"New" Wings

This is "new" plane I'm flying - a Cessna 172P. (Uh - the date on the photo is just a little off. I hadn't reset the camera after it had been out of commission for awhile for repairs.)

More Landings...What else is there these days?

Today's lesson went very well. I'm much encouraged. I saw just another inkling of progress on my landings. I think I'm getting the level off a little better. I concentrated on controlling airspeed (but probably still need more work on that.) I haven't checked my logbook to see how many landings Justin gave me credit for, but yesterday was the first time I didn't have to do a single go-around. Yeah! That's progress. I'm hoping on Friday I'll finally get the flare totally by myself. Then I'll put the polish on the landing and then I'll solo...maybe, just maybe on my birthday.

A Few Lessons Later

I hate to admit it, but my lessons have become a little boring lately. All we work on are landings - but for good reason. I'm just not getting that last 30 seconds with the level off and flare. My progress is so slow. I only see teeny tiny increments of progress with each lesson. I've actually had 4 lessons since my last post. One of them was with Nora - a different flight instructor. Justin thought it might be helpful for me to fly with her and see if instruction from a different perspective/person would be helpful. I would say it was marginally helpful but it also served to confuse me. Not that I'm confused about what to do where, when, how, etc. It's just that my brain was programmed for Justin's way so it took most of the lesson for my brain to reprogram. Then I flew the next two lessons after that with Justin. Yesterday's lesson went better than the previous one. After my lesson on August 7th I was so frustrated with myself I wasn't sure I wanted to go back. But this is too much fun and I've come too far to quit. So... my lesson yesterday (8/10) was better thanks to some electronic coaching. (Thanks, Jay ;)
I think changing airplanes has had advantages and disadvantages. This is so silly, but the thing I like most about the "new" plane is the flap switch. The "old" plane just had a toggle switch that had to be turned on and off and you had to count three seconds to get 10 degrees of flaps, etc. It was easy to overshoot or undershoot the flap setting. Not a good thing on go arounds - of which I've done many. The new plane has the lever that moves straight down in increments for different flap settings. Much easier for me...except that I keep forgetting that second notch of flaps on base. I can't figure out why I'm forgetting such a routine thing. I think I've now had enough lessons in the new plane to have a better feel for how it handles. I'm hoping to see some significant progress during my next lesson. All I can do is hope....

Perfecting the Art of Go Arounds

Thinking about my last lesson on Thursday (7/26) still makes me laugh. Once again, all we did was pattern work trying to perfect the art of landing. I had other plans, though. I seriously perfected the art of go arounds. I DID manage one good landing. The rest were balked or (the few times I actually did touch down) were really bad. I even got the ultimate compliment from Justin, "That was your worst one yet!" What can I say? It was good for a laugh. If I don't laugh at myself (and keep trying with all due seriousness) I might quit. Quitting is NOT an option. I think I'll keep my sense of humor if Justin will keep his sense of bravery and patience.

Another Good Lesson

Today's lesson was in a "new" plane. It's a 172p and a little newer than the 172m that I had been flying. For the most part I really liked it. The engine has 20 less hp which I didn't expect to make much difference. Shows how much I know...lol Actually, it wasn't a huge difference, but it was noticeable. It seemed like the take-off roll was longer and it definitely didn't climb out as fast as the 180 hp that I've been flying. I think when I really get used to it, I might be able to fly it smoother than the other one. I thought steep turns and stalls were a little easier. Landings will take a little getting used to. The control wheel was a little difficult to pull back, but that has it advantages too. In what little time I flew the plane, the "stiffness" in the control wheel seemed to prevent me from jerky movements and over correcting. I'll have to evaluate that again on Thursday. Today's lesson was spent on the usual - stalls, steep turns, landings -but with an emphasis mostly on getting to know the plane. It was nice weather, little wind, a good instructor and, as always, great fun!

A Squeaker !!

During my lesson today, all we worked on were landings. I can't even guess how many times we went around the pattern - had to be about 10...at least. The wind, unfortunately wasn't in my favor, but in spite of it I feel like I did well on my landings...compared to usual. (Justin might beg to differ with me on that.) I have to admit, though, several landings were balked and we made go arounds. We were going around anyway, so what's the diff if I hit the runway or not...lol. I actually made two really BIG mistakes, though. One was popping the flaps up too fast after going full power on a go around and the other was a turn that was way too steep from crosswind to downwind. What can I say? It was definitely a learning experience and I'm actually looking forward to my next lesson. Oh, I forgot to mention "the squeaker"...the whole reason for the inspiration for this post. One of my landings was so nicely executed that Justin never touched the control wheel and I touched down with such ease and grace you would have thought I was a pro. It was THE most exciting moment so far of my flying experience. A landing TOTALLY executed by myself. There was a time when I thought I would never get to this point. There may actually be a solo in my future after all. Feeling hopeful once again!!!!

Long Overdue

I've thought about this blog so many times and I've finally decided to use it as a journal of my experiences learning to fly. I've been at it for a couple months now and I think I have about 14 hours of dual instruction. Sadly, I don't think I've very close to soloing. I don't know what the average number of hours are that people usually have when they solo, but I'm sure I'll be at least double that. I've been stuck on stalls and landings for awhile and I know there's more to learn after that before the solo. Ugh. But I just keep trying and I AM making some progress. At my last lesson (6/22) I did some better stalls and that was in very turbulent air. Next lesson (tomorrow) we're going to work on steep turns and more landings. One thing that has really helped me is a book call Private Pilot Maneuvers by Jeppessen. Studying the procedures step by step with such great graphics has been invaluable.

Blog beginnings

O.K. this is my third attempt at a blog. Life always gets too busy to keep up with it. We'll see what happens this time. I've kept this one private and mostly intend it for kind of a personal journal. Not sure if I'll share it or not. TBD