My Student Pilot's Log: Presolo

Flights 10-11

Flight 10: Wed, Dec 13: I Won't Laugh If You Don't. (1.3/11.7)

Today I did some steep turns and stalls (on purpose, but not together), which went well for not having worked on them the past two weeks. We reviewed the engine-out emergency procedures, then flew to Plant City (PCM) to do touch & goes. These were crosswind landings. (Quick student logic: wind about 10 knots, mainly from the north, runway heading east = crosswind.)

The crosswind gave some of my final turns/approaches the shape of a question mark as I turned a bit late and had to get lined up with the runway. (I had a private chuckle when my CFI did the same thing while demonstrating a "better" landing. It seemed a little impolite to laugh out loud at him, since his flying is usually so much better than mine. Looks like my influence is rubbing off.)

The landings went better than last time, especially the ones with decent approaches. Except for the demo, I think I did them all myself, so I've progressed from assisted mediocre landings to touching down in a halfway acceptable manner. There weren't any big bounces or drops. The main problem was pulling back a little early- a couple of so-so landings would have been good ones if I hadn't done that.

Another good thing today was realizing my mistakes earlier than I had been able to before. I recognized most of them right away, some even before I made them. Some other things are starting to fall into place. The best way I can think of to describe it is a higher awareness of what's happening, such as checking instruments or making adjustments at points where I hadn't before.

I'm still drifting off course in the pattern due to the wind, and not always turning at the ideal time, but I'm pretty happy with my progress. (Although it was embarrassing to fly right past our home airport on the way back without spotting it! I guess it's good that I hadn't laughed out loud at my instructor's landing.)

For those scoring at home, I've stuck with the 152 since Flight 3, except once when it was already booked.

Flight 11: Sun, Dec 17. (1.2/12.9)

Whoever had the 152 today didn't bring it back on time, so rather than wait we took a 150. That reminded me why we've stuck with the 152- the 150 just doesn't have the power, and having nearly full fuel tanks didn't help. The first three landings at Plant City (PCM) were just right; the wheels just touched the ground smoothly as if we had rolled down a ramp onto the runway instead of landing on it. The rest of my landings ranged from OK to passable, no really bad ones.

I'm told it's not unusual for the first few landings of the day to be the best ones- maybe doing a good one first makes a student a little overconfident. I certainly didn't think I was the new Chuck Yeager at that point; I was wondering what went right and how to repeat it, feeling more lucky than skilled. There was a crosswind, so I still had the question mark shaped approach a few times. (I've found that if I make the final turn "early", it turns out about right.)

I also did two landings with different power settings- one with the power on and one with the entire descent on idle, to simulate an engine out condition. (Usually I reduce the power at the beginning of the descent, then gradually to idle when we get close to the runway.) When we left Plant City, visibility was high enough that I could see downtown St. Petersburg and the Gulf of Mexico beyond it.

I'm getting better at announcing the legs of the pattern on the radio without being prompted. I think this was the first day I've used the radio with the plane under my control. Until now, I only announced takeoffs and my CFI's turns, and he did the rest of the radio work. I was pleased to find our home airport on the return since it was starting to get dark. The rotating beacon is a big help!