My Student Pilot's Log: Presolo

Flights 5-7

Flight 5: Wed, Nov 22. (1/5.8)

There was a brush fire not far from our training area, which we flew over on the way. All that smoke made a great wind indicator. I got an introduction to steep turns and emergency procedures- what to do if the engine stops, how to find a suitable place to land, etc.

We simulated an engine-out condition by putting the throttle at idle while looking for a landing spot and going through some troubleshooting steps. For the rest of the lesson I practiced slow flight, stalls, the pattern, and some touch & goes.

Flight 6: Sun, Nov 26: Stuck on the Ground. (1.1/6.9)

I did the preflight checklist without supervision today; my CFI said there's no need to wait for him if I get there first. On the way from the hangar to the taxiway, I managed to do something he'd never had happen before.

I needed to make a sharp turn onto the paved taxiway. Since it takes more power to taxi through grass, I reduced the power before hitting the pavement to avoid shooting across it. I did that a little too soon; we got stuck in some dirt and had to get out and push the plane onto the pavement. No harm done.

I did some stalls, at least one of which was about ideal, then we reviewed the emergency procedures from the last lesson. I practiced flying in a circle around a fixed point on the ground (a turn around a point). The goal is to keep the radius and altitude constant, which would be fairly easy without the wind. My path was shaped more like an egg than a circle. We continued the lesson with more touch & goes.

My skills in the pattern need a lot of improvement; I tend to turn too early, too late, and/or too steeply. I'm not compensating for the wind properly, either, which I think is the main problem. Drifting off course makes the pattern different every time.

The bright spot today was that the last landing was all mine; the first one I've done without my CFI having to move the controls a bit. I still need coaching every time, but this is progress.

Flight 7: Sat, Dec 2. (.9/7.8)

A new maneuver today was attempting to fly a rectangular course using ground references; we used four major streets as the boundary. I practiced turning around a point, and then it was time for more pattern and landing practice.

The wind is still my enemy, which is throwing everything off just like the last time. We did a variety pack of six trips around the pattern, no two the same. The actual landings were- well, "acceptable" would be a stretch, but the wheels did hit the pavement in the right order, sometimes one side at a time.

I think the landings will be OK once I can fly a rectangular pattern and develop a consistent approach.