26 August 2007- Flight 9

More touch and go’s. Unlike yesterday, today was a great day to do them. The wind was almost straight out of the south at 8 or 9 knots. So no juggling today. I could concentrate strictly on my flare technique.

I think today was the least nervous I felt while getting ready to go up. I felt a little tension while we were taxing from the runup area onto the runway. However as I advanced the throttle and realized I had good control of the aircraft while accelerating down the runway, it felt good.

The winds seemed a bit stronger out of the south as I was in the pattern. It took some additional effort on the yoke to get out of the bank a few times. It was also a bit more turbulent as well. I think part of it was that we flew a few hours later than normal, so the ground had a chance to warm up and generate some thermals.

I am having some problems lining up on final. I am probably banking too much. When turning final, I am turning into the wind. So I have a lower ground speed. Just as in doing S turns, I should be banking less. Right now I find myself having to chase the end of the runway.

I did better on my flare and touchdowns, but more work is needed. I still have a problem with letting the nose drop just before touch down. Bob was constantly saying keep the nose up. Bob also had to correct me on not turning the yoke while flaring. This causes the wing to dip. I need to develop a feel for the resistance of the ailerons, so I do not deflect them.

I did do my own shutdown of the engine today. My mind went blank for a moment and I could tell Bob was about to tell me what to do, but I told him to wait. I finally got it straight in my mind and shutdown the engine properly.

There were a few aircraft in the pattern, but they must have been from somewhere else. They did one touch and go and then moved on. While in the runup area, we were able to watch a Beechcraft Bonanza on final do a touch and go.

Not much more to add. Until I get it right, it is more repetition. That is the only way to learn it.

Since next weekend is Labor Day weekend, I have lessons scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I may look into taking Friday off as well and get an extra day of flying in as well.

25 August 2007 – Flight 8

More touch and go’s today. We had some rain yesterday and early in the morning. When I got to the field the clouds were a little low, but good enough. As the lesson progressed conditions improved.

What made today a challenge was having a pretty good crosswind from the east. The wind was from 140 at about 10 knots. So this gives a cross wind of about 7 knots. This is the most I have had to deal with so far.

My takeoff rolls were good today. I did not drift around and held to the centerline pretty well.

The actual liftoff was a bit trickier because of the crosswind. While accelerating to takeoff speed I needed to hold the ailerons to the left. When I reached takeoff speed, about 65 knots, I pop the nose up and neutralize the ailerons. If you do not get it right, the plane will start skidding sideways because of the crosswind, which is hard on the tires and landing gear. I still do not quite have the feel for this and mostly I am relying on Bob’s prompting to handle the controls correctly.

Flying in the pattern is a little trickier as well. During the downwind leg, the crosswind would push us away from the runway. When turning into base, you are into a headwind. This gives you a lower ground speed, so less bank is required for turn. Bob had to prompt me several times to not bank so much and remember the work we did with S turns and turns around a point.

Getting lined up on final and flaring feels like a real juggling act. The ailerons are in one direction, the rudder in another, the elevator adjusted for flaring out and the throttle off when you make the runway. I am still not over my “driving the airplane”. I get the plane banked into the wind to stop drift, but when I apply rudder in the opposite direction I find myself releasing pressure on the ailerons. Thanks to Bob’s prompting I am noticing myself doing this. Now I just need to get myself to handle this automatically.

No real excitement today in the pattern. There were couple of aircraft in the pattern. One was Bob’s other rental plane that someone took up for a little bit. There was also an RV22, which is a homebuilt aircraft, that flew in from else where. It was the first time I had an aircraft behind me in the pattern. So I felt a little extra pressure to complete my touch and go and get clear of the runway for him.

It has been tough trying to get landings figured out. This is the third lesson devoted to landings. I think I am improving, but I will be glad when I have gotten proficient.

The Sunday lesson was bumped up to 11:00 am. I am sure we will be doing more touch and go’s.

BTW, this entry and others in the future were probably be a little shorter. Classes have started and I have to make sure I devote enough time for homework. It usually takes me about two hours to write a blog entry and proofread to the best of my meager abilities.

18 August 2007 – Flight 7

I was concerned that there would be no flying today. With the remnants of hurricane Erin moving up through Texas and into Oklahoma, it was overcast and a 60 percent chance of rain. I woke up in the morning a few hours earlier than I would have preferred, so I went to aviationweather.gov to see how the weather was progressing. The rain was staying to the west, but it was overcast in Shawnee. There were signs of the ceiling starting to increase.

About an hour before the lesson was supposed to start, the cloud base was getting high enough to look promising. Before I headed out, I called Bob to be sure and he said the weather looked good to him.

Today was more touch and go’s. Since I woke up early I was not feeling as sharp as I would have liked, but I still managed okay.

Preflight of the aircraft was uneventful.

When we started to taxi, there was a truck parked in front of one of the hangars. I did see it in plenty of time to go around it. I was at least thinking about where the plane was in relation to other objects. I probably would not have done that if it has been my first day out. However, I also realized I should have taken it into account before I even started moving. When you are in a plane you always need to be thinking ahead whether you are on the ground or in the air.

Bob does catch me on one thing while we are taxiing out to the run up area. He points out that I have the radio frequency set incorrectly. After all the comments I made about communications from the last post, I go off and fall prey to it myself. I have to be more attentive. I do ask Bob if he changed it to test me. He says he did not. It does make me think about the possibility of carrying passengers(adults or children) who might press buttons, play with trim tab or flip the switch for the flaps while on the ground or in the air.

The actual runup went okay. I made it a point to count my clicks while checking the magnetos so I would not repeat the mistake I made last time of turning off the engine. I also made sure my feet were down on the floor before beginning my take off roll. I even remembered to hold down the transmit button when announcing departure.

I did better controlling my takeoff roll. I was not always as centered as I would have liked, but my takeoff roll was more stable. When I would advance the throttle, I was doing better at compensating for torque with the rudder pedals. When power is applied to the engine, the airplane will try to yaw to the left. To compensate, you apply pressure to the right rudder pedal. There was also not as much crosswind as last week. So I am sure that helped too.

I did have problems drifting around after lift off. We did six or seven touch and go’s. About half of those I stayed on extended center line and half I was drifting left or right. Bob mentioned that when I was pulling back, sometimes I would turn the yoke. This causes the plane to bank and get off course. I was doing this on both takeoff and flaring. I did not hear Bob say stop driving the plane. Though I did have to force myself keep my hands off the yoke when we were taxiing back.

On one takeoff I did get the stall horn sounding. Bob said to go a little easier on the yoke pressure, let my airspeed get a little higher and give the plane a chance to get off the ground.

It was a little more turbulent in the pattern today. On the first go around I was a little concerned about feeling airsick, but the feeling passed after a few minutes. We did have one bit of turbulence where I was feeling a little light in the seat. It was sort of fun.

One other thing I noticed was on the ground the wind was from the southeast, but in the air the winds were from the west. It was enough that it was possible to see the wind pushing us closer to the runway as we flew the downwind leg. A few times, when coming out of a bank, I found myself having to apply more pressure than usual to get the wings level. This was because the wind was getting under the wing and making it more difficult to get it back down.

Overall I do not think my pattern was as tight as it was last time. I think it was a combination of factors. Not having flown for six days, missing out on a few hours of sleep and the extra turbulence. I do notice that Bob is not saying as much during the pattern. Unless I am really screwing up, like letting airspeed get too low, he lets me complete the maneuver and comments on what I could have done differently. If I catch myself doing something wrong, I try to let Bob know so he knows that I am paying attention to my actions. Part of the learning process is being able to explore the envelope so you can get an idea of what works and what does not.

We did have one interesting experience in the pattern. We almost hit a bird as I was turning west from my initial climbout. It looked like a sparrow. Fortunately it took evasive action, because there was no way I could have gotten out of the way fast enough. Bob said he has had one bird strike. In his case it managed to make it through the prop and hit the windshield. It is one of the hazards you have to be aware of and be prepared to deal with. I do not see it being much different than the hazard of some piece of junk that falls out of someones truck and you have to avoid or not.

After four or five touch and go’s I start feeling a little worn and tell Bob this. He says to let him take it in once so I could watch him more closely and listen to him explaining the steps. Doing this helped. We did one more touch and go and then a full stop.

During those last two touchdowns, I just started to get a feel for flaring out for touch down. I started to pick up on the cues as far as height above the runway and how much I should be pitching the plane. I also noticed for the first time the touchdown of the nosewheel. Maybe we should have gone around a few more times, but I was starting to feel a bit worn down. I still need more practice and repetition, but I am glad I am finally starting to notice.

I manage to apply the brakes well enough this time to not overshoot our turn off to the taxiway. Actually almost too good. Bob has to tell me to let off brakes because our taxiway is further down than the one I am trying to stop for. That means I need to pay more attention to airport layout and signs. Very important when I have to go to airports I have not seen before.

As we are taxiing back I do remember to turn off carb heat and bring the flaps up. Last time Bob had to remind me.

One other thing I need to remember is the engine shutdown procedure. Bob has to keep reminding me. I need to remember to set engine rpms to 1200, then mixture cutoff and finally advance the throttle about an inch to suck any remaining fuel out of the carburettor fuel bowl. Hopefully by typing it out here and reading this entry before my next lesson I will remember to do it for real.

Bob said he was going to have to go up to Tulsa on Sunday, so there will be no lesson tomorrow.

The next lessons are scheduled for the 25 and 26 of August. I am hoping when Labor Day comes in a few weeks, I will be able to get in an extra day of flying as well. Bob is not sure of his schedule yet,

12 Aug 2006- Flight 6

Today was a challenging day. We did nothing, but touch and go’s.

As has been the case every day, I ask Bob several questions about the previous flight. One question I ask Bob is if it would be worthwhile to get a GPS while I am doing my training. I would buy a GPS that could store the coordinates and download that into my computer and analyze what I was doing. Bob said it would not hurt, but be sure to get a good quality one. I have read of other people doing the same. So I will do a little investigating.

Yesterday, I got to thinking about the preflight of the plane and started second guessing myself. Did I really remember to check certain items. Bob is not personally supervising me while I am doing preflight. I know he does a preflight of his own before and he flies the plane everyday. So he knows the plane better than I ever will. Still how do I know I am not forgetting something. It can be easy to get distracted and overlook something. There is a checklist that Bob supplied that I have been using and his other students use as well, but I wanted something I could mark up to satisfy myself that I did not forget anything. I will not always have Bob around to keep me out of trouble. I have to think for myself. So I decide to create my own checklist based on Bob’s checklist and what I have done. I show it to Bob and hope he does not take offense. Bob looks it over and gives me the okay to use it.

A preflight starts with a cockpit inspection, proceeds in a counterclockwise direction checking the airworthiness of the plane. As I proceed around I check off the items as I inspect them. When I get to fuel and oil, I write the quantities down. Currently I have 43 items on the list. It may seem like a lot, but it actually goes pretty quick and I can be sure I do not forget something.

I do start noticing more things as I check the plane. While looking inside the engine compartment, through an access panel, I notice a large orange hose. I ask Bob and he says that it is a fireproof fuel line.

Bob also switches back to using his original fuel gauge for checking the tanks. He agrees that the dowel is too difficult to read. I mention cutting grooves into the dowel might help. He says he will probably drill a hole in the gauge, which is plastic, to fit a piece of piece of chain or a leather string.

Preflight is uneventful. For some reason I feel more nervous than I did yesterday. Maybe I drank to much coffee or I am afraid I could have a bad day after the good day I had yesterday. I do make a mistake in the run up area. While checking the magnetos, I go one click to far and turn off the engine! Bob says too far or something to that effect and I turn it back to the right magneto. I manage to click back fast enough that the engine does not completely stop. Bob says that is why you count the clicks as you turn the key to check the magnetos. In particular, if you are flying at night you will probably not be able to see the actual switch position. Sometimes the best way to remember to do something right, is to do it wrong. Hopefully I will not make that mistake again. The purpose of the instructor is to make sure you survive the experience.

Another silly mistake is that even though I announce that we are departing on runway 17, Bob has to remind me to press the transmit button for the radio. Doh! Announce again with the transmit button pressed.

I make another mistake as we are rolling out for takeoff. I still have feet up high where I can hit the brakes. Bob tells me to get my feet down, which I do. I call out my airspeed as we accelerate down the runway. I stay a little better centered today, though Bob is prompting me. I get the nose up to the horizon at 60 knots and wait for the plane to lift off. The plane gets up no problem.

As we are climbing out I notice our airspeed is about 75-80 knots. I ask Bob why we do not climb at at Vy, which is the speed to maintain for the best rate of climb. Bob says we want to be able to watch out for traffic and demonstrates by pulling the nose up to achieve Vy. The nose of the plane definitely blocks more of your forward view when you are pitched up for Vy. Part of my training will include knowing when I should Vy, Vx(speed for best angle of climb) or something else.

As we are climbing out, Bob points out if we had an engine failure we would either go for highway 177, landing in the direction of traffic, or a field a little beyond that. I am glad he mentions this. This is something I would need to know when I solo. I will also look this up on google maps to get a better idea of the terrain.

While in the pattern I do much better at announcing progress on CTAF. As practice for talking in the pattern, I practice announcing my progress as I am driving to airport. I think this helped. Bob has to prompt me once in the pattern. I forget to turn on the carb heat on one go around.

Another problem I have is not letting the nose come up when I apply flaps. Bob has to remind me of this several times on the downwind leg and on final. When the flaps come down, the nose slowly rises. So if you are not paying attention you stop descending. On final you also add in another 10 degrees of flaps, for a total of 20 degrees. Again Bob has to keep reminding me to not let the nose go up.

I still need more practice on the actual landing and Bob has to help me several times. There is some improvement in lining up, but still more work is needed. Since we have a little crosswind, I should be banking a little into the wind. I keep forgetting to do this. I have problems flaring out properly. Bob keeps saying take it in baby steps. Meaning bring the nose up in steps as I flare for the landing. It is going to take more practice to develop the motor skills needed to get this right.

I also need practice in the transition from the touch part to the go part. I think Bob has to prompt me a once to remember to turn off carb heat and bring up the flaps. I also drift away from the centerline some and do not compensate properly for the crosswind.

While doing touch and goes we have a few interesting things happen. Someone keeps trying to contact OKC air traffic control on our frequency, which is wrong. Bob advises them several times they are on the wrong frequency. I think they finally get it and we do not hear from them again. A good experience, because I would not have known what to do if I was up there alone. Also a good lesson in verifying your frequency. This is especially important at non towered airports. If you are on the wrong frequency you will not know if other planes are in the pattern or what they are doing. Also other planes will not know you are out there and not know what you are doing. This is also why it is important to always be scanning the sky for other aircraft.

The other interesting thing that happens is another plane is approaching from the east with intentions to land at Shawnee airport. It is one of Bob’s planes that he rents out. It is rather hazy and we can not see him and the other pilot says he can not spot us. Bob has me go further west of our normal downwind approach and further north before turning base leg. Both Bob and the other plane are in constant contact announcing their locations and trying to spot each other. As we approach midfield parallel and to the west of the runway, the other plane announces he is crossing midfield and turning into the downwind leg. I get a little nervous and ask Bob if we should head west away from the field. Bob says we are fine where we are. The other aircraft announces base and final, but I do not spot the plane until it is down on the runway. Again it is a good example of the need to be on the proper frequency and to announce your intentions as you progress through the pattern.

This was a good experience and a situation I will have to learn to deal with. Except for the first day of training, there have been no other planes in the pattern.

After five or six touch and goes we go for a full stop. I still have problems getting lined up and I am also weak on the brakes. We almost miss the turn off for the taxiway. Bob keeps telling me to press harder on the brakes. I think he has to add some in himself. Bob also reminds me to not put my feet up high on the rudder pedals until I am full down. If you do that when you touchdown, you will blow out the tires. He caught me doing that once already.

I have to really the admire the courage, skill and dedication of Bob and other flight instructors. I would be nervous enough just trying to be a driving instructor. I can not imagine getting into the cockpit with someone who does not have clue and trying to teach them to get a plane off the ground, much less land it.

After we clear the runway Bob has to remind me to turn off carb heat and raise flaps.

The rest of the taxi is uneventful, but Bob takes it in the last 50 feet because his rental plane is parked nearby. It would be bad enough if a student were to mess up one plane. One slip by an inexperienced student pilot could result in two planes getting damaged. So I am happy to let Bob take over.

As I said at the beginning it was a challenging day, but lots of good lessons were learned. Bob tells me he is satisfied with my progress and my control of the aircraft is improving.

As mentioned in an earlier post, there will be no flying this evening. Next flight is 18 Aug at 0900.

11 Aug 2007- Flight 5

I had a good day today with todays lessons. Before flying I talked to Bob about flying in the pattern and trying to get the steps correct on that. I am weak on the the touchdown, but I might as well get the procedures leading up to that point correct. We review those steps and he gives me a sheet that has all the information on it.

Next I go out to preflight the plane. No problems there. When checking the fuel, Bob has me try a wooden dowel he made up that is calibrated in gallons. It is long enough so it can not fall into the tank. I find it rather hard to read and mention that. I suggest maybe using the original gauge and attach a hose clamp to it and then secure the string to the hose clamp. Another thought is to cut some grooves into the dowel. That way the fuel can stay stuck in the groove with surface tension and make it easier to see. Since someone had just come back from a solo flight in the plane and it started with full tanks, we check the fuel consumption versus what is left in the tanks. The tank level is what it is supposed to be.

Bob says that we will practice some more S turns and turns about a point. We will then do several touch and go’s.

Takeoff goes pretty well. I keep the plane a little better centered. The wind is more out of the west today, so Bob tells me to keep the ailerons into the wind in addition to staying centered with the rudder. Bob has to help me with the crosswind part and encourages me to get enough back pressure on the yoke to get the nose up to the horizon. It seems much harder to do this time, so I think Bob has been helping me in pulling back on the yoke in previous takeoffs.

After getting to the training area I practice turns about a point and S turns. Bob says I am doing better than I was yesterday, but he still has to coach me quite a bit as I practice. I still had problems maintaining altitude when proceeding through the S turns. As the bank changes you need to adjust the pitch of the the plane to keep at the same altitude. This is something you have to with a combination of looking at what is going outside and just developing a feel for the orientation of the plane. I also look down at the instruments occasionally, but I do this to calibrate myself to what the airplane is doing. Most of your time is looking at what is going on outside, with a brief check of instruments.

When doing turns about a point and S turns you really have to think ahead. You have to pick your landmarks, think about where the wind is in relation to the plane and decide how much the wings need to be banked.

After yesterdays flight, I spent some time using google maps in satellite mode to study the terrain around the airport and get a better feel for landmarks such as fence lines. I think this helped me in trying to pick out land features while practicing. More practice is needed, but I think progress is being made.

After turns about a point and S turns we head back to the airport to do touch and goes. I do better today in the pattern. I call out to Bob what I am going to do next as well as announcing position on CTAF(Common Traffic Advisory Frequency). I still stumble on the callouts a few times, but I think I did better than yesterday.

Bob has to tell me several times to stop trying to look over the nose of the plane. When I do that I am pulling back on the yoke and causing the plane to climb. This is counter productive when you are trying to get on the ground.

I did better on the landings compared to yesterday, but more practice is definitely needed. Since we had a bit of crosswind from the west, I kept getting pushed left of the centerline. Generally I keep coming in high. A few times Bob pushes the stick forward to get me to steepen the glideslope. We do make one where I have the correct glide slope according to PAPI(Precision Approach Path Indicator), but it seems awfully low. I will just have to get used to that. (A description of PAPI is here )

On climbing out from one touch and go, the plane rolls quickly to the right. Without thinking about it, I respond and get the plane level quickly. I do not think the plane banks over that far, but it does roll rather quickly. I ask Bob what happened. He says there is a bit of terrain at the end of the runway that can develop an updraft sometimes. I will have to remember to ask Bob if that is a factor when winds are coming from the north and we use that end of the runway to land.

We do three touch and goes and then a stop. On the stop I come in high and a little fast, so the plane floats down the runway a ways. I am also a little weak on the brakes and we nearly miss our turnoff to the taxiway. However, we get it stopped in time and do not have to back taxi like yesterday.

The taxi back is uneventful. When we get inside, Bob gives me some documentation and tells me to start studying for my pre-solo test. A pre-solo test is a written test that is given by the flight instructor to ensure that the student has enough knowledge of principles of flight, the plane and the FAR(Federal Aviation Regulations). In addition the student has to also demonstrate sufficient ability to control the plane and fly it safely. The flight instructor is putting a lot on the line letting a student go up alone. I know there is still some dual instruction left to do, but I guess I am progressing well enough that my first solo is not too far off in the future.

At this point, all I am really doing are the basics. Even when I can solo, there are more advanced maneuvers to learn as well as cross country and night flying.

Next flight Sunday at 0900. The Sunday evening lesson is canceled.

10 Aug 2007- Flight 4

During the break, Bob adds some oil to the engine. Unlike automobiles, airplane engines always burn some oil. So before every flight you check the oil and add more as necessary. I also review with Bob the callouts I need to make as we proceed around the pattern. I am getting better at doing it, but I need to be able to do it without even thinking about it.

For this lesson, Bob says we are going to practice S-turns and turns about a point. He spends a few minutes before the flight explaining what needs to be done. Before getting in the plane I do a quick walk around of the plane to make sure everything looks good. Preflight, taxiing and pre-takeoff are uneventful and I pretty much handle those on my own.

I do a little better on the takeoff run. I manage to keep the plane pretty well centered. I also keep an eye on the airspeed. Bob still has to prompt me some on when to pull up and keeping the nose on the horizon as we pull out. As before I try to tell what I am going to do next. I think he has to prompt me a few times on what to do next.

When we arrive at the practice area, Bob demonstrates an S turn. An S turn is an exercise where you find a section of road about a mile long. You enter the S turn perpendicular to the road and immediately commence a turn so that after you have turned 180 degrees your wings are level when you reach the mid point of the road. After reaching the midpoint, you immediately start banking in the opposite direction. When that 180 degree turn is completed you should end up at the end of the 1 mile road with wings level.

If you did not have to worry about wind, an S turn would be pretty simple. However when a breeze is present you have to constantly adjust your bank to compensate for the planes changing speed due to the wind. If you have a tail wind, your bank needs to be steeper to compensate for your higher ground speed. Similarly a headwind results in a slower ground speed, so you use less bank.

The purpose of the exercise is to continue to develop the ability to control the plane in relation to the ground and develop a proper depth perception. This has a direct bearing on things such as landings.

Bob then has me practice the S turns. My biggest problem is trying to find landmarks I can use. Bob tries to point things out I can use for a reference. However, when you are lining up, making steep banks, controlling your altitude it can be rather difficult trying to spot the landmark. From what I have read, part of being a pilot is having the ability to properly divide your attention. S turns definitely make you practice this skill.

Overall, my S turns are not that great. I know there will be a few more hours of lessons before I get the hang of that.

Next Bob demonstrates a turn about a point. In this exercise you are picking a landmark and turning in a circle about that point. Again your have to compensate for crosswinds, which means you are constantly adjusting the bank of the aircraft. I then do one turn about a point. It comes out fair, but I need more practice.

You are required to properly execute S turns and turns about a point when the FAA DE(Designated Examiner) tests you.

After the S turns and turns about a point, we head back to the airfield for some touch and go’s. The touch and go does not go well. I get left of the center line and Bob has to add a lot of input of his own. We get it back into the air and go around again. Bob asks me if I am starting to get tired and I say yes. So we go in for a full stop. I come in quite high and not on centerline. Bob has me add more flaps and talks me through the landing again. After touchdown, I am also slow on the brakes and we go past our turnoff to the taxiway. After we stop, Bob turns the plane around on the runway and has me taxi back to the office. The taxi is uneventful.

Bob had warned me ahead of time that back to back lessons are generally not a good idea because of the fatigue factor. I think my overall performance for the second flight demonstrated that. So I will not be doing anymore back to back lessons for a while. I still learned a lot, but my performance was not as good as on the first flight. I will have to handle longer flights later in my training when we get to cross country. However, this is the fourth lesson so there is still a lot of new things to learn and sensations to get acclimated to.

I have a morning and evening lesson on Sunday, but Bob says we may cancel the evening lesson because he has company coming over. So there may be only one flight for Sunday.

Back in the air again on Saturday at 0900.

10 Aug 2007- Flight 3

This entry will have two parts because we did two lessons today.

I arrived at 0830 and had no problems getting in this time. Bob was just taxiing up in the 152, so I walked out to meet him.

Bob had a bit of a bad day yesterday. The student that came after me yesterday accidentally dropped the tank gauge into one of the wing tanks. Bob said that he had to drain the fuel from the tanks and spend the rest of the day trying to fish the fuel gauge out.

When flying you do not trust what the fuel gauge says. Actually the gauges are only required to be accurate when empty! So to verify fuel levels, you dip a clear tube that is calibrated in gallons into the tank. Bob says he is going to add a wooden stick onto the gauge so that an accident like that does not happen again.

So after hearing that story, Bob asks me to preflight the plane on my own and goes inside. There is a check list you go through that tells you all the items to inspect. Basically you start at the cockpit and work your way around counterclockwise around the aircraft. Bob comes back out in a few minutes with the tank gauge and demonstrates its use. He then watches me as I do it. I am sure Bob is praying that I do not drop the gauge! I have no problem, but I can see how a brief bit of butterfingers could ruin your day.

After that we go through the rest of the preflight in the cockpit and begin to taxi out to the run up area. I manage to go through all the check lists and clearing turn with little input from Bob. There is one other plane up doing touch and go’s. So we are listening for his callouts on CTAF and visually monitoring his progress. He is on his downwind leg, so we taxi out onto the runway, call out our departure on CTAF and takeoff. I am still a little weak on the rudder control, but I think I did a better job than yesterday.

As we climb out to 1500MSL, I try to tell Bob what I am going to do next. Bob says what he is looking for is for me to perform all procedures from preflight to landing without any guidance from him. When I get to that point, then I will be ready to solo. I am sure it will be a while longer before I am to that point, but I need to demonstrate I can handle the additional responsibilities as the lessons progress.

After arriving at the practice area, which is to the west of the airport, we repeat the shallow and steep turns from yesterday.
We also practice a few power off stalls. I still need more practice on those. Bob points out the need to give the plane time to build up more airspeed before I pull out of the stall. You want about 70 knots. I also need to remember to apply power when pulling out. I was also not keeping a proper eye on the vertical speed indicator to make sure I was actually gaining altitude again. I practice one more of these, then Bob demonstrates a power on stall.

In a power on stall you apply full power, while inducing a stall. This one was actually a little scary because when you stall the plane you will start to roll because of the torque from the engine. However at the low an airspeed the control surfaces do not have a lot of effectiveness. Bob has no problem recovering, but it happens so fast I do not see what all he did. He only demonstrated the maneuver today, but I know I will have to do those as well. This is to practice for a situation where you might stall during takeoff.

After this we practice emergency procedures. Bob pulls back the throttle and we go into a glide. Bob has me use the elevator to adjust the airspeed to 60 knots. We start reviewing possible landing areas and pick a field. Bob has me turn towards the field while maintaining airspeed. When we get to within a few hundred feet of the field, Bob tells me to apply power and we pull out of simulated engine out situation.

After this we do a few touch and goes. I have a ways to go before I will be ready for those on my own. Bob still has to prompt me as we go through downwind, base and final, but I am starting to remember to call out our intentions on CTAF.

After a few touch and goes, we do a full stop landing and taxing over to fuel up the plane. The fuel pump takes credit cards. It is surprising how fast those pumps can pump out the gas. I was watching the gauge on the pump and it put out 4 gallons of fuel in a very few seconds. We did put in more fuel than that, but it was a very quick process. After Bob finishes, I double check the position of the gas caps. I do this in part because of it is a safety issue and also try to demonstrate I am paying attention.

Making sure the fuel caps are on correctly is very important for an airplane. If you forget on a car, you may get a little sloshing out. If you forget on a plane where the gas cap is on top of the wing, the fuel will get sucked out by the flow of the air over the wing. I am not sure of the percentages, but fuel related issues are the cause of many aircraft accidents. This can be due to running out, having contaminants such as water or dirt and not making sure the gas cap is on tight.

After refueling, I taxi the plane back to Bobs office. This time Bob lets me take it all the way in. Before Bob handled the taxi for the last 50 feet or so. The reason he is cautious is that if you get off the taxiway, you will find your self going down a hill. I am sure if that happens there would be a prop strike and possible engine damage. So Bob allowing me take the plane all the way in, means he is putting a lot of trust in my ability to not mess up his plane.

After shutting down, we go inside for a break.

The second lesson follows in a separate entry.

9 August 2007- Flight 2

As I am driving to Shawnee, I get a little nervous. Will I still want to do this after today? Am I going to see some improvement in how I handle the plane? I got to Shawnee Municipal about 8:30 and realized I did not have the PIN number for the gate. I could see Bob’s car so I tried calling, but no answer. There is a gap in the gate, so I squeeze through and walk to Bob’s office hoping I do not have security chasing me down or something. I check the office and Bob is not around, but in a few minutes he comes taxiing up in the 152 and I get the PIN code to drive in.

Today we go through the full preflight procedure of walking around the plane, checking flight surfaces, hinges,oil, fuel sumps, etc. I find it rather interesting that the attachments to the elevator and rudder do not look that much different from what I would have seen when I was flying radio control airplanes several years ago. Then we get into the plane and do the check list there. I get a closer look at the rudder control and the toe brakes while Bob explains what is going on in more detail. So I feel a little more comfortable about those. I also have a better control of the plane today while taxiing. I wander around a little, but it more due to getting used to how they respond than being afraid to use them like before.

We complete our checklist in the run up area. Check magnetos, carb heat, control surface and do a clearing turn. We do a final check for traffic and Bob has me taxi onto the runway. Bob has me announce our takeoff on CTAF(Common Traffic Aviation Frequency). It is a little tricky for me to do this. Getting used to talking, while the prop turns, we are getting lined up, etc is a little tricky, but I manage to spit the words out. Trying to get the words out on the CTAF while everything is going on seems difficult, but I know it will get easier with time.

Bob tells me to push in the throttle and we start accelerating down the runway. I have some difficulty trying to keep lined up on the runway and Bob may have supplied a little input himself to keep things centered. At about 65 knots, Bob has me start to pull back on the yoke and we climb.

After getting to the practice area, we start practicing straight and level flight, shallow and steep turns to the left and right and stalls. Steep turns feel a little funny at first, since you are pulling a couple of G’s However after doing a few I feel more comfortable with it. Bob demonstrates a stall and then has me try. The first time I do not think I quite get a stall. So we try it again and I finally get it to stall. When recovering I push forward a bit much on the yoke. Bob tells me to just follow the nose and not put it into a dive.

We next go into the pattern to do a touch and go. We set the throttle to descent and turn on the carb heat. As we go through the pattern, Bob pretty much has the controls the first time around, but has me announce our progress on CTAF. I think I get a little tongue tied once and Bob repeats it. On final Bob has me try to get it lined up, but I think he still has to help me a bit. I am still a little confused on when I should use rudder versus using ailerons. We touch down and roll. Bob says turn off the carb heat and advance the throttle to go around again. From my inexperienced perspective, it seems like we are too far down the runway, but I trust my instructor and we get into the air no problem. I still have confusion about controls on takeoff as well. I remember Bob saying don’t drive the plane. I do catch myself several times trying to turn the yoke like a car’s steering wheel. On the second approach, Bob has me do the turns into downwind, base and final. I get lined up, but have problems trying to stay centered. So Bob has to add in a little control as well. No problem, I know I will get it figured out.

While taxiing back I have some problem with trying to “drive” the plane. While I manage to keep it in control with the rudder pedals, my hands keep wanting to steer with the yoke. Got to get those neurons trained to know the difference between a car and an aircraft.

I keep an eye open for the hangar I got too close to before and make sure I stay clear of that.

Overall I think it was a good flight for me. I feel I made some progress and now know I want to continue.

Things I need to keep in mind for next time.
1. Quit trying to steer the plane with yoke!
2. Be more aware of how far forward I push the yoke during stall recovery.
3. Ask Bob before the next flight to explain in more detail about use of aileron and rudder usage during takeoff and landing.

Next lesson is tomorrow at 0830. We will be doing two lessons back to back. So there will two parts to my entries.

6 Aug 2007- New time scheduled

I was able to get Thursday and Friday off from work. So I called Bob and was able to get lessons scheduled for those days. One lesson on Thursday and two more lessons on Friday. I also scheduled an additional lesson for Sunday evening.

I decided with classes starting in a few weeks I would like to get into the air for several days in a row before I have to back off to only weekends. So I should be updating the blog for the the 9-12 August.

3 Aug 2007- Flight Cancelled

Bob said he was going to have to leave Friday afternoon, so we would not be able to fly. We scheduled for 10 and 11 August. However if I can get few days off from work next week and hope to fly Thursday and Friday as well. I want to try to get some immersion into flying. I am working on my masters degree. When the semester starts I will probably be limited to a lesson or two a week. I am hoping that during the break between fall and spring semesters I can wrap up training and take my written and practical tests. Time will tell on that.