April 1996
I got my license to learn about noon on the 13th. (If you haven't yet read about
my checkride, do it now.) It was tempting to call some
friends and take them flying that afternoon, but after several days of
checkride prep, I needed a break. The next day a couple of us went to the
opening day of the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland. I
appreciated the airshow more than I would have before. The next day my friend
went out of town to take flight instructor training.
Some multi-engine time
On the 6th, my CFI had to deliver a twin-engine
Piper to another airport to get some avionics work done and invited me to
ride with him. It seemed odd sitting in the right seat, just watching him fly,
and I was surprised a few minutes into the flight when he asked if I'd like
to take the plane for a few minutes. It was my first time flying a twin, which
wasn't that different, since he was doing the additional instrument scanning
required. The big change was flying from the right seat. I didn't do anything
but straight-and-level flight (or at least attempted it), but I did get to
log a few minutes of multi-engine time. It was back to the 152 on the 11th
when I took another friend on an uneventful trip to Hernando County (BKV) and
Crystal River (X31).
Breaking in the new guy
I had a plane booked on the 19th to take another friend flying, but he couldn't
make it, so I decided to go somewhere alone and work on some things. I got a
message from my friend mentioned above that he was back home with his new CFI and
CFII ratings, so I left him one that I was flying that day if he wanted to join me.
I was a little surprised that he showed up, since I thought he might want a break
after all that flying. We headed for Sarasota (SRQ) to do some class C
work, but our radio was working so poorly that I called it off and went around SRQ's
airspace down to Venice (VNC). I put his new ratings to use on the way back
by flying most of the way under the hood. That gave me some "free" instrument time
and him his first instructor time.
I finished the month by getting checked out to fly a Warrior.
June
I put my new Warrior checkout to use on the 1st and 3rd, taking two friends
each time to Cedar Key and Venice, respectively. On the 2nd, I took the 152 to
Leesburg (LEE), doing some more hood work with my newly-certified CFI friend.
Since we were into the hot, humid, and heavy storm season, I didn't fly again
until the 30th. It was pretty hazy and cloudy that morning, but no thunderstorms were expected.
Since I plan to start working on an instrument rating in the fall, I'll be
trying to use my summer flights to prepare.
To get some more good radio experience, I flew to two unfamiliar class C
airports, Sarasota (SRQ) and Fort Myers (RSW). What a difference
from my Colorado trip- the Warrior seemed to climb like a rocket despite the heat.
I landed behind a departing 757 at RSW- a first time experience for me.
I flew back most of the way from RSW under the hood. Since I was pretty busy on the
radio, that leg was close to flying on an IFR flight plan. When we got back home and
parked, somebody walked over to hand us a checklist that he spotted on the
stabilator. (We were using one in a book and hadn't noticed the
loose one.) Somehow that piece of paper had blown out of the cockpit while we were
parked in Fort Myers, hit the outside of the plane, and stayed there the entire flight
back.
July-September
The summer was slow. I only flew a few hours in July and August, mainly
due to the hot and often
stormy weather. I don't envy the people working on their licenses in the Florida
summer (or the CFIs teaching them). I tried to finish my flights by noon,
since it's usually in the 90s (temperature
and humidity) by then. That also gets me back before the afternoon thunderstorms
arrive. It's not too uncomfortable at altitude if the plane has air vents
you can aim at yourself, but those minutes spent on the ground in the plane, especially
one that's been parked in the sun, are rough.
I found a plane to buy in July. I took possession of
it on Sept. 5 and spent the rest of that month getting to know it. (Read about it in
the Airplane Hangar.) I also crossed the
hundred-hour mark that month.
October-December
I started working on my instrument rating in October; most of my flights were for that.
(Read about it in
the Instrument Student's Log.) The end of the month was
also the end of my first year of flying. I ended up with 131.5 hours, which is a lot more
than I expected. By the end of November, I had passed 150 hours. The last 50 were all in
my plane in less than three months. I've logged enough cross-country time for my instrument
rating.
At Christmas I took a lesson in a 1995 Diamond Katana, which looks like a 21st-century Piper Tomahawk. It has a joystick instead of a yoke and a constant-speed prop, the first plane I've flown with either of those. Flying with the stick was a lot easier adjustment than I had expected. It
only took a few minutes to get comfortable with it. That was the first almost-new plane I've
flown.
Some of the other things that happened during this period were my first flight in clouds, first solo trips to a busy class
C airport, first instrument failure, and first
radio failure.
I also had an old radio replaced and bought a portable
GPS. I ended the year with 170 hours.
