It’s been 1 month, 2 weeks and 3 days since my last flight; it felt like 3 when I got up there today. Today was the first day that I got to fly for the new spring semester. This means a few things. One thing is that I was in the plane, for the first time, without Chris, my former instructor. My new instructor Drew is just as cool as Chris was. Drew graduated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical College, Daytona Beach FL, and moved back up here once he graduated to work his hours up. I personally like that because most of the instructors at Farmingdale are alumni of the program. The experience and advice I get from Drew is a little different, allowing me to see how flying is done from school to school. All flight schools in the United States teach the same exact materials, but each school goes about teaching with their own style.
A small example of this was when descending to go back to the airport. I got to the checkpoint, a beach just south of the airspace, and radioed the tower: “Republic Tower, Farmingdale State 22 at Captree with information Juliet.” This is how I was accustomed to radioing the tower that I was ready to land last semester. However drew told me that he personally states his altitude. This way if other planes are near Captree and want to go back to Republic, then the tower knows which one I am, the one at the reported altitude.
Today’s lesson was primarily to get the rust off. I ended last semester by doing two of my three solos. It was a good spot to end because once a student pilot solos, he or she is able to continue to the next stage of the private pilot course. However, I still have the third solo to do before I can start learning new things. The third solo is the most fun (from what I hear from friends who’ve already done it). Unlike the first two, the third solo flight is unsupervised. This means that my instructor won’t be listening to my calls on a radio back in the briefing room. I’m all on my own, and I get to leave the airspace and fly out over the ocean! In order for Drew to let me solo he needs to see my fly. Chris was satisfied how I flew for him, but because Drew is a new instructor he must sign off for me to solo. Besides getting the rust off, I showed drew my level of skill. During our post flight brief, Drew said that he was confident I’ll only need one more flight before I can do the last solo.
My flight block is at 1515 zulu, or 12:30pm. I was anxious all morning, just waiting to get in the plane. I wasn’t nervous, but I was just hoping that I hadn’t forgotten too much of flying. The moment I started the engine, it felt like I flew yesterday. Everything started to come back to me; and I was even doing things without thinking of them. The muscle memory I gained from flying last semester had stayed with me all winter break long. A good example of this was when I did a power off stall. This is where I induce a stall while approaching the runway for a landing (of course, we practice the stall and recovery at altitude so if we mess up, we don’t crash.) On the climb out of the airport, and airspace, Drew told me what he wanted me to do stalls and slow flight. I realized that I haven’t a single stall, nor read up on one, in 6 weeks. We got to the practice ground and I got the plane configured for practicing maneuvers. As I slowed down the plane and threw the flaps in to practice the approach to a landing, I realized that I was doing things, and manipulating the controls, without really thinking of what I was doing. I just did it. It surprised me how much came back the moment I needed to do something.
No touch and goes today, or new maneuvers, but a good first lesson for the semester. I’m excited about having a new instructor (a different mind to teach me), dong the last solo, and getting ready for cross country flight.
What I Learned Today:
Today, even though it was a refresher lesson, I learned more than I thought I was going to. Something my last instructor never told me, which Drew must have said half a dozen times was “fly the airplane, don’t let the airplane fly you.” What this means is that students don’t need to be so subtle with the controls. The plane won’t fall apart if I’m firm with control inputs. If the planes doing something I don’t want it to do, I’ll make it stop. If I want the plane to descend, climb, or hold altitude, I’ll make it happen. It’s important to know this because if you let the plane “fly” itself it’ll fall right out of the sky.
A small example of this was when descending to go back to the airport. I got to the checkpoint, a beach just south of the airspace, and radioed the tower: “Republic Tower, Farmingdale State 22 at Captree with information Juliet.” This is how I was accustomed to radioing the tower that I was ready to land last semester. However drew told me that he personally states his altitude. This way if other planes are near Captree and want to go back to Republic, then the tower knows which one I am, the one at the reported altitude.
Today’s lesson was primarily to get the rust off. I ended last semester by doing two of my three solos. It was a good spot to end because once a student pilot solos, he or she is able to continue to the next stage of the private pilot course. However, I still have the third solo to do before I can start learning new things. The third solo is the most fun (from what I hear from friends who’ve already done it). Unlike the first two, the third solo flight is unsupervised. This means that my instructor won’t be listening to my calls on a radio back in the briefing room. I’m all on my own, and I get to leave the airspace and fly out over the ocean! In order for Drew to let me solo he needs to see my fly. Chris was satisfied how I flew for him, but because Drew is a new instructor he must sign off for me to solo. Besides getting the rust off, I showed drew my level of skill. During our post flight brief, Drew said that he was confident I’ll only need one more flight before I can do the last solo.
My flight block is at 1515 zulu, or 12:30pm. I was anxious all morning, just waiting to get in the plane. I wasn’t nervous, but I was just hoping that I hadn’t forgotten too much of flying. The moment I started the engine, it felt like I flew yesterday. Everything started to come back to me; and I was even doing things without thinking of them. The muscle memory I gained from flying last semester had stayed with me all winter break long. A good example of this was when I did a power off stall. This is where I induce a stall while approaching the runway for a landing (of course, we practice the stall and recovery at altitude so if we mess up, we don’t crash.) On the climb out of the airport, and airspace, Drew told me what he wanted me to do stalls and slow flight. I realized that I haven’t a single stall, nor read up on one, in 6 weeks. We got to the practice ground and I got the plane configured for practicing maneuvers. As I slowed down the plane and threw the flaps in to practice the approach to a landing, I realized that I was doing things, and manipulating the controls, without really thinking of what I was doing. I just did it. It surprised me how much came back the moment I needed to do something.
No touch and goes today, or new maneuvers, but a good first lesson for the semester. I’m excited about having a new instructor (a different mind to teach me), dong the last solo, and getting ready for cross country flight.
What I Learned Today:
Today, even though it was a refresher lesson, I learned more than I thought I was going to. Something my last instructor never told me, which Drew must have said half a dozen times was “fly the airplane, don’t let the airplane fly you.” What this means is that students don’t need to be so subtle with the controls. The plane won’t fall apart if I’m firm with control inputs. If the planes doing something I don’t want it to do, I’ll make it stop. If I want the plane to descend, climb, or hold altitude, I’ll make it happen. It’s important to know this because if you let the plane “fly” itself it’ll fall right out of the sky.
