Finally! Today was the first day of classes for the spring semester. Along with classes which meet on the campus, I’ll be flying on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays at 12:15 pm to 2:30 pm (1215 to 1530 or 1715 to 1930 zulu time). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fly today. The weather was below the VFR minimums for student pilots (3 SM visibility and 1000 feet ceiling) so I had the chance to brush up on flying. I haven’t flown in about 5 weeks and some of the information has slipped my mind. I ended the last semester by doing two solo flights and leaving it at that since my flight debit account ran out of money.
This semester, I have a new flight instructor, whom I met with today, and went over key aeronautical points. Because he is a new instructor, he cannot just let me go out on a solos. He has to endorse me that I’m ready to solo because, previously, my old instructor endorsed me. Since the new guy hasn’t seen me fly yet he’ll have to make sure, himself, that I’m ready to go. To do this, we went over the written test I took for the Stage I check ride. I had gotten a 95% on the test, but we still went over each answer to make sure I knew what was on it. I did well, only needing help on one or two questions, and my new instructor, Drew, said that all we need to do now is fly so I can show him my skill level. I want to fly twice before soloing again, but if all goes well without first flight, I’ll solo after that.
After we went over the test, and reviewed a few more things, I had to update the documents which expired while I wasn’t flying. One of the things I needed was the new FAR-AIM (federal Aviation Regulations – Aeronautical Information Manual). This book comes out every year on New Year ’s Day and is updated with changes from the past year’s edition. Generally, only a few changes are made, and the ‘meat’ of the information contained in the book stays the same. More information HERE about the FAR-AIM. Another thing I had to get was the new aeronautical charts. These come out every few months for the same reason as a new FAR-AIM. Changes are made to the charts from the old ones. Changes could include the demolition of a building, or a new building, changes to airspace, or airport information. It’s illegal to fly with outdated charts so getting the newest ones is something all pilots must be on top of. Another document which I could have gotten was the Airport/ Facility Directory, or the A/FD. This book contains information about all the airports in the specific region. For me, it would be the northeast region of the United States; with a total of 8 regions. I decided not to get this yet since I won’t be needed it until later in the semester.
Hopefully Wednesday will come with better weather and I’ll be set to take to the skies once again.
This semester, I have a new flight instructor, whom I met with today, and went over key aeronautical points. Because he is a new instructor, he cannot just let me go out on a solos. He has to endorse me that I’m ready to solo because, previously, my old instructor endorsed me. Since the new guy hasn’t seen me fly yet he’ll have to make sure, himself, that I’m ready to go. To do this, we went over the written test I took for the Stage I check ride. I had gotten a 95% on the test, but we still went over each answer to make sure I knew what was on it. I did well, only needing help on one or two questions, and my new instructor, Drew, said that all we need to do now is fly so I can show him my skill level. I want to fly twice before soloing again, but if all goes well without first flight, I’ll solo after that.
After we went over the test, and reviewed a few more things, I had to update the documents which expired while I wasn’t flying. One of the things I needed was the new FAR-AIM (federal Aviation Regulations – Aeronautical Information Manual). This book comes out every year on New Year ’s Day and is updated with changes from the past year’s edition. Generally, only a few changes are made, and the ‘meat’ of the information contained in the book stays the same. More information HERE about the FAR-AIM. Another thing I had to get was the new aeronautical charts. These come out every few months for the same reason as a new FAR-AIM. Changes are made to the charts from the old ones. Changes could include the demolition of a building, or a new building, changes to airspace, or airport information. It’s illegal to fly with outdated charts so getting the newest ones is something all pilots must be on top of. Another document which I could have gotten was the Airport/ Facility Directory, or the A/FD. This book contains information about all the airports in the specific region. For me, it would be the northeast region of the United States; with a total of 8 regions. I decided not to get this yet since I won’t be needed it until later in the semester.
Hopefully Wednesday will come with better weather and I’ll be set to take to the skies once again.
