back to the airport and practiced takeoffs and landings while flying the pattern. We had a very slight crosswind (nothing like what we had last lesson) so I had to use a minor Side Slip on final to keep us aligned with the runway. My first approach wasn't very good - I could tell I was fast but then I thought I would be alright and didn't use a Forward Slip to bleed off altitude and airspeed. Bad decision as we floated way down the runway and had to go around. Dave said he could see improvement over the next three landings as I better utilized the slips to bring us down smoothly. There were some thermals (rising air) on the Downwind leg of the pattern so I had to take reduce power somewhat earlier to keep the descent on target during the approach. Takeoffs are also starting to feel better and I think I actually managed some decent flying of the airplane off Terra Firma this afternoon. A great day to fly and a ton of fun in the air - this is the life!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.9 hours
Total Time: 9.0 hours

Lesson 6: Spinning around

Plane: Champ
Instructor: Dave
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Few clouds, 82 degrees, wind 220 degrees at 16 knots gusting to 24

There is no electric starter on the little taildraggers I fly since they don't have an electrical system, so hand propping is the only way to turn the engine over. Up to this point in training, I have been inside the plane at the controls (and on the brakes!) while the instructor has propped the plane. Today it was my turn to learn, so Dave went over all the steps with me and had me get a feel for things. Very important safety note - you ALWAYS expect the prop to come to life, so any time you pull it through you must immediately move back and to the side just as you would if you were trying to start the engine!

After the instruction, we put fuel in the Champ and it was my turn to do it for real. First you call out "brakes set, stick back, throttle closed, switch off" and, once confirmed, you push straight back on the propeller to check the brakes. If they're holding, you then pull the prop through a couple revolutions to help prime the engine. Then you call out "throttle cracked, contact!" and pull the prop through again - it took me two times and the engine roared to life. No, it's not the absolute safest practice in the world but when done properly and with the necessary precautions it works very well. Personally, I was surprised how easy it was but definitely had plenty of respect for the power and danger of the spinning prop. You can get an idea of what I was doing if you take a look at this video.

Out of all the maneuvers that I have to learn and practice during my training, I've only been apprehensive about spins. Maybe it is because I had never done them before or maybe it's something about watching the ground go around in circles while quickly falling. I flew us up to 3,500 feet and Dave took the controls for a demonstration after I practiced a few stalls. To go into a spin, you have to be stalled and then you kick in full rudder which pulls the nose to one side. Because one wing drops first, the wings are each stalled to a different degree and the one on the outside (opposite the direction of the spin) is less stalled. This produces additional lift and causes the plane to spin and since barely any lift is being generated, you drop at the same time. While you don't fall completely out of the sky, we lost about 400 feet in altitude with each revolution. Doesn't seem like much, but if you go into an inadvertent spin a few hundred feet off the ground on final approach... Yup, that's why we practice them.

Now that I've done them, what do I think? Well during the first spin (ok, and the second) I held on to the frame of the plane and kept my hands off the controls. Didn't want to grab onto the stick and pull back or push forward during the somewhat instinctive reaction to reach for something when you're falling. Really, the G forces are not that strong - only about 2 Gs. And I did not really feel dizzy even though the ground is definitely spinning rapidly and you are pointed straight down. The second time I felt better and could have had Dave demonstrate some more, but we headed to the airport to practice in the pattern. Now that I've been back on the ground for a few hours I think they're a ton of fun and am looking forward to doing them on the next lesson... and I know that they won't feel nearly as intense once I get a few more under my belt.

Since it was so windy, today was a perfect opportunity to practice crosswind takeoffs and landings. What is a crosswind? Well, airplanes always want to take off and land into the wind and when it's blowing anything other than directly towards you that's called a crosswind. On days like today when it's strong (like 20 mph) you really have to practice the techniques required to keep the plane in the right place. You have to fly a crab, which means flying towards the wind so that you actually track in a straight line across the ground. The crab direction changes as you fly different headings throughout the rectangular traffic pattern. On the ground, you hold the ailerons into the wind so it doesn't get underneath the wing and flip it up while taxiing and during the takeoff roll and landing rollout.

Once you get down to about 10-20 feet above the ground, you transition from the crab you have flown on the approach into a Side Slip so that plane is pointed directly down the runway. With the wind coming from the left today, I slipped by lowering the left wing into the wind and using right rudder to keep the nose aligned with the runway. This was my first experience with "real" crosswinds, so it was a great opportunity to get up and get more comfortable with a bumpy, windy day in the sky and learn the proper flying techniques. Dave said that he could see me improve from the beginning to the end of the lesson and I do think I made at least one rather good landing and one rather good takeoff, so progress continues!

Hope you all have a great Fourth of July... I'll be back flying next Monday.

Flight Track: Sorry - forgot the GPS today!
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Total Time: 8.1 hours

Medical: Check!

Cross another item off the long to-do list of the steps required to obtain my Private Pilot Certificate. Today I went to an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) which is a doctor authorized by the FAA to conduct examinations for medical certificates. It's pretty much a standard physical along with a few other procedures: checking for color blindness, getting to pee in a cup, and every guy's favorite part - the hernia check.

To go a little more in-depth, I want to discuss the three different classes of medical certificates. Each higher category involves a slightly more thorough examination and includes or supercedes all requirements in lower classes. However, these higher classes are generally only necessary for exercising the privileges of more advanced pilot certificates than the basic Private Pilot that I am training for. Also to note, since I know a lot of people wonder about this, is that for any class of medical you may wear glasses or other corrective lenses for all vision testing.

• Third Class - necessary for Private and Recreational pilots, along with Student pilots flying solo, valid for 3 years (2 years if you're over 40 when it's issued)
  
• Second Class - requires better vision than a Third Class and is necessary for Commercial pilots, valid for 12 months
  
• First Class - the most restrictive class and the exam includes an EKG, necessary for Airline Transport Pilots (the airline folks), valid for 6 months
  

I passed as expected and walked out of there with a Third Class Medical Certificate and my Student Pilot Certificate. For whatever reason, the FAA has it set up so your student certificate and medical come together on a single piece of paper. What that means is I can now legally fly solo once my instructor says I'm ready - yikes!